When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance… So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3000 people were added to them (Acts 2:2-4; 41)
The season of Pentecost, celebrating the wheat harvest, is the longest season of the Jewish calendar. Spiritually, the season began on the Pentecost Sunday recorded above, (Pentecost is an eight-day celebration which declares Sunday to be a Sabbath) and will end with the sound of the trumpets as the Lord returns to gather His church! ALL Christians are Pentecostal, therefore, and any rejection of the wind and fire of Holy Spirit is a rejection of Father’s Promise and Jesus’ baptismal Word (Acts 1:4-5).
As we CONTINUE to celebrate Pentecost and the reality that ALL Christians can and must experience God in supernatural fashion, I find it interesting to look at those first 3000 believers and what they were… and what they were not.
They WERE:
Jewish believers from all over the known world. Salvation is from the Jews, and our Savior was, is, and will forever be, Jewish!
Familiar with the Scriptures (what we call the Old Testament).
A mix of people from very different places and cultures, speaking different languages, sharing different customs, with diverse skin tones and income levels.
They WERE NOT:
Spiritual “junkies” looking for their next fix.
Unsatisfied seekers who had come to Jerusalem to find something new or novel.
Casual bystanders with little or no interest in God or His presence.
The 3000 converts that first Pentecost were certainly serious about their religious beliefs and about fulfilling the Law. But they could not have imagined the power of the Holy Spirit or the anointing upon Peter as he preached nor the raw power of the Word Himself as He grabbed their hearts that day.
They went from being Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem to being fully baptized (of repentance, into Jesus, with the Holy Spirit) believers in Messiah Jesus—all in one day.
They did not attend special classes, they did not wait until the time seemed right, they did not ponder on the consequences of their decision for a season or six; no, they saw and felt and heard the presence and promise of God and BELIEVED! They understood that belief and supernatural experience are tied together in faith and need not and even should not be separated! They understood that the time is NOW!
The Gospel is simple and sudden and life changing at Pentecost… and it IS Pentecost!!