A hinge of the whole story
Pentecost
The risen King has ascended, and now He pours out what He promised. Pentecost is the Spirit given, the church born, and the gospel set loose toward all nations; the last days begin, and the story opens outward to the whole world.
“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”Acts 2:4
What happened
What happened. Before ascending, Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-8). Ten days later, on the feast of Pentecost, "they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind... And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire" (Acts 2:1-3). "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:4). Devout men from every nation under heaven, gathered in the city, each heard the wonderful works of God in his own language. Peter stood and preached that this was the fulfilment of Joel's prophecy, that God had poured out His Spirit, and that Jesus, crucified and risen, was "both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). The crowd was cut to the heart and asked what to do; Peter answered, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38). That day about three thousand were added, and the church was born.
Why the whole story turns here
Why the whole story turns here. Pentecost is the turning point where the salvation won by Christ begins to spread to the ends of the earth. If the incarnation, cross, and resurrection are the accomplishing of redemption, Pentecost is its applying, the Spirit poured out to make the finished work of Christ real in human hearts across the world. It answers the ancient promises directly: Jeremiah's new covenant, the law written on the heart, arrives as the Spirit indwells God's people; Joel's prophecy of the Spirit on all flesh is fulfilled. It also reverses the old scattering. At Babel, human pride scattered the nations and confused their tongues; at Pentecost, God gathers people of every tongue and makes them understand, undoing Babel's judgment and pressing toward the day when every nation will worship together. Here the blessing promised to Abraham, that all families of the earth would be blessed, finally begins to reach all families in earnest, as the church carries the gospel outward. And this is the age we now live in, what Scripture calls "the last days" (Acts 2:17), the long harvest between the King's first coming and His return.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. Pentecost is the risen Christ acting from His throne; Peter says Jesus, "having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, hath shed forth this" (Acts 2:33). The Spirit does not draw attention to Himself but glorifies Christ, taking what is His and showing it to us (John 16:14). Jesus had said it was to our advantage that He go away, so that the Comforter would come and be not merely with the disciples but in them (John 14:16-17; 16:7). Through the Spirit, Christ is now present with His people everywhere at once, no longer confined to one place in Galilee. The Spirit unites believers to Him as members of His body, the church, and empowers them to carry His name to the nations. Every conversion, every gathering of the church, every tongue that confesses Jesus as Lord flows from this outpouring, the ongoing work of the ascended Christ by His Spirit.
Questions people ask
What actually began at Pentecost?
The church was born and the age of the Spirit began. The Holy Spirit was poured out on Jesus' followers, empowering them to proclaim the gospel, and about three thousand believed and were baptized that day (Acts 2:41). It is the beginning of the mission to carry Christ to all nations.
How does Pentecost fit the larger story?
It applies the redemption Christ accomplished and spreads it worldwide. It fulfils the promise of the Spirit and the new-covenant heart, reverses the scattering of Babel by uniting many tongues, and begins to fulfil the promise to Abraham that all families of the earth would be blessed, launching the last-days harvest between Christ's two comings.