Bible Study
In the second chapter of Acts, at the Pentecost, flames of fire descended on each of Jesus’ disciples and they began to speak about God in languages that they couldn’t possibly know. The witnesses who heard the message in their own native language were quite impressed, but other witnesses thought that the disciples must have been drunk.
Defending the Accusation of Drunkenness
Peter gets up and addresses the crown, giving them an explanation of what they have seen. His first argument uses the time of day:
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day.
Acts 2:14-15 (WEB)
Sure, there are some people who do start drinking in the morning, but as referenced in Acts 1:15, there could have been as many as 120 people who received this gift from the Holy Spirit. While possible, it is unlikely that a group this large would have been indulging in too much alcohol at 9:00 in the morning, particularly since they are supposed to be waiting for the Holy Spirit to come visit them.
In these days, Peter stood up in the middle of the disciples (and the number of names was about one hundred twenty)
Acts 1:15a (WEB)
Discussion Question #1: If you went to a church in a foreign country, saw beams of light settle on each person, then heard these people speaking about God in your native language, what would your reaction be?
Discussion Question #2: How do you react when Christians do strange things that they claim are from God? Name a few things that you have witnessed?
It is always tricky when someone claims that they are following God’s direction, but their actions don’t make sense to casual witnesses. I know several missionaries who took their kids to faraway places because they felt called by God to do so. Some people enthusiastically embraced and supported these families, while others thought they had gone off the deep end and wrote them off as fanatical.
Discussion Question #3: Has God ever asked you to do something that didn’t make a lot of sense to either yourself or to others? Did you do it? What was the result?
Pentecost Predicted by the Prophet Joel
At this point, Peter turns to scripture to further validate the idea that the disciples have been visited by the Holy Spirit, rather than alcohol.
16 But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘It will be in the last days, says God,
Acts 2:16-21 (WEB)
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions.
Your old men will dream dreams.
18 Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days,
I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the sky above,
and signs on the earth beneath:
blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood,
before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
21 It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
In about 400 B.C., the prophet Joel predicted the events of the Pentecost! In verse 18, it says that the Spirit will be poured out on the people , which is exactly what Jesus promised in Acts 1:5!
For John indeed baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
Acts 1:5 (WEB)
Furthermore, it was predicted that the disciples would prophesy about God, which again is exactly what they did in Acts 2:11!
“We hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!”
Acts 2:11b (WEB)
Discussion Question #4: Compare the quote from Joel with what the events from Jesus’ death to the time of Pentecost. How closely does the text compare? Which events are left to be fulfilled during Jesus’ second coming?
Jesus’ Resurrection Predicted by King David
Now Peter turns to King David, who predicted that Jesus’ body would not see decay, but would instead follow the path of life.
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Acts 2:22-28 (WEB)
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
What glorious news! David had hope that even though David’s body would die and that he would be buried and waste away, eventually a “holy one” would be born, would die, but would not suffer decay. As it turns out, Jesus did die, but he was raised back to life before his body was destroyed.
29 “Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul wasn’t left in Hades, and his flesh didn’t see decay. 32 This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.
Acts 2:29-32 (WEB)
Discussion Question #5: What does it mean to you that Jesus died and then was resurrected? Do you agree that these events are the “path of life” mentioned by David? How are you going to live your life based on this knowledge?
Peter also reminds the crowd of what they have seen over the last 40 or so days. The days of Jesus crucifixion and time in the tomb were terrible, but then Jesus returned to life and spent 40 days explaining the scriptures to his disciples. When he ascended into heaven, Jesus assured his disciples that they would not be left alone, but would instead have the presence of the Holy Spirit!
33 Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear. 34 For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself,
‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand
35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’36 “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Acts 2:33-36 (WEB)
Jesus is our Messiah, the Promised One, and our Lord! He promised to send the Holy Spirit, and he kept his promise.
Discussion Question #6: Why do you think that Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit? Have you ever felt the presence of the Holy Spirit? What were the signs?
The People Accept Peter’s Words
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter’s words made an impact on his listeners. When God is with us and we speak to our accusers, all things are possible.
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” 40 With many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”
41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.
Acts 2:37-41 (WEB)
Discussion Question #7: Has the Holy Spirit ever given you words to say in a particular situation? What was the result?
In verses 38 and 39, Peter called on the crowd to “Repent and be baptized.” And the people did exactly that! Looking back at the prophet Joel, we saw that he predicted that people would call on the name of the Lord and be saved. In verse 41, we see that there are 3,000 people who chose to do exactly this! What a great start to the disciples’ evangelism efforts! Can you imagine what would happen today if 3,000 people decided to be baptized at once?
Discussion Question #8: What would it look like today if the Holy Spirit decided to make a pathway for 3,000 people to decide to be baptized at once? Why do you think that this is a very rare event today? What could we do to change this pattern?
Let’s pray that the Holy Spirit will give us the words to have this kind of impact on our society. Don’t forget that the words of the Holy Spirit have power; let’s use them to further God’s kingdom!
The People Choose Teaching and Fellowship
Now the people have to figure out what to do with their decision to follow Jesus and be baptized.
42 They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer. 43 Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 All who believed were together, and had all things in common. 45 They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need. 46 Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47 (WEB)
Discussion Question #9: What did the people choose to do after deciding to follow Jesus and be baptized?
Discussion Question #10: If you were an adult when you became baptized, what did you do in the days and weeks afterwards? If you were baptized as an infant, think of a time when you chose for yourself to follow Jesus, what did you do in the days and weeks afterwards? Does this match what we see in this passage? Reflect on the similarities and differences.
It is important to note that after these 3,000 people chose to follow Jesus, that they didn’t just go home and carry on with their lives. Instead, they sought out teaching and fellowship. Not only did they want this for themselves, but they wanted this for those around them. To ensure that they would all be able to get these things, they decided to live together and sell their possessions to make sure that anyone who wanted this teaching could get it. As people saw what was happening more and more people decided to be baptized!
What does this mean for us today? Should we sell our possessions and all join a commune? While this may be helpful for some, we live in a day and age where there is good teaching available everywhere. Just turn to Google or Amazon and you will be able to find some sort of commentary on pretty much any topic imaginable. While this doesn’t mean that the information is always of good quality, if you join a church that believes and teaches the Bible, the leaders will be able to direct you to plenty of high quality resources. You don’t need to travel to Jerusalem and stay in town to hear the good news about Jesus!
One downfall of getting your teaching from books and the internet is that these resources will not provide fellowship. To get this, you really need to commit to a healthy church that has a strong belief that meeting together regularly is a necessary component of being a Christian. There are times when God does call us to solitude, but he also created us to be social beings. Simply think of the trinity. God has fellowship with himself through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He made us in his image, which means that we likely need fellowship as well.
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Respond
As you consider the theme of the Holy Spirit changing people’s minds, are there any Bible verses that came to mind? If so, add a comment at the end of this post!
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Related Resources
Read: Acts 2:38-39 – A Memory Verse about Repentance and Baptism
Read: Musings about Speaking by the Holy Spirit
Read: A Prayer about Speaking by the Holy Spirit
Visit the Joyful Moments in Christ homepage for all posts, or scroll through other Bible Studies related to the book of Acts:
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English Standard Version (ESV): Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
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