The Miracle of Pentecost
One in Christ
Acts 2:1-21
Rev. Tim Callow
Preached Sun. May 24th, 2026
Before Jesus ascended into Heaven he told his disciples to wait. Wait in Jerusalem. Wait among the crowd and mob that crucified me. Wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit. You’ll know it when you receive it. We do not know how long the disciples waited. We do not know how fervent their prayers were, how they passed the time. But what we do know is that it was early in the morning on the day of Pentecost, when they were gathered into one room, that they first heard a sound like violent wind. And that wind then manifested above their heads as tongues of fire. And every single one of them began to speak.
They spoke of Jesus and his mighty deeds. How it was that he was crucified by the people of Jerusalem, the very people they bore witness to. How it was that he rose from the dead, has ascended to the right hand of power on high. How he has now poured out his spirit as it had been prophesied. And how this is not the time of wrath, but the time of mercy. “Be not afraid!” We may imagine them saying. Now is the acceptable time, now is day of salvation.
Now it’d be one thing if the miracle of this day was that tongues of fire fell upon their heads. It’d be another thing if the miracle of this day was that they were given the courage to leave their rooms, enter the streets, and proclaim in power and authority the mighty acts of God in Christ. But the work of the Holy Spirit was still greater than this. When they spoke, everyone could understand them.
Whether they came from Jerusalem or Alexandria, from Parthia or Rome, from Lybia or Media, they could understand what the apostles were saying. And it wasn’t because the apostles were so clear in their speech, or because they knew the right lingua franca. But because the Holy Spirit interceded that everyone could hear in their own language.
Not knowing what to do with all this many assumed the apostles must be drunk! But no, Peter told them, it is but nine in the morning. Instead this is what the prophet Joel had prophesied, “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, 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 slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.”
We call Pentecost the birthday of the Church. Because the Church is more than just an assembly of individuals. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s presence in us, moving through us, bringing about God’s purpose and will. Whatever mission statements we endorse or institutions we concoct it is all in service, first and foremost, to what God wants. Everything we do is a response to God’s activity. The Holy Spirit comes down as a thunderous wind, and we must act.
What interests me this morning is that this first manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church could have come about in any way. Peter could have raised the dead right then and there. The apostles could have marched around the Temple and torn it down. The moon could have turned blood red or frogs could have fallen from the sky. All sorts of portents, wonders, and miracles could have taken place. But the miracle God brings about is to make it so that everyone can understand the apostles’ preaching regardless of what language they speak.
But this is the most appropriate miracle that God could bring about on the day of Pentecost when you consider what gospel is preached on the day of Pentecost. Peter announces that the one they crucified is the one who is risen. And the one who is risen is the one who reigns. “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this:,” Peter announces, “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” What better way to announce the rule of Christ than by casting aside earthly divisions? Whether you are Mede or Cappadocian or Roman or Jewish you hear the word of the universal God.
We hear from Paul as well this morning, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” We must not let this pass us by like it is not radical. By the one Spirit we are baptized into one body. Whether we are Jews or Greeks, slaves or free. It is not a Jewish body. A Greek body. A Slavish body. A free body. But Christ’s body. We are made one, in the Spirit, in him.
Jews and greeks didn’t always get along! Greeks thought the Jews were a contentious and superstitious lot. They didn’t understand why they can’t be more tolerant and open to the worship of other gods. The Jews had a long memory, and never forgot the insult from Antiochus IV Epiphanes, how he tried to convert the Jerusalem temple to pagan worship and banish Law observance. They thought greeks were unclean, immoral, and oppressive. But Paul says they are made one in Christ.
And let’s not pretend slaves got along with their masters! Or along with those who were free! Part of how the greeks justified owning slaves was by saying slaves obviously cannot be expected to govern themselves. There are some people naturally fit for slavery, who are better off being told what to do by someone who is more virtuous than they are. And the free imagined they were the more virtuous. But Paul says regardless of all that, they are actually made one in Christ, one in the reception of the Spirit. Formed into one body.
If the Spirit of Pentecost is alive and well it will work the same miracle today. That we won’t continue to sort ourselves by politics or class or race. But recognize we have a common Lord, who pours out a common Spirit, that we may be made one. If the Spirit of Pentecost is alive today we will be able to give witness and testimony to each other about the work of God in our lives regardless of our politics. if the Spirit of Pentecost is alive today we will be able to understand each other, even if we can’t agree on everything. Because we know the Spirit has fallen on each of us, to unite us to Christ, and so we are all those for whom Christ died.
The miracle of Pentecost is not a story from a bygone age. A nice tale to tell ourselves before bedtime or in a Sunday School. But it ought to be, if the Bible is true, the continual reality of the Church. The Spirit comes to unite us in strange ways. That we might find ourselves in the company of those we did not expect. But in that way might receive grace.