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Before the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven, He promised His disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. He told them: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). After He ascended, the promised Spirit came. The disciples were filled with the Spirit and spoke in other (different and foreign) languages. Those who stayed in Jerusalem were amazed and wondered what all this meant. The Mystery of Godliness can sometimes be mistaken of its origin and truth.
The Apostle Peter spoke about the significance of this Pentecost event. It was the fulfilment of the prophecy of Prophet Joel. God promised that He will pour out the Spirit on all people in the last days. Peter preached Jesus to all those who were in Jerusalem, to both Jews and Gentiles who had embraced the Jewish faith. He declared at Pentecost that everyone, not just the Jews, who calls on the Name of the LORD shall be saved (Acts 2:21). Salvation is from the Jews but now salvation is no longer confined to them for Jesus Christ is for the whole world.
It would be the start of a new way for the gospel to be preached among all the nations in the world. The Spirit prompted believers to share the gospel of Jesus in many ways. There was mass preaching like Peter’s testimony before the crowd (Acts 2) when 3000 were baptised and added to the church. There was Stephen’s testimony before the religious council (Acts 7). There was a one-to-one dialogue between Philip (who was in Samaria to preach the gospel) and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8) and Paul’s presentation before royalty of his conversion (Acts 26). The Word was like leaven moving in all strata of society to effect change from the heart of each person who came into contact with believers of Jesus.
The end will come when the gospel of God’s kingdom is preached as a witness to all nations (Matt 24:14). While the Lord Jesus holds back His return, His followers must continue to preach the gospel of salvation in Jesus. This gospel of salvation was seen by angels but it is to be preached to men – everywhere. “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?” (Rom. 10:14, 15).
