Empowered (Session 2) - Acts 2:1-15 Big Idea: The Holy Spirit empowers believers to be witnesses of God’s glory to all nations. Notes about the Context and Background of the Passage As we continue through our look at the book of Acts, we’ll begin two weeks in chapter 2. Following Jesus’ final instructions and Ascension in Acts 1, the eleven remaining apostles gathered to pray in Jerusalem as they awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit. Assembled with 120 others who saw Christ ascend into heaven, Peter proposed that a person should be chosen to replace Judas among the 11 apostles; following a time of prayer, Matthias was chosen to be numbered among the Twelve, preparing the leadership of the early church for the coming of the Holy Spirit. The account of the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-15 is an incredible showing of God’s power amongst the people of the newly formed church. In the scope of biblical history, the Day of Pentecost is a stunning reversal of the judgment found at Babel in Genesis 11; in that passage, because the people sought to make a name for themselves rather than call upon the name of the Lord, God confused their languages and scattered them over the face of the whole earth. In Acts 2, though, the work of the Spirit has the exact opposite effect: the believers are able to speak the languages of the world clearly so that the people to the ends of the earth could hear the gospel message and call upon the name of the Lord. In truth, seeing this history and distinction helps us to deal with the questions many have about speaking in tongues today. The “Dig Deeper” portion of LifeWay’s Quick Source (p.18) does a good job of summarizing biblical keys for understanding “speaking in tongues;” while I would hope that your class is not dedicated toward going after a certain view of tongues (that’s not the big idea of this passage!), undoubtedly, you may receive questions regarding tongues. Below are some bullet points to help you have a basic foundation for these questions, but remember that it is acceptable to admit if you can’t answer a certain question; it is better to write a question down and ask your pastor (or email me at [email protected]) and get an answer you can understand than to try to grope through the darkness! • When people spoke in tongues in Acts 2, it was not an ecstatic utterance, but rather, the ability to speak in a language (2:4) that was recognizable to the audience (2:6-11). The Greek term glossa, which is translated in many texts as “tongues,” is used to describe languages that are intelligible (such as in Acts 2:11, Revelation 5:9, 7:9, 10:11, 11:9, and more). • Speaking in tongues was not for the sake of the believers (as some today might consider a “personal prayer language”), but was directed toward unbelievers who were hearing the message of Christ’s resurrection (as seen in Peter’s sermon in Acts 2). • Throughout Acts, there are other instances of believers being empowered to speak in tongues (like in Acts 10:44-46 and 19:6), but more times than not, there is no mention of tongues in the conversion stories found in Acts, such as the Ethiopian (Acts 8:35-38), Saul (9:4-18). the Proconsul (13:12), the gentile believers (13:47), the Philippian jailer (16:26-33), and many others. While speaking in tongues is a working of the Spirit, it does not display itself as a normative experience that all believers will experience. • The hallmark text on understanding tongues is found in 1 Corinthians 14. The overarching principle in this chapter is that if a person is going to speak in a tongue (another language) in the assembly, he must have an interpreter so that the language may be understood and serve to build up or encourage the body; otherwise, he is to remain silent (1 Cor. 14:28). The reason for this is that one who speaks in a tongue that is not understood in the assembly may build up himself (14:4), but does not build up the church, as people can only be built up if they can understand the message (14:6-19). Rather, the tongues were given as a sign, not for believers, but for nonbelievers, so that in hearing the words of God in their language, they may be convicted of their sin and worship God, proclaiming that “God is really among you” (14:22-25). So, one should only speak in another language in the church (assembly) if there is one to interpret that message so that the people of God can hear the words of God; if there is no interpreter, the person should stay silent, for he is speaking mysteries in his spirit (14:2).

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Notes about the Structure of the Passage The events of Acts 2 proceeds nicely in three stages: I. The Spirit Comes on Pentecost (2:1-4) II. The Spirit Empowers the Believers to Be Witnesses (2:5-13) A. The Spirit’s Work: Speaking in other languages (2:5-11) B. The Reception of the Spirit’s Work: Astonishment and Jeers (2:12-13) III. The Spirit-filled Believers Witness (2:14-15) Teaching Plan for this week’s lesson Note for Teachers: Remember that lines in bold in the lesson plan are questions or assignments to ask your class; these are often designed to start discussion or to help your students find the information themselves. Plain font texts are given as explanations for you and text in italics is given as a guide for you in regards to methods. Before Teaching, Reach Out! (10 minutes) With Easter coming soon, there may be a number of opportunities in your church and community to reach out to those who are lost or unconnected to church. From Easter Sunrise services to community egg hunts, there may be many opportunities for your class to invite others for breakfast following a service, to help organizers for church functions, or just to be present and talking at public events. Talk it through with your class! I. Really quickly, let’s come up with 4 skills or abilities that you’d like to be able to do. For instance, the first one can be one of mine: I want to learn how to maintain a flower bed. What are 3 more? A. Let’s break up into 4 groups and I’m going to assign one skill to each group. In your group, introduce yourselves to each other and brainstorm: what are some ways that you could learn this skill? [Teacher tip: this is a bit more involved ice breaker, but it should help us to get to the point of the lesson that we can carry out a God ordained task by the power of the Holy Spirit.] B. We can find all sorts of ways to carry out these skills or tasks; the question in many of these might be more of “do we want to do this?” rather than “can we do this?” But what about tasks that are bigger than us, tasks or abilities that we are called to do, but are not able to do? C. Last week, we talked about Jesus’ final instructions to His followers in Acts 1; does anyone remember the task that Jesus commissioned His disciples to do? [Hint: Acts 1:8; “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”] D. This was a call to those followers standing around Him before His ascension and it is still the call that we are given today. But this task is much bigger than we can handle along; when you think about the prospect of being a witness of God’s glory throughout the world, what are some of the obstacles that come to mind? [Teacher tip: I’m making a list on the board] II. No doubt, Jesus’ disciples may have felt overwhelmed in the same way, but as we turn to Acts 2 this week (p. 21 in your PSG), we see Jesus’ followers gathered in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. A. Pentecost (which means “50”) was the Greek name given for the Feast of Weeks, one of the three annual Jewish festivals, that took place 50 days after the gathering of the first fruits of the harvest. it marked the completion of the Grain harvest and was a major feast of celebration that attracted hundreds of thousands of people from all over the Middle East to Jerusalem. B. Try to imagine, if you can, what the scene would have looked like in Jerusalem; people from all sorts of nations (in the Bible, that term is used for people groups more than for countries) are flooding the city, speaking all sorts of languages. Imagine this group of Jesus’ followers, huddled together in a house, thinking about this command to be witnesses to all of the world, waiting on the gift of the Holy Spirit.

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C. Read 2:2-4 and describe for me what it was like with your senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste). [I’m making a list of the responses that could include the sights of fire, sounds of languages, feeling (touch) of wind, etc.] 1. Describing the Holy Spirit like wind and fire is significant. Wind and spirit come from the same Greek root word that has the idea of “to blow” or “to breathe,” pointing to the power of the Spirit and the fullness of His coming as breathing life into the believers and pushing them along. 2. Throughout the Scriptures, God’s presence is marked by fire, a force that purifies and brings about purity. But this flame was divided and came to rest on each of the believers presence, signifying that God’s presence in the person of the Holy Spirit had come to rest on them. 3. What was the result of the Spirit’s coming in verse 4? III. How did the Spirit empower the believers to serve as witnesses to this diverse crowd? Can we get a volunteer to read 2:5-13? [In truth, I would get two or three volunteers to split this up to get more involved] A. How did the crowds respond to the believers speaking in other languages? 1. One of my favorite parts of this passage is in 2:7, where the people were blown away that Galileans were able to communicate clearly across language barriers. You need to understand that Galileans had a very distinctive accent, similar to some of us who are blessed with a strong Southern accent or twang. This would be akin to people saying, “how are those rednecks speaking so clearly to everyone?” 2. It’s interesting to see the two very opposite responses to this event: part of the crowd were astonished and perplexed, while some sneered or ridiculed them, calling them drunks. Why do you think this is the case? B. I think a large part of the divergent responses has to do with the content of the message. Look again at 2:11 and tell me: what was the believers’ message? 1. We might have expected that they would be proclaiming a message of repentance or calling the people to believe, but rather, they were speaking of the magnificent acts of God. The term used here literally carries the idea of the greatness of God; they were praising God for the works that demonstrated His greatness in their lives! 2. Does it surprise you that the believers, being empowered by Spirit, proclaimed the greatness of God rather than calling their audience to act? 3. What does this tell you about the importance of praising God and sharing how He has shown His goodness in our lives? C. Interestingly, the negative response of some of the people gives Peter an opportunity to explain what’s going on. Look with me at 2:14-15. 1. This opens up a sermon that will last all the way through verse 36, where Peter will clearly lay out the resurrection of Christ, leading him to call the crowd to repentance in 2:38-40, resulting in thousands coming to Christ. 2. The believers, in the power of the Spirit, making known the greatness of God, gave Peter the opportunity to share the gospel. He was able to serve as a witness to many nations, a task that was beyond his power or control. D. You, too, have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses. What are some ways that you have seen the Holy Spirit empower people to be His witness in the world today? E. When you step back and take in this lesson as a whole, is there an area that God is calling you to act in?

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