Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
"Pentecost" is an important word to Christian people. It came 50 days after Christ's resurrection. The disciples met together to pray and study for 10 days before, so that by the time the Day of Pentecost arrived, they were finally in total harmony and unity, "all with one accord" (Acts 2:1).
A great blessing came on that day. The true and genuine gift of tongues was manifest so that everyone from all parts of the world who were gathered in Jerusalem heard the glad tidings in his own language so he could clearly understand it. The Holy Spirit was given in a fullness that has never since been equaled. What was it about the message of Pentecost that had such tremendous power that 3000 were truly converted in a day?
A wise writer has said, "Great truths that have lain unheeded and unseen since the Day of Pentecost are to shine from God's word in their native purity." Is there a "great truth" that shone clearly on the Day of Pentecost that even the apostle Paul did not preach? Yes, there is one: Speaking to that great crowd of thousands of people from many nations and languages, Peter boldly declared that they had crucified the Son of God: "Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). A few days later he told them, "You denied the Holy One and the Just, ... and killed the Prince of life" (3:14, 15).
Nothing in Paul's epistles is quite so strong, so directly confrontational! What happened on the Day of Pentecost? A repentance deeper than has ever been known. The murder of the Son of God is the greatest sin ever committed; repentance for that sin is the greatest a human heart can ever know.
Do you think it might be possible that Peter's sermon applies to us today? May the Lord hasten the day when His modern "apostles" will finally be in "one accord" in their understanding of the truth of the gospel!
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 1, 1998.
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