The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY;
THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT."”
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.
And he was preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.
“I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;
and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.
And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.
Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,
and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.
And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.
Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.
They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach.
They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are–the Holy One of God!”
And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”
Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.
They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.
And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke to Jesus about her.
And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.
When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.
And the whole city had gathered at the door.
And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.
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Pentecost – The birthday of the Church by Nancy Grace Brown
Acts 2:1-24, 37-40 (RSV) 1When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and wondered, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Par′thians and Medes and E′lamites and residents of Mesopota′mia, Judea and Cappado′cia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phryg′ia and Pamphyl′ia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyre′ne, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these men 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 in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days
I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heaven above
and signs on 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 day of the Lord comes,
the great and manifest day. 21 And it shall be 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 to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him.” 40 And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:1-24, 37-40)
Pentecost is one of the most significant days in history. It is the day God gave the law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. It is the day of the annual feast of first fruits of the wheat harvest. It is the day Jesus baptized his disciples with the Holy Spirit. It is the day the Holy Spirit empowered them for the work of the harvest.
Perhaps you can relate to harvest through one experience or another as I can. My grandma always had a garden. As a child I helped her plant it: leaf lettuce, cucumbers, peas, tomatoes, radishes, corn, carrots, zucchini, green beans, and more. After the garden was planted I checked it often. It seemed to take forever for the first shoot to push its head up through the soil. I rejoiced in each new young plant. (And I still do each spring as the plants reawaken to new life.) Then the plants would leaf out, bud, and flower. I waited with great anticipation for them to bear fruit, well vegetables. My favorite was green beans. From the time they were about an inch long I asked Grandma if they were ready to harvest yet. Everyday Grandma would say, ‘just a little longer, just a little longer.” Then the day finally arrived. I would enter her house and she would say, “I think some are ready today.” We would go out and check. Sure enough, some were ripe for the picking. The first fruits of the harvest always seemed to be the best. I was filled with excitement, joy, and thanksgiving because weather, critters, and other things could damage the plants. To have a good harvest was a true blessing.
The harvest always begins with a seed. The apostle John wrote of Jesus speaking with a Samaritan woman from Sychar. As the woman heard Him speak to her about her life circumstances she recognized Jesus as a prophet. As they spoke further about the worship God desires, she recognized these were things the Messiah would teach and she asked about the Messiah. Jesus declared to her He was the Messiah. She went into Sychar telling the men, “Jesus told me everything I had ever done” and asking, “Could this be the Messiah?” A seed was planted in the minds and hearts of the men. They headed out to Jesus to see for themselves.
As the men came, Jesus said to His disciples, “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and see how the fields are already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” The harvest was plentiful in Sychar, many people believed in Jesus, the Messiah. (John 4:4-42)
John the Baptist said of Jesus, 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the granary… (Matt 3:11-12)
Here in Acts 2 it was Pentecost, the disciples were in Jerusalem celebrating the feast of first fruits and waiting with anticipation Jesus’ promise of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
At one point, Jesus had told his disciples he was going to die and they were grieved. But, Jesus encouraged them saying, “…I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor (the Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (John 16:7-15)
It may not sound like it, but Jesus was talking about the harvest. You see, it’s only when we, our families, friends and neighbors know we are all sinners, it’s only when we know we are bound for hell because of our sin, it’s only when we know Jesus, the only righteous one, paid the penalty demanded for our unrighteousness thoughts and acts through His death, it’s only when we know Jesus’ death obtained for us forgiveness and new life with God, it’s only when we know and accept these truths for ourselves that we, our families, friends and neighbors can experience the thanksgiving, joy, and excitement of being a part of the harvest. We become part of the first fruits of eternal life, to the glory of God. It is the Holy Spirit who works this harvest in our lives, who reveals these truths and more to and through us.
Jesus went on to say, “When the Spirit of truth (the Holy Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that He will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:13-15)
The prophet Joel said: “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit (the Holy Spirit) upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on 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 day of the Lord comes, the great and manifest day. And it shall be that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Acts 2:17-21).
When we are saved, when we believe and accept Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead obtaining for us forgiveness and eternal life, the Holy Spirit enters our lives. On Pentecost, the festival of first fruits, Jesus baptized the disciples with the Holy Spirit. The disciples preached the gospel as never before resulting in a harvest of 3,000 people joining the ranks of the first fruits, the forgiven, thankful, joyful people of God.
The Holy Spirit works this harvest in us and then through us here where we are to bring in the harvest of people for God. Some may plant, some water, some harvest, but it is the power of the Holy Spirit that makes us grow and bear fruit and brings people to eternal life.
So, where do you stand? Do you know you are a sinner, condemned? Do you believe Jesus died for your sins? Do you accept for yourself Jesus’ death paying the penalty for your sins? Do you believe Jesus rose again from the dead gaining eternal life for you when you believe? Have you received the Holy Spirit and the new life and fruitfulness He brings?
If you have, now is the time to renew your commitment to Him, thanksgiving, and praise for His work in and through your life.
Pentecost, the Birthday of the Church by Nancy Grace Brown
