Preacher : Robert Gilland
Date : May 24th 2026
Today marks the day of Pentecost 50 days after Easter. Today is the celebration of the birth of the church. Easter occurred at the time of Passover and Pentecost occurred at the time of the celebration of the feast of the harvest. So the church is the outcome of the work of Jesus’ coming to the earth and training the disciples and going through the crucifixion and resurrection.
John 20:19-23
– Afraid of the authorities and still living in the old covenant paradigm.
After the resurrection and after the disciples possibly knew that Jesus had risen from the dead, the disciples were scared and huddled together in a locked room in Jerusalem. This shows that you can know the truth and still not be transformed into a person who is not afraid to speak the truth clearly, when there is danger in telling that truth. The resurrection was and still is the greatest event ever in history. The resurrection cut history in half we have BC and AD, that is Before Christ (BC) and Anno Domoni (AD) which means the year of our Lord. The disciples had witnessed this event and yet they were still scared.
– Jesus came and stood amongst them and they were filled with joy.
Then Jesus came and stood amongst the disciples and the disciples who were downhearted and scared, the disciples who were trembling before the Jewish authorities and had lost their leader, changed in an instant. As soon as they saw Jesus before them they were filled with joy.
– So I send you.
Jesus did not waste time with the feeling that He sensed before him. Jesus had spent three years with these disciples. The disciples thought it was all a waste. However in an instant when they saw Jesus alive before them, the disciples who were a few moments before quivering with fear were ready to do what ever Jesus asked of them. Jesus gave the disciples a job to do. A task to complete. That task was to go out and share the good news of the resurrection and of the fact that God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that whomsoever believed on him will have eternal life.
– He breathed on them (Genesis 2:7) (Hebrew word for man and ground almost identical)
Then Jesus breathed on them. This is the same breath that breathed life into Adam in Genesis 2:7 which states “Then the Lord God took some soil from the ground and formed a man out of it; he breathed life-giving breath into his nostrils and the man began to live.” The Hebrew word for man “ARRAT” is almost identical to the Hebrew word for ground or earth, it is only different in pronunciation. It is the same breath Ezekiel shares about in a vision in Ezekiel 37:9-10, “God said to me, “Mortal man, prophesy to the breath. Tell the breath that the Sovereign Lord commands it to come from every direction, to breathe into these dead bodies, and to bring them back to life. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.”
– Ability to Forgive people.
Then Jesus said that the disciples would be able to forgive sins. The disciples and therefore the church that is yet to be born at Pentecost will be the continuation of Jesus’ work on earth. The church which is yet to be brought to life will be the army of Jesus. While we live and work under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:18 remain true that “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed.”
Matthew 22:34-46
– A new envisioning of Moses
Jesus could not be clearer, Jesus had started a new form of humanity guided by the Holy Spirit. He had given us a new envisioning of the Old Testament laws, by saying in Matthew 22:40 that “the whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.” Those commandments are: love the Lord your God with your whole heart and love your neighbour as yourselves.
– How can the Messiah be David’s descendent? Stating clearly the Messiah will be God.
Jesus clearly indicated that He is God by quoting Psalm 110:1 “The Lord says to my Lord” and asking how can a descendant of David also be the Lord of David, implying strongly that the Messiah existed before David was born.
– Afraid to ask any more questions. Because they understood either Lord, Liar, or Lunatic.
While we may not fully grasp these words, it is clear that those who were listening to Jesus understood Him, because those words indicated that Jesus was much more than a mere human being. That is why they were afraid to ask any more questions to Jesus. Because either Jesus was a liar or He belonged in the lunatic asylum or He is the Lord himself. Anyone who truly takes the time to study and understand Jesus inevitably comes to the conclusion that Jesus is the Creator of the universe.
John 20:19-23
– Resurrection Day, not only Jesus but humanity. Importance of Sunday.
Jesus entered the upper room on resurrection Sunday, and pronounced a new humanity to His disciples. This new humanity would be led by the Holy Spirit. Therefore in a very real way not only did Jesus resurrect on that day but humanity itself resurrected that day.
Acts 2:1-21
– Starts the same way with believers gathered together
Moving onto Acts 2. Acts 2 starts and proceeds in a very similar way as the entrance of Jesus in the upper room. The disciples this time were not quivering in fear, but were obeying Jesus’ order in Luke 24:49 to “wait in the city until the power from above comes down.”
– Suddenly God Entered
Then suddenly God entered in the form of a loud noise like a violent rushing wind. The disciples were in Jerusalem so it would seem clear that much of Jerusalem would have heard this noise. This was God announcing the new humanity’s arrival. In a similarly dramatic way as the hand writing on the wall in Daniel 5 to Nebuchadnezzar, tongues that looked like fire rested on top of each disciple’s head. The symbolism is clear: the disciples were to tell the whole world of what they had seen and heard in the last few years.
– Speak in other languages
Then the disciples were immediately filled with the Spirit. This means they were then fully guided and indwelt with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowered them to speak in different tongues. Tongues means other languages. People from all over the world were in Jerusalem at the time for Pentecost, and maybe more than usual because of what they’d heard about Jesus. So they needed to hear the gospel in their own language.
– Tongues as a missionary gift
I know there is a lot of different ideas on what tongues are in the modern day church. I have spent many years in India, where you can walk down one street and there are four different languages spoken and used. In order to speak to people the message of Jesus, you need to use their language. This is the purpose of tongues to share the gospel in another person’s language that you have not learnt. When we read the Scriptures in the context it was written, we see that it is all about living and telling of Jesus to the world. It is not about personal fulfilment. The only reason to seek the gift of tongues is to proclaim the gospel to the world.
– Peter’s message about the new thing God is doing.
Peter then speaks up and talks immediately to this new humanity by quoting the prophet Joel: “And it shall be in the last days, God says, That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind.” Peter knew the significance of the day, and the new era that the day heralded.
1 Corinth 12:3-13
Moving on to 1 Corinthians 12. Paul speaks clearly about the distinction between those who are led by God’s Spirit and those who are not. It is here where we can identify those who are a part of the new humanity and those who are not. Paul states emphatically: “Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.” Much debate on divisive political and theological issues like same sex marriage and abortion can be avoided by first determining if the person is arguing from a stand point of the Lordship of Jesus Christ or not. If they are not arguing from the standpoint of the Lordship of Jesus Christ then that is the issue that must be addressed first.
Conclusion
In conclusion it is not understood clearly enough that we as a body of believers are a new God breathed creation. The sustenance of our discipleship to Jesus Christ should be our first priority. The encouragement of our fellow brothers and sisters our second priority, and our third priority is to pronounce Jesus Christ to whomever will listen. That is why the gift of tongues was front and centre on the day of Pentecost. In today’s mostly monolingual society this gift of tongues has taken a back seat. That does not mean the purpose of the gift of tongues has gone away as it is still vital that everyone know about Jesus Christ. I grew up as an atheist and I thought Jesus Christ was a swear word until I was 17 years old. It is our mission to ensure that the name of Jesus is front and centre in our lives and known by those who we talk to.
