Day 155

2 Samuel 22:1–23:23; Acts 2:1-47; Psalm 122:1-9; Proverbs 16:19-20

IN THE BOOK of Acts today, we witnessed monumental things: Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the birth of the church.

Jesus’ followers had been praying and waiting in one place —according to tradition, this “place” was the same upper room where Jesus enjoyed His Last Supper. The promised Holy Spirit fell on them with the sound of a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire. Those present were given the ability to speak in other languages.

Pilgrims from all over the known world began to hear the testimony of God’s kindness spoken in their native tongues, and this caused quite a stir. Pentecost gave us the first clue that the gospel was to be spread throughout the world to every nation and tongue. What this would mean practically would cause a bit of controversy among the early church, and we’ll get to that as we journey through Acts.

The confusion triggered by the many tongues being spoken caused some hearers to marvel, but it caused others to scoff and accuse Jesus’ followers of being drunk at 9:00 in the morning (Acts 2:12-13). This revealed the way in which the message of hope in Jesus would continue to be opposed. As it was for Jesus, so it will be for the early believers —and so it still is today.

Full of the Holy Spirit, Peter gave the first recorded mass introduction to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Three thousand people believed and were baptized as a result. Many scholars have concluded that the only place this many people could have been baptized would have been the mikvahs, or ritual cleansing baths found at the Temple complex. The ruins of these mikvahs are still visible today just below the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Our time in Acts today was the flash point that began what we now know as Christianity. People were not known as Christians at first. This term would first be coined in Antioch, once the gospel began spreading. But the story we read from Acts today is the origin story of the church. The same Holy Spirit leads and guides us, and we are on the same mission to bring light and Good News. Consider your spiritual heritage today. Although we are two millennia in the future, we are part of the same story and have the same mission, in collaboration with the same Holy Spirit.

PRAYER:

Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper. O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls and prosperity in your palaces. For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “May you have peace.”