Acts 2 Footnotes

2:1-12 The supernatural phenomena at Pentecost (rushing wind, visible tongues like flames, speaking in other tongues, and the filling of the Spirit) marked the church’s formal, public beginning.

2:4 Interpretations of “tongues” include: (1) a supernatural/divine language given specifically to communicate with the variety of people gathered from throughout the Roman Empire; (2) a variety of known human languages distinctly heard by each individual; or (3) the Greek language, common to all who had gathered.

2:14 None of the major speeches in Acts are complete; they are summaries, accurately preserving the gist of their content. Their rhetorical style is similar to how the ancients delivered speeches.

2:23 Jesus’s death was due to God’s plan and foreknowledge, but humans were also held responsible for it. The NT often affirms both divine purpose and human involvement without necessarily explaining how they work together.

2:24 Jesus’s bodily resurrection is Christianity’s fundamental event and the basis of the gospel message.

2:32 Given the centrality of Jesus’s bodily resurrection and that Jesus’s disciples/friends were “witnesses” gives crucial support to Christianity’s foundations (e.g., 3:15; 4:13,20; 5:32).

2:38 Though repentance/faith and baptism go together in Acts, baptism is an indication of belonging to Christ, not a condition for it. For example, Cornelius and his relatives believed and received the Spirit before receiving water baptism (10:44-48).

2:41 Such a large number responding to Peter is believable since Jews throughout the empire traveled to Jerusalem at Pentecost; the city’s population grew to several times its normal size.

2:44-45 For a limited time, Jerusalem Christians distributed possessions according to need. This experiment did not last long due to contribution/distribution problems (see chaps. 4–6).