Christ Church Leavenworth
Pentecost
May 24, 2026
What Does This Mean?
THE TEXT
Our text this morning is Acts 2:1-12, these are the words of God:
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
INTRODUCTION
According to the church calendar, today is Pentecost. But what exactly is Pentecost and why is it today? The word “Pentecost” literally means fiftieth and it occurs fifty days after Easter. Before it was a Christian holiday, however, it was a Jewish holiday, as we observed in our reading. It was often referred to as the Feast of Weeks since it took place seven weeks after the sabbath of the Passover, in other words, the day after seven sets of seven. In the English-speaking world, Pentecost has also been called “Whitsun,” which is a shortened form of White Sunday, since on this day those who were to be baptized traditionally wore white garments to church. According to the Jewish calendar, Pentecost was a harvest festival where the first fruits of the fields were reaped and enjoyed. According to the Christian calendar, it is also a harvest festival, but the first fruits are not those which come up from the ground, but those which came down to us from Heaven. On this day, the Holy Spirit came down to dwell with us just as Jesus had promised and the church was born. For that reason, today is also sometimes recognized as the church’s birthday. Let’s consider our text.
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
On the day of Pentecost, the disciples of Jesus were all together. They were in one place and they were of one accord. That peaceful scene, however, was violently interrupted by a loud noise. A nose so loud it filled the entire house and sounded like a blowing wind turned up to eleven. As they sat there, likely holding their ears, cloven tongues of fire appeared and rested on each one of them and they began to speak in other languages. Now, because it was a feast day, Jerusalem was filled with devout men from every nation under heaven who had gathered to celebrate, but the party at the apostles’ house was apparently such a rager that many of them came to investigate. What they discovered when they got there was a bunch of Galileans speaking in foreign languages. And if that were not shocking enough, what they were all talking about was the mighty works of God. As a result, they all looked at each other and asked the obvious question, “What does this mean?”
THE CURSE OF BABEL
In order to help answer that question, we need to go all the way back to the book of Genesis and the story of the tower of Babel found in chapter 11. After the flood, God told Noah and his sons what He had once told Adam, “Be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” Instead of spreading out, however, several of them decided to settle down. They decided to try to make a name for themselves instead of making a name for God. They did not want to look up to God for direction, they wanted other people to look up to them. Not surprisingly, God did not smile down upon this, but instead put an end to their attempted coup by confusing their language.
C.S. Lewis, in That Hideous Strength, made use of the same tactic when he had Merlin invoke the curse of Babel on the bad guys at Belbury. Here is how he put it: “They that have despised the word of God, from them shall the word of man also be taken away.” We see this in our days as well; e.g. those who despise the Word of God cannot define what a woman is. Back to Babel, note that God did not tear down their tower, He broke down their ability to communicate. As a result, they voluntarily abandoned their group project and moved away in different directions. This got them closer to where they were supposed to be geographically even if it left far from where they were supposed to be spiritually.
THE CURSE REVERSED
Fast forward now to Pentecost. What happened there was not so much a reversal of Babel as it was a reversal of the curse of Babel. The languages remained, but the confusion was now gone. Pentecost did not reintroduce a common language, it introduced a way for people with different languages to understand each other. That way being the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. When God confused the tongues at Babel, the result was that men scattered, divided by their different languages. When God gave different languages at Pentecost, the result was that man gathered together to hear the faith once for all delivered to the saints.
Babel is the photo-negative of Pentecost. At Babel, men came together to defy God's command to fill the earth. In response, God confused their tongues in order to prevent them from working evil together any longer. At Pentecost, men came together to hear God's command to come together in Christ. In response, they obeyed, and the church was born. In Christ our distinctions are no longer sources of division. Men and women can understand each other. Jews and Gentiles can reconcile. In Christ, the beauty of diversity destroys the curse of diversity.
APPLICATION
So, that is what Pentecost means, but what does it mean for us? It means diversity is not our strength, Christ is. It means that our particular way of doing things is not our strength, Christ is. In Him, diversity is a blessing, but outside of Him it is a curse. As Babel reminds us, unity among people is only as good as what unifies them, and diversity among people is only as bad as what divides them.
CALL TO CONFESSION
Well, since we often prefer the curse of individuality to the blessing of community, we are reminded of our need to regularly confess our sins, whether they be related to this or others. So, if you are able, please kneel with me and confess your sins, first privately and then corporately using the prayer found in your bulletin.
CORPORATE CONFESSION
Most holy and merciful Father, we acknowledge before You our sinful nature and our many offenses. We are prone to do evil and slow to do good. You alone know how often we have sinned in wandering from Your way, in wasting Your gifts, in forgetting Your love. Lord, we are ashamed and sorry for all the ways that we have displeased You. Father, teach us to hate our rebellious acts, cleanse us from our secret faults, and forgive our sins for the sake of Your Son. Help us to love You with all our heart and mind and strength. And give us the power of Your Holy Spirit so that we may walk in Your ways and serve You all of our days.
DECLARATION OF PARDON
Arise and hear the Good News! The assurance of pardon today comes from 1 John 1:8-9 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” If Christ has paid for your sins, there is nothing left for you to pay. God would be unjust to charge you for something Jesus already paid for. But God is not unjust. He will not double bill anyone. And that is very Good News because that means in Christ your sins are forgiven… THANKS BE TO GOD!
Now, let us ascend to the presence of God in all worship and praise.
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