July 29 –  Pentecost! Then What Did They Do? — Acts #6
Acts 2:42-47

At Pentecost, after the presence of God descended on the people and Peter preached a sermon, the people reacted and asked a question:  What should we do?  Peter tells them to “Repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit.”   3000 people responded and were baptized in the mikveh pools at the Temple entrance.  What happened with those 3000 new followers of Jesus and the 120 disciples?  Then what did they do?

Acts 2:42-47   And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

“They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching.” Now we understand the concept of devotion, but this is actually something more than that.  Let’s look at that verse in several different translations.  You can do this easily on the internet. Just type in the verse, “Acts 2:42” and the words “bible hub”. 

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.  (KJV)
And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  (NASB)

The Greek word here is ‘proskartereō’, which is the word ‘kartereo’, which means ‘to be devoted’, but it adds the prefix ‘pros’, which means ‘going toward.’  This is above-and-beyond dedication that makes other devotions look half-hearted.  Literally, they pushed themselves toward a firm devotion to the apostle’s teaching.

They were on the edge of their seats.  They were hungry to know more.  Remember that all of these people were devout Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem for the one-day religious festival of Pentecost.   They had come from all over the known world.  Most of them knew very little to nothing about Jesus except what they heard from this one sermon of Peter.  Jesus spent almost all of his ministry outside of Jerusalem.  Very few outside of Galilee had heard his teaching.  They had a life-changing experience that day.  They were told the messiah they and their ancestors had prayed for for hundreds of years had arrived.  They needed to know more before they went home.  So many of those 3000, if possible, would have remained in Jerusalem to learn more about this Messiah.

So they hung on every word the disciples said.  They didn’t want to miss a moment of teaching.  How does this compare to people today?  Do we see that hunger for the knowledge of Jesus today?  Are we on the edge of our seats in church, eagerly listening for more information about Jesus? Do we get excited about our personal daily study of the Bible?  Or do we feel like we know all we need to know?  Have we had enough Jesus?

Do you remember when you first came to Jesus?  Were you excited to know more then?  Did that excitement fade, and if so, why?   I remember hearing two deacons in a church talking about a young man who had just come to Christ and was constantly asking questions about he church and scripture.  And one man tells the other, “Oh, don’t worry, he’s a new Christian, he will get over it.”

Have you gotten over it?  I have been in church all my life.  I have heard thousands of Sunday School lessons and sermons.  But I haven’t always had this hunger to know more as I do today.  I believe that a person’s desire to pray and study the scripture is a measure of how their relationship with Jesus is going.  The closer we are to God, the more we want to spend time with him in prayer and the more we want to know His word.  So let’s all do a little self-inventory this morning.  How is our personal relationship with God right now?  Is it where you want it to be?  Do you have that hunger to know Him more and know more of HIm?  Or have you gotten over it?

Back to our scripture:   “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship… What is “the fellowship”?  ‘Fellowship’ is a very ‘churchy’ word.  It is not the word you choose to describe the crowd at a baseball game or a party.  Churches talk about having ‘fellowship’ after the service.  They have a “fellowship hall”.  Our minds go instantly to having a meal.   And a meal can be part of the fellowship, but that is not all of what it means to Luke.

The Greek word there is ‘koinōnia,’ which is only sometimes translated ‘fellowship.’  Koinōnia describes a participation with others, sharing the work with them, and sharing the fruits of their labors together.  Look at how this word is translated in other verses:

Philippians 1:3-5  I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Romans 15:26  For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.
Philippians 3:10  that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death

We see koinōnia translated as a ‘partnership’, a monetary donation to the poor, and a participation with Jesus in his suffering.  

Some look at this passage in Acts 2 and get hung up on the idea that they had everything in common and sold land if others needed help, as if they gave no thought to the idea of personal property.¹  They did share their food, prayers, and resources.  Remember that some of these were just visitors to Jerusalem for the festival from other countries who had stayed in Jerusalem longer than they had anticipated, in order to learn more about Jesus.  They needed a place to stay and resources while they were there until they returned home.   So the followers from Jerusalem made room in their homes. If someone was in need, the others gave them what they needed and sold some of their possessions or land if necessary to raise the money.   They joined together as partners in worship, in witnessing, in prayer, and in sharing meals together.  They became family.  Koinonia, fellowship.  Jesus said, “By this, people will know that you are my disciples.  If you love one another.” (John 13:35).

So ‘fellowship’ is not just eating and having a good time.  It is joining with others as partners to share the work of the gospel, with each contributing as they are able, suffering together, and enjoying the fruits of their labor together.  We need to grasp this concept within our local congregations and beyond.  One example above of koinonia was Paul collecting money for the people in Jerusalem.  There was a famine affecting them, and other groups of followers gave Paul money to deliver to them to help buy food.   And these other house churches in Asia Minor were happy to contribute to the needs of these followers in Judea, because they were all part of the same family.  This is how we should view our sister churches that exist all around us.  We are partners in the Gospel.

The small church I attend is blessed to have several large, strong congregations in our community.  Two of them are doing an incredible job of reaching out to young people and young families in this community.  I had the opportunity last week to thank both of those pastors for what their church is doing that our small congregation could never do.  We don’t have the staff or facilities to do those things, but we need to reach out and seek ways we can partner with those sister churches and use our resources to assist them in some way, because all of these churches are on the same team.  We all wear the same color jerseys.   I have seen places where churches seem to be in competition with one another, trying to outdo each other as if we are on opposing teams.  We need to encourage koinonia – partnership in the gospel.  

In Acts 2:42, Luke specifies one aspect of their fellowship as the “breaking of bread”. They came and ate together, sharing their food so that no one would go hungry.  There is something special about eating a meal with someone to create a bond.  Now, this is the part of the fellowship we understand — the meal.  However, we need to expand our horizons a bit again. You realize that these over 3000 people are not meeting together in a building.  They didn’t have a building.  They met in each other’s homes, using their house as a tool for the gospel.  You can use your home and your dinner table as a tool to connect to people.  Invite people into your home to build relationships.  Do not underestimate the importance of hospitality as a ministry.  (In a few weeks, we will walk you through the Bible and see how much God values hospitality.)  There are enough unchurched people in your community to fill up every pew in every church in your community many times.  I challenge you to invite someone to your home or out to eat a meal.  Show them what koinonia is all about.  Show them you are a disciple by your love for them, simply by sharing a meal.²

The other specific aspect of ‘fellowship’ that Luke mentions is “the prayers.”  What prayers?  They were taught to pray as Jesus taught the disciples to pray.  The prayer that we call the “Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father” prayer.   And they continued to pray the prayers they had been praying all their lives.  There were two prayers (the Shema and the Amidah) that every devout Jew (including Jesus and the disciples) would pray several times a day. 

We are told in Acts 2:46 that they were attending temple services every day.  And Luke in the next chapter tells us about an incident that happened with Peter and John as they were going to the 3:00 pm prayer service in the Temple. 

Acts 3:1  Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

Does it surprise you that they are still praying these Jewish prayers and are still attending worship in the Temple?  Wait!  Aren’t they Christians now?  Why are they worshipping in the Jewish Temple?

They are Jews.  They have not changed religions.  They have not abandoned the God they worshiped all their lives.  The only scripture they have to read is the one they have always had, the Tanakh (what we call the Old Testament).  All their life, they had kept the Torah.  Throughout their lives, they had praised God in the temple and brought sacrifices.  All their life, they had prayed for the time when their Jewish Messiah would come.  The only difference now is that they have found the Messiah they had been waiting for so long. If you asked any one of these 3120 what their religion was, they would say ‘Jewish.’  They are Jewish people who are excited to tell others that they have found the Messiah they have long-awaited.  So how does this change things for them? 

First, understand that this coming of the Messiah was not exactly as they had been told.  They had been taught that he would come as a military leader and conquer their enemies.  However, the Messiah that Peter preached about, Jesus, was quite different from what they had expected.  He did not come as a king to conquer Rome, but as the King to conquer a much more deadly enemy than Rome: the enemy of sin and death.  And he conquered death by dying and rising again.  Paul would later say it this way:

 1 Corinthians 15:57. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory [over death] through our Lord Jesus Christ.

How much of this did these first followers of Jesus understand at this point?  Remember that Jesus’ original disciples were often slow to understand what he was teaching.  But now they have the Holy Spirit to guide them in understanding.  But did they understand already at this point that Jesus’ death on the cross ended the need for animal sacrifices?  Certainly, by the time Paul is writing letters 10-20 years later, that was well understood.  However, we are unsure how much this early group understood.  

And perhaps a better question is, do we understand what the sacrifices meant in Old Testament times and what Jesus’ sacrifices mean for us?   There is considerable confusion about this, so let’s try to clarify.

When God created the world, his perfect plan did not include sacrifices.  There was no death in the good world God created.  He didn’t want sacrifices; he desired obedience.   And that is still God’s preference, as Samuel explained to Saul:

1 Samuel 15:22   And Samuel said, “Has Yehovah as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Yehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

So we need to understand what King Saul forgot:  What does God really want from us?  Obedience.

God’s plan was obedience.  But Adam and Eve would not choose obedience.  They had been warned that taking the forbidden fruit would cause death.  So when they brought sin and rebellion into the world, they brought death into the world.   Sin began its reign on the world, and with it the penalty of death.  Animal sacrifices would be instituted as part of a way to temporarily atone for the people’s sins.  Adam and Eve deserved death for their rebellion.  But look what happened in Genesis 3.  They sin and hide from God.  They make coverings out of fig leaves.  Because of their sin, the ground is cursed, their relationship with each other is cursed, and they are told they will die. “Dust to dust.”  But they do not die immediately.  A very important thing that happens is in verse 21:

Genesis 3:21   And Yehovah God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Think about this.  Where did the animal skins for garments come from?  God Himself sacrifices one or two of the animals that He so lovingly made and makes coverings for them.  Now we don’t have time to go into all the interesting symbolism of nakedness and sin and the covering of sin, but see that their sin is covered by the shedding of blood of animals, and then their nakedness is covered by the hides of the innocent animals whose blood was shed. They deserved death.  They were told that was the penalty.  Why would God postpone the penalty on Adam and Eve and instead temporarily place it on these animals?

 Because He is full of grace and mercy.  Grace is not a New Testament concept.  Grace is part of God’s character, and it is seen on every page of the Bible.  They needed forgiveness for this sin.  And God took measures he didn’t really want to take.  He didn’t really want to kill one of his own animals.  He didn’t want a sacrifice.  What did God really want?  Obedience.  Despite their disobedience, God acts in mercy to grant forgiveness so they avoid instant death.

Hebrews 9:22  Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.  

“The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)  The wages must be paid.

In the Old Testament, how do you get from Sin to Forgiveness?  So many people look at the laws of sacrifice in Leviticus and see this is the path to forgiveness.

if a sin is committed, then to be forgiven, one had to make an animal sacrifice to atone for their sin.   But that is not at all what the Old Testament says.  Look at this passage in Leviticus:

Leviticus 6:1-7   Yehovah said to Moses: “If anyone sins and is unfaithful to Yehovah by deceiving a neighbor about something entrusted to them or left in their care or about something stolen, or if they cheat their neighbor, or if they find lost property and lie about it, or if they swear falsely about any such sin that people may commit— when they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt, they must return what they have stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they found, or whatever it was they swore falsely about. They must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it, and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering. 
And as an offering they must bring to the priest, that is, to Yehovah, their guilt offering, a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value. In this way, the priest will make atonement for them before Yehovah, and they will be forgiven for any of the things they did that made them guilty.

To be forgiven, there must be first recognition of the sin, a confession and repentance, a restitution as possible, and then an offering.  Restitution is made to any people you have cheated, robbed, or hurt by your sin. Then restitution to God is through the animal sacrifice.  Again, the penalty for sin is death.  The wages of Sin has always been death.  But God is full of grace and mercy and love, so he allows us to avoid instant death (as He did Adam and Eve) by accepting a sacrifice.

Forgiveness is granted out of God’s heart of mercy and out of his grace.  The death of the blameless animal is accepted as a temporary substitute for the penalty of sin, death.  But it was an imperfect sacrifice.  It was as the author of Hebrews stated just a shadow of what was to come.  

Hebrews 10:1-4   The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. However, those sacrifices serve as a reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

For thousands of years, every day at 9 am and at 3 pm, a lamb was sacrificed on the altar of the Temple for the sins of the people.  The first sacrifice of the day was the lamb, and all other offerings were placed on top of that lamb, which burned for 6 hours.  Then, at 3 pm, another lamb was sacrificed and was left to be burned on the altar all night, ensuring that there was always a sacrifice being offered at all hours to atone for sins. Every hour of every day of the year. Year after year.  In addition, once a year, on the Day of Atonement, special sacrifices were made for the sins of the people.   But everyone knew that the blood of animals alone could not atone for sins. 

We see this clearly in Psalm 51, which we discussed a few weeks ago.  Again, this is the psalm David wrote after the prophet Nathan confronted him about his sin with Bathsheeba.  What is David’s response when confronted with his sins of adultery and murder? 

Psalm 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalm 51:16  For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;  You will not be pleased with a burnt offering

David is well aware that God doesn’t really want a sacrifice for his sin.   What God really wanted was what?  David’s obedience.  But that ship has sailed.  Now what does God want?   Not a sacrifice.  

Psalm 51:16  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.  A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

What God wants is a broken spirit and a repentant heart.  Confession and Repentance.   Sacrifices are a mere outward expression of what should be going on in a sinner’s heart.  No sacrifice was ever effective in atonement if the one offering the sacrifice was not repentant. 

But what about the path from sin to forgiveness in the New Testament?  How did the coming of Jesus change the way God forgives sin?

There is confession, repentance, restitution, and then the offering.  But not an imperfect animal sacrifice, but Jesus, the perfect, sinless only son of God.  He is our sacrificial offering.  He takes our place.  He pays the wages of our sins.  He takes our punishment of death.  However, note that this is the only change.  The path to forgiveness is unchanged.  God has not changed.  The grace by which God forgives in the Old Testament is the same grace God dispenses in the New Testament. The only difference is the sacrifice.

But, oh, what a difference Jesus makes.   A perfect sinless sacrifice.  

Hebrews 10:11-14   And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

“For all time a single sacrifice for sin,”  One and Done.  It is finished.  And thus, there is no need for any more sacrifices.  What does God really want from us?  Obedience.  But no human ever gave God total obedience except for Jesus.  So Jesus can be that perfect, blameless sacrifice and accomplish what no animal sacrifice ever could—a permanent atonement for sin.

But we can’t forget the steps of confession, repentance, and restitution.  They are still essential.  David in Psalm 51 knew that.  What God really wants is obedience, but when we sin, what God really wants is our hearts to break for our own sins.  (not the sins of others.). Confession and repentance.  Paul was concerned that, since continual sacrifices for sin were no longer required, people would forget the importance of remaining obedient and the importance of the steps to forgiveness.  But we see those steps throughout both Testaments.

1 John 1:9   If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we confess…. Confession is a necessary step in the process.

Romans 2:4   God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.

Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy that repentance is a gift from God. Restitution is best seen in the New Testament in the actions of Zacchaeus.

Luke 19:8 And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.

However, we don’t know if these early followers of Jesus understood the sufficiency of Jesus’ sacrifice or if they continued to offer sacrifices in the Temple.  Certainly, by the time of Paul’s letters, this concept was fully understood, and there was no need for animal sacrifices for those who followed Jesus.  However, it is essential for us to understand the concept of sacrifice for sins and the process of forgiveness.

While Jesus’ sacrifice is complete and sufficient for the forgiveness of all sins, we are still called to make a sacrifice.

Romans 12:1  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

We present ourselves as a sacrifice to God. This is not a sacrifice for forgiveness of sins; Jesus has taken care of that.  We sacrifice as an act of worship.  The people in the Old Testament brought a lamb, which was then killed.  It was a costly sacrifice for most people who had little.  When we present ourselves to Jesus as a living sacrifice in worship, it will cost us something.  As with all sacrifices, a death is involved.  We must die to self.

Listen to what RC Sproul said about this verse:
“God does not ask us to bring in our livestock and burn it on the altar; he asks us to give ourselves, to put ourselves alive on the altar. To be a Christian means to live a life of sacrifice, a life of presentation, making a gift of ourselves to God. Some people think that all it takes to be a Christian is to scribble a cheque or to give a few hours of service here and there on special projects for the church. But that’s not what believers are called to. My life is to be set apart and consecrated to God. That is what is acceptable to him; that is what delights him; that is what pleases him; that is the appropriate response to him and for him.” ³

What does God really want from us?  Obedience.  But all have been disobedient and fallen short of God’s plan.  And the wages of sin is death.  So God wants us to recognize our sins, confess, repent, make restitution as possible, and then thank him for the gift of his son, who paid the price for our sins.  And then what does God want from us after that?  Obedience.  The living sacrifice of obedience.

So spend some time in God’s word this week.  Study to see what God is asking you to be obedient to this week.  How will you sacrifice this week to be obedient?   Pray and discover what God is asking you to do this week.  And be obedient to it.

1.  It appears that these followers understood that if everything indeed belongs to God, then ‘personal property’ is interpreted differently.  The Bible looks at the things we ‘own’ as just being on loan to us from God, and we are just stewards of certain properties he has assigned us.
2.  These new followers were likely incorporating in their meals the celebration of the Lord’s Supper together in remembrance of what Jesus did for them.  Typically, what we call communion or the Lord’s Supper was held as part of a full meal at this time, as evidenced in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.
3.  Sproul, R.C.  The Gospel of God: An Exposition of Romans.  Christian Focus Publications, 1994.  Page 195.