God loves His creation so much that He provided His own arm for our salvation. He sent His only begotten Son to suffer, die and rise again by the power of His Holy Spirit to conquer sin and death to all who would call upon His holy name. When Jesus left this earth He said that it was necessary for Him to leave so that the Father would send His Holy Spirit to guide and direct those who placed their trust in Him. The Holy Spirit gave the gift of tongues to praise God before all nationalities who were there.
The Holy Spirit will take the teachings of Jesus and explain them to us so that we will know the truth and the truth will set us free.
Coming of the Holy Spirit
2 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and 4Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?"
13 Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine."
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
21 And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.'
22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
The NKJV Study Bible says this: Pentecost was one of the three major Jewish festivals; the other two are the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. From the Greek word for "fifty," Pentecost was so named because it fell on the fiftieth day after the Sabbath of the Passover. Pentecost was also known as "the Feast of Weeks," "the Firstfruits of the Wheat Harvest," and "the Day of Firstfruits." During this harvest celebration, the Jews brought to God the firstfruits of their harvest in thanksgiving, expecting that God would give the rest of the harvest as His blessing. This particular Day of Pentecost was the day of firstfruits of Christ's church, the beginning of the great harvest of souls who would come to know Christ and be joined together through the work of the Holy Spirit. A sound like a rushing mighty wind was needed to attract the multitudes to the small gathering of apostles who were sitting, the normal position for listening to someone speak, rather than standing for prayer. After the great crowd-gathering sound of v. 2 came the visual manifestation of God. Fire often indicated the presence of God. The word translated tongues here is the normal Greek word for known languages. Speaking in "tongues" or diverse languages underscored the universal outreach of the church. These witnesses were speaking foreign dialects to the people who had gathered for Pentecost from other nations. The Day of Pentecost, as one of the three major Jewish celebrations, was a pilgrimage event. People who lived outside Israel traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival. They came from Arabia, Crete, Asia, and even as far away as Rome. Many of these people stayed in Jerusalem for the entire 50-day celebration. The visitors to Jerusalem probably expected the apostles to use Aramaic or Greek, but instead they heard their own dialect. The visitors were astonished because they knew this was most unlikely unless the speakers had come from their land. This was a sign from heaven, a supernatural event. Peter preached his sermon to men of Judea who had judged the whole episode as being the effect of too much wine. God would speak to and through all those who would come to Him, whether in visions, dreams, or prophecy. This was the beginning of the last days. God's final act of salvation began with the pouring out of His Spirit. This final act of deliverance will continue to the end of this age. Jesus Christ was God's provision for the judgment of sin; yet it was our sinfulness that made His death necessary. In other words, it was both the sinfulness of humanity and God's plan to save humanity that put Jesus to death on the Cross. God exercises sovereign control over all events—even the death of His Son. Yet at the same time, people are still responsible for their own sinful actions.
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