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Course 7 · Lesson 4.1

Pentecost and the Jerusalem church

11 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 7 outline

Module 1: The World of the New Testament

  1. Second Temple Judaism in the time of Jesus
  2. Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and other movements
  3. Rome, the Herods and the province of Judea
  4. Hopes, protest and revolt in Jewish political life

Module 2: Jesus in History

  1. Sources for Jesus: Christian, Jewish and Roman
  2. The quests for the historical Jesus and their methods
  3. Criteria of authenticity and their limits
  4. Historical results and Christian confession

Module 3: The Gospels as Books

  1. The gospels and ancient biography
  2. Traditions of authorship and the arguments about them
  3. The synoptic problem: the evidence of agreement and difference
  4. Solutions: Markan priority, Q, Matthean priority and others
  5. Four portraits of Jesus: the distinct emphasis of each gospel

Module 4: Acts and the Spread of the Church

  1. Pentecost and the Jerusalem church
  2. The mission to the Gentiles and the council at Jerusalem
  3. Paul in Acts and in his own letters
  4. Acts as history and as theology

Module 5: Pauline Theology

  1. Paul and his letters: occasion, authorship and order
  2. Gospel, faith and righteousness in Romans and Galatians
  3. Christ, the Spirit and the body of Christ
  4. Reading Paul: traditional, new perspective and other approaches

Module 6: Johannine Theology

  1. The Gospel, the three letters and Revelation: authorship questions
  2. Word, light, life and love in the Gospel of John
  3. The signs and the I am sayings
  4. The Spirit, the community and the Johannine letters

Module 7: Hope, Authority and Church Order

  1. The kingdom of God and last things in Jesus and the apostles
  2. Ways of reading New Testament eschatology
  3. What an apostle was and how apostolic authority worked
  4. Offices and order in the first churches
  5. How Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches read the evidence

Module 8: The Testaments Together

  1. Fulfilment and continuity: how the New Testament uses the Old
  2. Law and covenant across the Testaments
  3. Comparing Paul and John: a method
  4. Shared convictions and meaningful differences

All courses

Program / Course 7: New Testament Theology and History / Lesson 4.1

What you will learn

  • Tell the story of Acts 1 to 7: the ascension, Pentecost, the first community and Stephen.
  • Explain what the church in Jerusalem believed, did and taught.
  • Describe the roles of Peter, John and James in the early Jerusalem community.
  • Identify questions historians ask about the sources and the speeches in these chapters.

The big idea

The book of Acts says that the church began in Jerusalem after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, when the Holy Spirit came on the apostles at the feast of Pentecost. The first believers were Jews who worshiped in the Temple, shared their goods, devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and proclaimed that Jesus was Lord and Messiah. Opposition arose, and the killing of Stephen scattered many believers and carried the message outward. The account raises questions of history and interpretation that scholars and churches discuss.

Key terms

Pentecost
From a Greek word for fiftieth. It names the Jewish Feast of Weeks, fifty days after Passover, when Acts says the Spirit came on the apostles. Christians keep the day as the birth of the church.
Apostle
From a Greek word for one who is sent. In Acts it names especially the Twelve, who had been with Jesus and were witnesses of his resurrection.
Tongues
Speech in languages the speaker had not learned (as in Acts 2) or, in other places such as 1 Corinthians 14, ecstatic speech that needs interpretation.
Kerygma
A Greek word for proclamation. It names the basic message the apostles preached about Jesus’ death, resurrection and the call to repent.
Hellenists
In Acts 6, Greek-speaking Jewish believers, set against the Hebrews, who spoke Aramaic. Both groups were Jewish.
The Twelve
The inner circle of Jesus’ disciples. Their number recalls the twelve tribes of Israel.
Martyr
From a Greek word for witness. It came to mean one who dies for faith in Christ. Stephen is the first martyr in Acts.

Background

Acts is the second volume of Luke’s work. Its first words are addressed to Theophilus, as in the gospel, and it takes up the story where the gospel ends, with the risen Jesus and the promise of the Spirit. It is the only narrative of the early church in the New Testament, so almost everything known about the first decades comes from it, along with hints in Paul’s letters and in outside sources.

The chapters on Jerusalem give a picture of a community still tied to Israel’s life. The believers go to the Temple (Acts 2:46, 3:1), the apostles preach from the Scriptures, and the movement is understood as a fulfilment of Israel’s hope. The author of Acts, whoever he was, wrote some decades after the events, and he used sources of which he gives no details.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: From ascension to Pentecost

Acts begins with forty days of appearances by the risen Jesus and the promise that the disciples will be baptized with the Holy Spirit and be his witnesses ‘in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth’ (Acts 1:8). Jesus is taken up, and the eleven, with the women and Jesus’ mother and brothers, wait in prayer. They choose Matthias by lot to replace Judas and restore the Twelve (Acts 1:15 to 26).

At Pentecost the Spirit comes with a sound like a rushing wind and tongues like fire, and the apostles speak so that pilgrims from many lands hear them in their own languages (Acts 2:1 to 13). Some interpreters understand this as miraculous speech in foreign languages, and others emphasize the sign of the reversal of Babel. Peter explains the event from Joel 2 and from the Psalms, and proclaims that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ. About three thousand are baptized (Acts 2:41).

Step 2: The life of the first community

Acts 2:42 summarizes the believers’ life: they continued in the apostles’ teaching, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers. They shared their property so that none lacked (Acts 2:44 to 45, 4:32 to 35). Barnabas is named as one who sold a field and gave the money. Ananias and Sapphira, who lied about a gift, died (Acts 5:1 to 11), a story that shows the seriousness of the community’s life.

Historians discuss how far the sharing of goods was a formal system. Luke may be describing voluntary generosity as an ideal. Christians have drawn on the passage in different ways: monks and religious orders see in it a model of common life, the Anabaptist Hutterites hold goods in common, and other traditions read it as an example of charity and not a rule.

Step 3: Teaching, signs and opposition

Peter and John heal a lame man at the Temple gate, and Peter preaches that God has glorified Jesus whom the people killed and God raised (Acts 3). The authorities arrest them, and Peter answers that ‘there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12). The apostles are warned, beaten and released, and say they must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).

The speeches in Acts share a pattern: Scripture is cited, Jesus’ death and resurrection are announced, and hearers are called to repent. Some scholars think that Luke gives the substance of what was said, as ancient historians did, while others think the speeches are largely his own composition. Both agree that they present an early message.

Step 4: Stephen and the scattering

As the church grows, a complaint arises that the Greek-speaking widows are neglected, and seven men are chosen to serve, including Stephen and Philip (Acts 6:1 to 6). Some traditions call them the first deacons, though Acts does not use the title. Stephen, accused of speaking against the Temple and the law, gives a long speech reviewing Israel’s history and is stoned. Saul of Tarsus is present and approves (Acts 7:58, 8:1).

A persecution follows, and believers are scattered through Judea and Samaria. Philip preaches in Samaria and meets an Ethiopian official (Acts 8). The apostles stay in Jerusalem. Later, James the brother of the Lord appears as a leading figure there (Acts 12:17, 15:13, Galatians 1:19). The next lesson follows the movement to the Gentiles.

  1. What do the four practices in Acts 2:42 suggest about the early church’s priorities?
  2. How does the Jerusalem church remain tied to Jewish life and worship?
  3. What might Luke wish readers to learn from the story of Ananias and Sapphira?
  4. How should a reader treat the speeches in Acts, as exact records or as summaries?
  5. What is the significance of the pairing of Hebrews and Hellenists in Acts 6?
  6. Why might the persecution after Stephen’s death have helped the spread of the gospel?

Examples

The first sermon

Peter’s sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:14 to 41) cites the prophet Joel, two psalms and the resurrection, and ends with a call to repent and be baptized. It shows an early way of reading Scripture as pointing to Jesus.

The widows’ complaint

In Acts 6, the twelve apostles do not want to neglect prayer and preaching for the daily distribution, and the community chooses seven to oversee it. The church adapts its organization to meet a need, a pattern that reappears later.

Peter before the council

Peter, a fisherman, speaks to the same council that tried Jesus and refuses to stop teaching (Acts 4:19 to 20). The scene shows the new confidence of the apostles after the resurrection.

Different perspectives

Catholic view

The Catholic Church sees Pentecost as the birth of the church and the apostles, led by Peter, as the foundation of the church’s ministry. The sharing of goods is taken as a model for charity and for religious communities, though not as a rule for all.

Orthodox view

The Orthodox Church celebrates Pentecost as a great feast, and understands the descent of the Spirit as the fullness of the church’s life, with the Spirit’s gifts continuing in the church. The assembly around the apostles is seen as the pattern for the Eucharistic community.

Protestant view

Protestants read Acts as a pattern of preaching, baptism and fellowship. Pentecostal and charismatic Protestants understand the gifts of Acts 2 as available today, while many Reformed and Lutheran Protestants teach that the miraculous gifts were mainly for the founding period. Anabaptists find a model in the shared goods.

Scholarly view

Historians generally accept that a community of Jesus’ followers formed in Jerusalem soon after his death, with Peter and James among its leaders. They debate how far Acts’ details, including numbers, speeches and the sharing of property, reflect history or Luke’s literary and theological aims.

Why it matters

The Jerusalem chapters show the church’s starting point: Jewish, Spirit-filled, centered on the risen Jesus and organized around the apostles. They shape later ideas of church life, worship and mission, and they raise the questions of history and interpretation that the following lessons take up.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: The church began as a new religion separate from Judaism.

Correction: In Acts the first believers are Jews who worship in the Temple and keep the law. The separation developed over decades and for reasons that scholars still discuss.

Misunderstanding: Pentecost was the first time the Spirit acted.

Correction: The Old Testament speaks of the Spirit of God at work in creation and the prophets. Acts presents Pentecost as a new, widely shared outpouring, as promised by Joel.

Misunderstanding: The early church had no organization.

Correction: Acts shows the Twelve, the choice of Matthias, the seven, and the elders of Jerusalem. The forms were simple and developed over time.

Misunderstanding: Acts 2 requires every Christian to give up private property.

Correction: Acts shows believers giving voluntarily (Acts 5:4), and churches have interpreted the passage in different ways, from common life to generous charity.

Knowledge check

What happened at Pentecost according to Acts?

The Holy Spirit came on the apostles and other believers in Jerusalem during the Jewish feast of Pentecost, with signs of wind and fire, and they spoke so that pilgrims heard them in their own languages. Peter preached, and about three thousand people were baptized.

What four activities does Acts 2:42 list?

The apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayers. Christians have often seen in this verse an outline of worship and community life: instruction, shared life, the Lord’s Supper and prayer.

Who were the Hellenists, and why did a dispute arise?

They were Greek-speaking Jewish believers. Their widows were said to be overlooked in the daily distribution. The community chose seven men, with Greek names, to oversee it, which settled the complaint and let the apostles continue in prayer and preaching.

Why is Stephen important?

He is the first martyr in Acts. His speech criticized reliance on the Temple, and his death triggered a persecution that scattered believers and led to preaching in Samaria and beyond. Saul of Tarsus witnessed his death.

What questions do historians ask about the speeches in Acts?

They ask whether the speeches reproduce what was said or are Luke’s summaries in his own words, following ancient practice. Most think they preserve the substance of an early message while being shaped by Luke’s style and aims.

Think it through

  1. Which aspects of the Jerusalem community seem most attractive, and which most challenging?
  2. What do you make of the story of Ananias and Sapphira?
  3. How does the continuing Temple worship of the first believers change your view of the origin of the church?
  4. How might a church today learn from Acts without trying to copy it exactly?

Independent assignment

A portrait of the first community

In your own notebook, write 300 to 450 words. Read Acts 2:42 to 47 and 4:32 to 37. Describe the community in your own words, then list two features that you think a church today could practice and one that you think would be hard to copy, giving reasons. Do not send this to anyone.

Further study