24th May 2026

24th May – Pentecost Sunday

Readings: Acts 2:1-13, Acts 2:22-32

A  sermon written and delivered by Jess Jephcott on Sunday 24th May 2026,

but inspired by the sermon from Sermon Central, Alan Mccann, 2017.

Good morning on this day of Pentecost, the day that marks the beginning of the Church.

Although Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples didn’t have to wait long before the Holy Spirit appeared on Pentecost Sunday. Fifty days after Resurrection Sunday. The next era of God’s kingdom had begun.

A Short Prayer.

Dear Holy Spirit,

Fill our hearts with Your presence.

Guide us with Your wisdom and love.

Amen.

We all know Christmas. We all know Easter. But how well do we know Pentecost - or Whitsun, as I knew it, when I was younger? It appears to me that, even within the church, there seems to be a genuine ignorance concerning Pentecost, and what actually occurred on that day in history. So this morning, Pentecost Day, I thought it would be appropriate to look at part of Acts 2, and the historical recording of Pentecost.

Some background. The author of the Acts of the Apostles is Luke, we read that in 1.1 and he is writing to Theophilus. Luke has recorded in his gospel the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus and in chapter 1 of Acts he records the ascension into heaven of Christ and the choosing of Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot. Now in chapter 2 we hear of the coming of the Holy Spirit during the Feast of Pentecost. In chapter 1, we learn that the disciples had been instructed, by  Jesus, to wait in Jerusalem until power from on high had descended upon them, whereupon they were to take the message of Christ to Jerusalem, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

Although our readings from Acts chapter 2, read to us by Carolyn and Philip are the basis for my talk today, I want to concentrate on the first four verses, in particular.

VERSE 1. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

Pentecost was a Jewish festival and was celebrated 50 days after the Passover. Passover (known as Pesach by the Jews) is a major Jewish holiday commemorating the Exodus, celebrating the Israelites' liberation from slavery in ancient Egypt over 3,000 years ago.

It marks the "passing over" of God, sparing the firstborn Israelites from the tenth plague, and represents themes of freedom, redemption, and spring renewal. By the time of Christ it had come to celebrate the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. So for the Jew it was the celebration of the Law and the renewal of the Mosaic covenant. It was no accident of history that this was the day that God chose to send the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, and subsequently His church. The contrast between the Law and the Old Testament covenant - and Christ (who is the fulfilment of the Law) and the New  Testament covenant, is sharply focused on the day of Pentecost. Under the old covenant the day signified the coming of the Law, but under the new covenant it signified the coming of the Holy Spirit.

VERSE 2. ‘A VIOLENT WIND.’ Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

The coming of the Holy Spirit in the bible is often accompanied by physical signs - and on the day of Pentecost it was no different. In each of verses 2, 3 and 4, there is an accompanying sign or manifestation of the presence of God.

Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, spoke of Scripture being ‘God-breathed’. A significant passage in connection with the ‘wind’, in verse 2, is to be found in Ezekiel 37 verses 9-14, where Ezekiel prophesies that the wind as the breath of God will breathe new life into dead (dry) bones in the valley of dry bones. It’s heavy stuff - too heavy for me, and perhaps best left for another day.

But look closely at what Luke writes in verse 2. It was a violent wind from heaven and it filled the whole house. It came from God and it engulfed the whole place, like in the Tabernacle when the presence of God came, as told in Exodus 40:34, ‘Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle’. The people in the wilderness knew God’s presence because the earth shook and the place was filled with His presence. The disciples knew this wind was from God because it came with power from heaven and it filled the entire house.

Think about it for a moment. When God comes in power He fills the place with His presence and no one is left in any doubt that He is present. He does not share the house with anyone else or anything else – He fills it with His presence. There is a simple lesson there for our lives and the life of this/our fellowship. God comes in power to fill us (completely) and to fill this place (completely) with His presence and He has not come to share the glory with anyone or anything else. The Holy Spirit came in power on Pentecost and He came to empower at Pentecost.

VERSE 3 – ‘TONGUES OF FIRE.’ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

Fire in the scriptures often signified the holy presence of god. The burning bush, the pillar of fire, the consuming fire at Mt. Sinai, the hovering fire over the tabernacle in the wilderness. Were there, literally, flames hovering above the heads of the disciples in the upper room? Luke says, ‘it appeared like flames’ – it was the only way they could describe the manifestation of the Holy Spirit upon them. Luke 3: v15-16, tells us how John the Baptist prepared the way.

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John  might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptise you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

So the day of Pentecost fulfils that which was prophesied by John the Baptist. ‘Holy Spirit and fire.’

Whilst the ‘wind’ fills the whole house, the ‘tongues of fire’ rests upon individuals. The tongues of fire separated and rested upon each of them. In the Old Testament covenant, the presence of God rested on the nation of Israel as an entity - but under the New Testament covenant, the presence of God comes upon individuals. The emphasis from Pentecost onwards is upon our individual personal relationship with God.

Further to this we should note that ‘fire’ in Scripture, in relation to God, also speak of purification. The Holy Spirit comes upon the disciples, and us, to purify us. That is why when you grow as a Christian, you find that things are brought to the surface which need to be dealt with. All sorts of past issues seem to come to the surface to be dealt with. The reason – the purification of your life. The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost upon individuals to purify them for service.

VERSE 4 – ‘OTHER TONGUES’ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

These ‘other tongues’ are distinctly different from the ‘tongues of fire’ mentioned in verse 3. They are, in fact, other languages, foreign languages, as can be clearly seen from the context of the verses. It seems clear that the disciples were speaking in languages that they had not learned – which was the miracle – and not to be confused with the spiritual gift of tongues which Paul dealt with in 1 Corinthians. It’s mind-boggling to me, being somebody who can’t even get to grips with the French language. A true miracle.

Luke tells us that these ‘tongues’ are immediately understood by the crowd that had gathered, making it clear that the disciples speech is clearly understood by a variety of people (verses 9-11). He lists 15 countries, nations of the world, who understand what the disciples are saying. So, what can be the significance of this on the day of Pentecost? Referring to Genesis 11, it tells us the story of the Tower of Babel, a time when, ‘the whole world had one language and a common speech’.

Isn’t this just the wonder of the Bible? I don’t know about you, but the Bible distracts me constantly.

Genesis explains how humanity's unified language was broken into many different tongues, with people scattering across the earth. The people of Babylon had decided to build a massive city and a colossal tower that would ‘reach to the heavens’. God saw their unified effort and realised that, with their combined power, nothing they planned would be out of their reach. To check their overconfidence, their arrogance perhaps, and encourage them to populate the earth, God confused their speech. Suddenly, unable to understand each other, the builders were forced to abandon the project. They scattered across the face of the earth, taking their newly formed languages with them.

The lack of understanding that God is not physical and cannot be reached by physical means is only compounded by the arrogance of the human race at Babel. The lesson here is simple – the Holy Spirit comes to unite men from all nations under the truth of the gospel of Christ Jesus, and yet we see, from verses 12 – 13, that it also causes bewilderment and mocking, with one comment, in v13, that, ‘they have had too much wine’.

In conclusion, I feel that the lesson is clear – when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, it is the proclamation of the gospel (and not the manifestations) which is His purpose. The Holy Spirit is never concerned with self-glorification, nor the glory of the individual. Surely, the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to lead us to Christ that He might lead us to the Father. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit brings to fruition that which was planned by the Father, and begun by the Son – the redemption of man by a new covenant.

Praise be to God!

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Now, I am asking you to please indulge me here, as I close my message here to you today, with me adding a story that I happened upon on YouTube recently.

In it, Lloyd Newell related how life can be so unpredictable—joys and sorrows, beautiful blessings and distressing difficulties can come unexpectedly. Our life’s dreams and plans can change in an instant. We all know this to be true. So how can we find peace amid such turbulence?

Horatio Spafford knew something about life’s unexpected challenges. He was a successful attorney and real estate investor who lost a fortune in the great Chicago fire of 1871. Around the same time, his beloved four-year-old son died of scarlet fever.

Thinking a vacation would do his family some good, he sent his wife and four daughters on a ship to England, planning to join them after he finished some pressing business at home. However, while crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the ship was involved in a terrible collision and it sank. More than 200 people lost their lives, including all four of Horatio Spafford’s precious daughters. His wife, Anna, survived the tragedy. Upon arriving in England, she sent a telegram to her husband that began: “Saved alone. What shall I do?”

Horatio immediately set sail for England. At one point during his voyage, the captain of the ship, aware of the tragedy that had struck the Spafford family, summoned Horatio to tell him that they were now passing over the spot where the shipwreck had occurred.

As Horatio thought about his daughters, words of comfort and hope filled his heart and mind. He wrote them down, and they have since become a well-beloved hymn:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll—

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to know

It is well, it is well with my soul.

Perhaps we cannot always say that everything is well in all aspects of our lives. There will always be storms to face, and sometimes there will be tragedies. But with faith in our loving God and with trust in His divine help, we can confidently say, “It is well, it is well with my soul.”

(We sang hymn 757.)