Table of Contents
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23. Pentecost And The Beginning of The
Church
The Disciples Return to Jerusalem and Enter the Upper Room
(Luke
24:52 Acts
1:12-14)
So, they
worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, Returning to
Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near
Jerusalem, is a
Sabbath day's journey away. When they had come in, they went up into the upper room,
where they were staying; that is Peter, John, James, Andrew,
Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord continued steadfastly in prayer and
supplication, along with the women, and Mary the mother of
Jesus, and with his brothers.
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The Disciples Elect a New 12th Apostle
(Acts
1:15-26)
In these days, Peter stood up
in the midst of the disciples (and the number of names was about
one hundred twenty), and said, "Brothers, it was necessary that this Scripture should be
fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of
David concerning Judas, who was guide to those who took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and received his portion in this
ministry. Now this man obtained a field with the reward for his
wickedness, and falling headlong, his body burst open, and all
his intestines gushed out. It became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem that in
their language that field was called 'Akeldama,' that is, 'The
field of blood.' For it is written in the book of Psalms,
'Let his habitation be made desolate. Let no one dwell therein;'
and, 'Let another take his office.'
"Of the men therefore who have accompanied us all the time
that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, to the day that he was
received up from us, of these one must become a witness with us
of his resurrection."
They put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was
surnamed Justus, and Matthias. They prayed, and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all
men, show which one of these two you have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which
Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place." They drew lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he
was numbered with the eleven apostles.
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Pentecost
(Acts
2:1-13)
Now when the day of Pentecost
had come, they were all with one accord in one place. Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a
mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were
sitting. Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and
one sat on each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak
with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to
speak. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from
every nation under the sky. When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and
were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own
language. They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another,
"Behold, aren't all these who speak Galileans? How do we hear, everyone in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia,
Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene,
visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages
the mighty works of God!"
They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to
another, "What does this mean?" Others, mocking, said, "They are filled with new wine."
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Peter Spoke
(Acts
2:14-40)
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. But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
'It will be in the last days, says God, 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. Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days,
I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth
beneath; blood, and fire, and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into
blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. It will be, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord
will be saved.'
"Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man
approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs
which God did by him in the midst of you, even as you yourselves
know, him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and
foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men,
crucified and killed; whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death,
because it was not possible that he should be held by it. For David says concerning him, 'I saw the Lord always before
my face, For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover
my flesh also will dwell in hope; because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you
allow your Holy One to see decay. You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full
of gladness with your presence.'
"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. 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, he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the
Christ, that neither was his soul left in Hades, nor did his
flesh see decay. This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses. 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. For David didn't ascend into the heavens, but he says
himself, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit by my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."'
"Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that
God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you
crucified."
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?"
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. 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." With many other words he testified, and exhorted them,
saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation!"
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They Went out Preaching Everywhere
(Mark
16:20 Luke
24:53 Acts
2:41-47)
Then those who gladly received
his word were baptized. There were added that day about three
thousand souls. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and
fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer. Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done
through the apostles. All who believed were together, and had all things in common. They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them
to all, according as anyone had need. Day by day, they were continuing
steadfastly with one accord in
the temple, praising and blessing God. And
breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and
singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. The Lord
added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.
They went out, and preached
everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word
by the signs that followed. Amen and Amen. |
The End
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