As we saw last week, the Feast of Pentecost is the first major event recorded in the Book of Acts following Jesus’ ascension into heaven. We also discovered that Pentecost was celebrated by faithful Jews from around the empire who came into Jerusalem to remember what God had done during their 40 years of wandering in the dessert. Pentecost was always celebrated 50 days after Passover, and we suggested last week that Jesus’ resurrection, ascension, the Day of Pentecost all occurred on Sundays.

Last week, we also discovered that as the Holy Spirit fell upon those who had gathered in the Upper Room, they began to speak with other tongues, and those who came come from the far reaches of the empire were hearing the Good News proclaimed in their own native tongue, each language spoken by one of Jesus’ disciples who had never taken a course in linguistics! And the amazing thing is that all those who heard and received the Good News returned to their homes and began spreading the message of Christ even before the Apostle Paul took the Good News to the Jewish synagogues around the Empire some ten years later! Evangelism actually began around the empire as those who came to the Feast of Pentecost returned to their homes. The hearts of thousands were being prepared to receive the formal message of the Gospel that would be brought to them by Paul during each of his “missionary journeys.”

Interestingly, Peter told the crowd that had gathered that this was a fulfillment of the prophecy spoken by Joel hundreds of years earlier. Let’s look at Peter’s message:

This is what was spoken through the Prophet Joel, “And it shall be in the last days that I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even upon my bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit and shall prophesy” (Acts 2:16-18).

Notice, first of all, that Peter said that “this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16). Plainly stated, this prophecy was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. Secondly, Joel’s prophecy said that this would be fulfilled “in the last days.” The “last days” of what? Certainly not of planet earth as we have often been led to believe, but the last days of the Old Covenant. The writer of Hebrews further confirms this fact when he wrote at the beginning of his letter:

God, after he spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son… (Heb 1:1-2).

Jesus’ ministry on earth occurred during “these last days.” Furthermore, in speaking of the New Covenant prophesied by Jeremiah, the writer of Hebrews goes on to say that God has made the First Covenant (the Old Covenant Law) obsolete and that:

“…whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is about ready to disappear” (Heb 8:13).

The Old Covenant had been around for over 1,500 years, since the day Moses received the Law on Mt. Horeb (Mt. Sinai). The Old Covenant was never the full intention of God because, as the writer of Hebrews would go on to say, it simply did not have the power to change hearts, as we find in the message of the Gospel in the New Covenant, the Covenant in which we are now living. Remember Jesus’ words at the Last Supper:

“This is the blood of the New Covenant shed for you for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 22:20).

You see, the New Covenant actually began when Jesus shed His blood on the cross for our sins in AD 30, and all who had put their faith and trust in Christ throughout the Book of Acts were forgiven of their sins and found new life in Him. And that promise is effective and continues to this very day. But the “structures” of the Old Covenant still remained, namely, the temple in Jerusalem, the functioning priesthood, and the daily and annual sacrifices, which could never take away sin. Let me remind all of us that Christ died, once for all, for our sins (Heb 7:27); that every born-again Christian is a “priest” of the living God (1 Pet 2:9); and that the true temple of God is found in each Christian as well as in the corporate body of Christ, the church (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19).

The structures of the Old Covenant came toppling down as the Roman army destroyed the city of Jerusalem in AD 70, some 40 years after Jesus’ death on the cross. The writer of Hebrews wrote his letter in AD 64 as Nero set fire to Rome and declared open season on Christians throughout the Empire. The writer knew that the formal end of the Old Covenant was coming soon, and it happened just six years later! We are now living in the New Covenant, and as the writer of Hebrews tells us, this New Covenant is the “eternal covenant” (Heb 13:20). As you can see, the structures of the Old Covenant are no longer needed.

But there is more to Peter’s message and to Joel’s prophecy, and that’s where we will pick up next week. Until then, I pray that you have a blessed week, and if you have never trusted Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, please realize that He shed His blood for you, once for all time, over 2,000 years ago. You can take advantage of His forgiveness. It’s a free gift for all of us, but it cost Jesus’ His very life. Blessings to all of you.