Now that we have crossed over into the new testament you may notice that we will move around a little and not take things as a strict timeline. This is why. The old testament covered thousands of years with multiple generations, and it was helpful to see how all the events built on each other throughout history.
However, the entire new testament only covers about 100 years...roughly one lifetime. Lot’s of different things were happening at the same time, and so we need to jump around a little bit to connect some of the dots.
There were multiple disciples of Jesus, doing multiple things at the same time. Paul was doing missionary outreach to the gentiles, while Peter was going about his ministry to the jewish nation. Philip baptized an Ethiopian eunuch and then was taken by the Holy Spirit 30 miles away to preach to another city. Before that, Stephen, the first martyr for Jesus, was stoned.
We read about these things in the book of Acts. Acts tells us the story of the very first New Testament church. This was a departure from the standard religious tradition of the Jews. That made it both an exciting time and a dangerous time to be a disciple for Jesus.
Today we will go back and talk about the birth of the body of Christ...the church. Jesus prophesied that He would build His church.
Matthew 16:13-18 “13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the
prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that Iam?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed areyou, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tellyou, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
This is a huge event in the spiritual battle that we have been discussing in this series. God’s move and satan’s counter move. But we have to learn some geography and history to understand what’s really going on here.
Verse 13 of the passage says Jesus was in Caesarea Philippi. We normally gloss over that part, because as modern readers, it doesn’t mean anything to us. But this was a major detail to the people who knew about the local geography and history of that area.
The area of Caesarea Philippi is at the base of Mt. Hermon.
Does anyone remember what else happened at Mt. Hermon a long time before that?
We learned several weeks ago at the beginning of this series, that
Mt. Hermon was where the disobedient Elohim, the Watchers, bound themselves together by an oath to disobey God and descend onto the earth to take human wives. This was their attempt to corrupt humanity. For this disobedience, God imprisoned them in Hades. Mt. Hermon was ground zero for the spiritual battle over mankind fulfilling God’s dominion mandate.
It is at this location that Jesus says, On this rock (Mt. Hermon) I will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the place where disobedient Watchers are imprisoned) will not prevail against it.
Jesus makes a direct threat against the powers of darkness and tells them this area now belongs to Him...and there is nothing they can do about it.
He will build His church right on top of their prison. Can you imagine how enraged that would have made the forces of darkness? Jesus knows He has to die in order to defeat death, but His spiritual enemies don’t know that. Jesus is pushing them to do exactly what He needs to have done...kill Him. Their ultimate defeat will come at their own hands.
Now, when Jesus said He would build His church, He didn’t use the English word church. He used the Greek word Ecclesia. It’s translated here in English as church. So we need to understand what the term ecclesia meant to those Jesus was talking to when He said it.
Here is the definition of the word Ecclesia: A political assembly of citizens of ancient Greek states, especially the periodic meeting of the Athenian citizens for conducting public business and for considering affairs proposed by the council.
An ecclesia was a group, who considered the legal affairs in their jurisdiction. It functioned just like our state legislatures do now. Jesus gave us, as the church, that same authority.
Matthew 16:19 “19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Keys both lock and unlock doors. Jesus built His church with the responsibility to carefully consider spiritual issues. Such as doctrine, church order, church discipline and other spiritual
matters. And after careful consideration, we have the authority to either restrain it or release it.
But again, only based on what the Word of God says. You can think about this authority like a jury system. When someone is found guilty or innocent based on what the law says, the court will either release them or imprison them.
They will be either “loosed or bound”, based on the law, not the personal opinion of a single juror. The court of heaven will only bind and lose spiritual things based on what the word of God says...not your personal desires.
That’s what Jesus said He was building...a body that belongs to Him that will do His will on the earth...during His physical absence.
Here is another context to consider. Jesus is specifically speaking to Peter. He gives Peter some keys. What keys? The keys of the Kingdom. I want you to remember that in a couple minutes when we talk about what happened on the day of pentecost.
After Jesus was crucified and then rose from the dead, He appears to many people, including His disciples. He gives them some instructions to follow. The next major move in the spiritual battle is about to take place in Jerusalem.
Acts 1:4-8 “4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or
seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judeaand Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
After saying this, Jesus ascends to heaven, but did you notice what He told His disciples?
Do not leave Jerusalem...In a few days, the reclaiming of the nations will begin there. And thus the kingdom begins to be built on earth. It will not be completed until Jesus returns.
Wait for the promise...The Holy Spirit. Where was the Spirit promised? Back in the Old Testament.
Ezekiel 11 promises Jews from everywhere gather and a new Spirit will be put in them and it will change their heart.
Ezekiel 36 promises to gather Israel from all nations and receive a new Spirit.
Ezekiel 37:10 dry bones brought to life by God’s Spirit being put into them...afterward they became a great army.
When will these promises be fulfilled? On the Day of Pentecost. I know we’ve all heard about the day of pentecost. It’s the day the Holy Spirit arrived and people started speaking in tongues. But what was original the meaning of the day of Pentecost to those who lived during the New Testament?
It was the Feast of Pentecost. It was one of the seven Jewish feasts. It was held fifty days after Passover. You see that’s what the word Pentecost means: 50 days...it’s a timestamp.
But it’s not actually 50 days after Passover, it’s counted as 50 days...beginning 3 days after passover. And what happened on the third day after passover? The resurrection of Jesus.
The word pentecost has nothing to do with speaking in tongues or running around a church during the music. It is only a term that means 50 days.
There were 7 Jewish feasts that were celebrated. They were both historical and prophetic. Each feast falls on the exact day of what it prophetically pointed to occurred. Any male Jew who was physically able, was required to be in Jerusalem for 3 of these feasts. Pentecost was one of the required ones.
Because it was required attendance, all those from across the world who’d made the pilgrimage were there in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
So now we know when it was celebrated, but what is the feast of Pentecost? It’s described in Leviticus 23 as the feast of first fruits.
The first fruits feast represents the first harvest, and as such it is
a prophetic picture of Jesus as the first fruits of resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:20-23 “20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallenasleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.”
Jesus is the first to be resurrected. And because He was resurrected, those of us who belong to Him, will be also.
The feast of first fruits (the feast of Pentecost) was unique from all the other feasts in that leaven was used in the 2 loaves of bread eaten during this feast. It’s the only feast that allows leaven...so what’s up with that? Remember when we talked about the parables, and that leaven represented sin?
Here is the prophetic meaning behind the feast of First Fruits. The two loaves represent Jews and Gentiles. The Leaven represents the part that Jesus played in them being acceptable as an offering to God. Jesus although righteous and sinless, became sin for us. And now we receive Him and His righteousness is applied to us.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
What happens during the feast of first fruits on the day of Pentecost, triggers the next phase of God’s plan. God’s next move was to bring back the nations into His family. And how did He intend for that to get done? Through the church.
Acts 2:1-8 “1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are
speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?
This passage has caused a lot of division and confusion in the church. Some people will use this passage outside of its context to justify behavior during a church service that is clearly out of biblical order. I’ve attended churches where the louder and rowdier you are, the more spiritual people think you are. Running isles and shouting is not a sign of spiritual maturity.
Is speaking in tongues biblical? Yes. But speaking in tongues randomly and without an interpreter, during a public service is very much contrary to what the Bible teaches.
Scripture is clear that we are not to just do whatever we want, when ever we want...because that causes confusion. God does not cause confusion, the enemy does. Now, am I saying I believe we should be a quiet, reserved church? No. Am I saying it’s wrong to show emotion? No, I am absolutely not.
There is a time for celebration and praise, and also and a time for reverent worship. As I lead us during our music at the beginning of the service, we should all sing out the songs together corporately, so as to encourage each other in the faith. That is good for us, both corporately and individually.
Any distractions that draw attention away from our focus on God, is pulling us in the wrong direction as a body. Worship is intentional not random. Intentional, not programmed.
So we can see that this event on the Day of Pentecost is not recorded to allow for chaotic worship services, it is recored for us because it is the reversal of the tower of babel event when people were disbursed over the earth according to the “sons of God.” That may sound strange, but consider this.
Genesis 11:7-9 “7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech. 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the
city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because therethe Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.”
Before this event, mankind was one nation of people. A nation of people that God wanted for Himself. But everyone was now gathered in one place working in unison to rebel against what He wanted. So He scatters them across the earth and gives them different languages. God, in effect, disinherits them from His family.
Deuteronomy 32:7-9 “7 Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you. 8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. 9 But the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.”
This has been described as God’s divorce from humanity.
But it is not meant to be permanent. He sets aside a portion of people for Himself. God loves His imagers and always preserves a remnant for Himself. And through this remnant, He will bring all the nations back. He uses His people, His church to do this.
Acts 2:4 “4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The tongues were understood by people from everywhere.
The Holy Spirit removes the language barrier from separating humanity. God wants to bring those he had disinherited, back into His family.
Watch what happens when we put all these pieces together.
Jesus says He will build His governing body on the top of the prison where the disobedient angels are kept, provoking the forces of darkness.
They kill Him, and in doing so, they seal their fate of defeat.
Jesus returns from the dead as the first fruits of the resurrection and promises to send the Holy Spirit after His ascension. Jesus was the firstfruits of the resurrection for those who had died.
The Holy Spirit arrives on the day of Pentecost, during the feast of first fruits., and is the breath of God that brings the church to life.
Now remember what Peter had been given? The keys of the kingdom. And what can keys do? They can unlock and release things. After the Spirit brings the 120 people in the upper room to life, they began speaking languages they didn’t know.
When all the people came outside to see what the wind noise was, they heard the 120 people speaking in languages from all over the world. Peter begins preaching a sermon to explain what all the commotion is about. And what is the topic of his sermon? Jesus.
He is using the keys Jesus gave him to release the kingdom into the earth. How do we know? Because heaven wanted it released, and revealed it as God’s will because 3,000 people
came to repentance that day...and then they took the good news of Jesus back to their cities all over the known world.
Then Paul visits some of those cities on his missionary journeys and establishes churches...to grow the kingdom. God’s harvest of reclaiming the nations was well underway.
Millions more are to follow. And that harvest of people will continue to grow as His church does his will on earth. Have you surrendered your will to the will of the King? Will you join the harvest?
Matthew 9:37-38 “37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
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