Acts 2:1-12

God works in mysterious ways, but not always.  God waited until the day of Pentecost to send his Holy Spirit upon the church.  At first glance, it may seem mysterious, but when we look closer it seems obvious and genius.

God wanted to spread the gospel into the entire world.  He could not use twitter, the Internet, TV, radio, telegraph, telephone, or newspapers.  The gospel was going to have to spread by personal contact, one person sharing with another.

Like yeast that leavened bread, the gospel would spread to bring life to the world.  However, in the same way that yeast requires a starter, the church also needed a starter.  It needed a large group of believers that could begin the process.  That large group was not going to come from the Jerusalem Jews.  They were the ones who had crucified Jesus.

The day of Pentecost was one of three pilgrimage festivals. Jewish tradition associated the festival with covenant renewal.  This meant that those who made the pilgrimage were serious about their covenant relationship with God.  They had come to Jerusalem to recommit.  They hear for the first time the gospel of God’s new covenant.  It was not a covenant based on animal sacrifice; rather the blood of Christ was its seal.

On the day of Pentecost, there were serious God fearing Jews from every nation.  There were Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome (Jews and converts to Judaism), and Cretans and Arabs.  When these Pentecost pilgrims believed in Christ, they became the starter from which the church would grow.  The gospel returned with them to all nations.  The disciples could remain in Jerusalem strengthening and building the mother church.

God sees and know what we do not, and he has a plan.  The disciples obeyed, and waited.  When God’s ways seen mysterious, trust Him, and be obedient.  God knows what he is doing.