According to the Old Testament, the Jewish holiday of Passover was celebrated 50 days before to the day of Pentecost (Leviticus 23:16, Exodus 34:22). According to the New Testament, on the day of Pentecost following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit powerfully descended upon His disciples, empowering them to boldly proclaim the Gospel to those gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost, and to speak in foreign languages (sometimes referred to as “tongues”) that they had not studied. Acts 2’s account of the day of Pentecost has several significant ramifications for Christians today.
1. Presence of Jesus with us
Jesus vowed to stay with His disciples forever after [His resurrection] (Matthew 28:20). Then He ascended to heaven and left them (Luke 24:51). But at Pentecost, Jesus promised to always be with his disciples, and the Spirit of Jesus—that is, the Holy Spirit—came upon them.
2. Gospel for all peoples
To be considered one of God’s people before the arrival of Jesus, a person had to be a Jew. Alternatively, all of your traditions, customs, and culture had to be converted to Judaism. But God’s manner of emphatically expressing that the gospel is for all peoples, civilizations, and languages was demonstrated by the miraculous proclamation of the gospel in other tongues on the day of Pentecost. God’s people can come from any language or culture. They are not required to become Jews. They can continue to be believers while adhering to their own culture and language. More than that, according to Acts 2:38–39, God is now calling everyone on the planet [to repent and believe the gospel].
3. Power for testimony
Before Pentecost, the disciples were afraid and had not yet shared the gospel broadly. Knowing this, Jesus informed them that the Holy Spirit was on the way (Luke 24:49, John 14:16–18). In this manner, they would have the ability to serve as global witnesses for their risen Lord, Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8).
The Spirit existed before Pentecost since He was involved in both creation (Genesis 1:2) and the regenerating of God’s elect, which was necessary for them to believe in Him (John 3:8, Titus 3:5). However, the Spirit descended onto Jesus’ disciples with much more power at Pentecost, and it currently resides in (and gives power to) every disciple of Jesus today (Ephesians 1:13-14). While the events of Pentecost and the arrival of the Spirit were unique to that day, all Christians are still filled with the Spirit, which empowers them to live as Christians and to share Christ with others.
4. The Holy Spirit and the effect of witnessing the Gospel
Another manner that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is a benefit. The apostles are not to blame for the large number of individuals who turned from their sins and began to follow Christ. No preacher, apostle, or gospel witness has the power to alter another person’s heart. A person who hears the gospel cannot alter their own heart either. However, the message of Jesus Christ is used by the Holy Spirit to [give them new life] (John 3:8). People begin to confess their sins and look to Jesus Christ, who is crucified and rises from the dead, for salvation as a result of the Spirit’s renewing activity in their lives.
5. We are living in the end times
Following the arrival of the Spirit on Pentecost, Peter took a stand and gave the people in attendance an explanation of what they had heard and seen. The events that follow are documented in Acts 2:14–36.
In short, he said that the coming of the Spirit was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy about what would happen when the Messiah (Jesus Christ) came at the end of time. The amazing events of Pentecost signal the beginning of the end of the world. Many people think about the end of the world as something in the far future, but in the Bible, the end of the world (or, the end times) is a long period of time, beginning with the first coming of Christ 2000 years ago and concluding with the second coming of Christ when He returns to judge the world. Everything in-between the first and second coming of Christ is considered the end times. The coming of the Spirit at Pentecost was a sign that the end of the world is coming.
