Tuesday, July 24, 2018
See and hear
Acts 2:33
Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
An explanation was demanded of these disciples of Jesus who were suddenly speaking with other tongues. Peter, in the face of the ridiculous accusation that they were drunk, decided to get up before them and address the questions, and the phenomenon that caused them.
This was a particularly religious group, though not followers of Jesus, they were all religious Jews and proselytes, converts to Judaism. We know this because they were all in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Pentecost.
As a side note, there is a lot of discussions taking place today in Jerusalem, Washington DC, and European capitals about immigrant populations, and the consequence of multiculturalism. There is a contest of opinions between those who want closed borders and tight immigration controls to limit immigration, and those who want open borders. There is a new wave of widespread immigration and there is a new wave of nationalism countering it.
It is interesting to note that the descendants of Abraham were always warned to be careful of the people of other nations who didn’t worship God but instead served idols. But on the day of Pentecost, “there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.” Acts 2:5. “Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, … Cretans and Arabs” Acts 2:9-11.
Multiculturalism spawned by migration is not necessarily a new development. Primitive tribes that lived in isolation were able to keep the tribe pure, some still do, but the moment a community established a fixed settlement and had the need for trade the opportunities for immigration are established.
But let us return to the main discussion from the passage in Acts 2:14-39, where Peter essentially laid out the Gospel message for the first time to this multinational crowd of thousands. As was established already, Peter is talking to a group of Jews and Jewish converts, so he is able to use the Old Testament scriptures as a basis for his response.
Peter grounds his explanation in the prophecy of Joel, “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also, on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” Joel 2:28-29.
Then, establishing that Jesus is the primary actor in bringing to pass God’s prophecy given through Joel, he declared that everyone could now see and hear. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit had an impact on the multicultural crowd in Jerusalem on that day. It was an outpouring that could be both seen and heard.
We must concede that Peter was able to use the shared religious faith in the group to reach them with his explanation. He could easily draw on Israel’s history, the scriptural record, and the recent events in Jerusalem to point to the activities of Jesus and the authorities who killed Him who is God’s anointed. There was quick conviction.
Beyond Jerusalem, however, the challenge would be different, because that shared Jewish faith and familiarity with the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms and the wisdom writings was absent. Nevertheless, the New Testament record that we have of the work of disciples and apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, establishes that in communities outside of Jerusalem people of many nations and backgrounds were still seeing and hearing.
As a matter of fact, when Paul and his team go to Thessalonica there was a violent resistance and the people declared to the authorities that “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” Acts 17:6
Today there are many opportunities for advocacy and many opportunities to bring the voice of God to bear on the conditions of men. However, with Christian leaders who are unable to distinguish their political positions from sound doctrine, and who cannot separate ministry from political campaigning, people are often unable to see and hear the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
This is not an argument against Christians being involved in political or social action, this is rather an argument for the Christian distinctiveness in the way we participate. More and more today the movements advocating for various progressive ideologies, that run counter to clear and established biblical doctrine, are able to co-opt voices from the church to embrace, support, and then advocate for their positions.
We should not be described as liberal, or conservative, or progressive or otherwise, we are neither. We should be the voice that is able to declare the Word of God with clarity to all sides of the political and social divide. Instead, we have allowed everyone else to take on the task of turning the world upside down.
People need to see and hear from those who are filled with the Holy Spirit as we address the issues of the day. They should then ask, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Acts 2:37
Think on these things:
- Do you hold any views on sexual orientation or reproductive rights that vary from the position held by the church?
- What do you believe is the role of the church in social and political action?
- Does your church spend any time studying and teaching the biblical position on the issues of the day like, immigration, sexual orientation, rights, etc?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we would be the authentic voice of God, speaking to our generation in the power of the Holy Spirit that they might both see and hear.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex