THE SUNDAY SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL SERIES
LESSON 8.—MAY 26.—THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVEN.
1 “And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were 2 all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it 3 filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; 4 and it sat upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 “Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, 6 from every nation under heaven. And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speaking in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and marveled, saying, Be- 8 hold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we, every man in our own language, wherein we were 9 born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and 10 Asia, in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and sojourners from Rome, both Jews 11 and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we do hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of God.” Golden Text: “When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all the truth.” John 16:13. (1) When was the day of Pentecost? What was its purpose? Where were the disciples on this day? Verse 1; Lev. 23:15-21. Note 1. (2) What suddenly filled the house where they were sitting? Verse 2. (3) Then what appeared to them? Verse 3. Note 2. (4) What was the effect of this sudden visitation? Verse 4. Note 3. (5) Who were then dwelling at Jerusalem? Verse 5. Note 4. (6) When they heard of the wonderful occurrence, how were they affected? Why? Verse 6. (7) What did they ask about the men who had become so wonderfully endowed? Verses 7, 8. Note 5. (8) What remote parts of the world are mentioned? Verses 9-11, first part. (9) What was it that they heard spoken in so many different languages? Verse 11, last part. 1. The Pentecost was a feast of the Jews celebrated fifty days after the Passover. “Upon these occasions the Jews were required to repair to the temple and to present the first-fruits of all the harvest, thus acknowledging their dependence on the great Giver of all good, and their obligation to render back to God, in gifts and offerings to sustain His cause, that which He had entrusted to them. On this day of divine appointment, the Lord graciously poured out His Spirit on the little company of believers, who were the first-fruits of the Christian Church.”—Great Controversy, Vol. 3. 2. “The Holy Ghost, assuming the form of tongues of fire divided at the tips, and resting upon those assembled, was an emblem of the gift which was bestowed upon them of speaking with fluency several different languages, with which they had formerly been unacquainted. And the appearance of fire signified the fervid zeal with which they would labor, and the power which would attend their words.”—Ibid. 3. “Filled with the Holy Spirit.”—This being the case, the disciples could not do otherwise than speak as the Spirit gave utterance. Whatever spirit fills one will surely control his words as well as his actions. The life of Christ was a Spirit-filled life. He was led by the Spirit in all that He said and did, and it could not be expected that men could carry on the work of Christ in the earth with any less power than He had. He has commanded us to follow Him, and how can we do so successfully unless endued with the same Spirit that led Him? 4. “Every nation under heaven” was represented by Jews in Jerusalem on this festal occasion “When assembled, they were of every known tongue. This diversity of languages was a great obstacle to the labors of God’s servants in publishing the doctrine of Christ to the uttermost parts of the earth. That God should supply the deficiency of the apostles in a miraculous manner was to the people the most perfect confirmation of the testimony of these witnesses for Christ. The Holy Spirit had done for them that which they could not have accomplished for themselves in a lifetime; they could now spread the truth of the Gospel abroad, speaking with accuracy the language of those for whom they were laboring. This miraculous gift was the highest evidence they could present to the world that their commission bore the signet of heaven.”—Great Controversy, Vol. 3. 5. “Are not all these Galileans?”—It was no small feature of this marvelous occurrence, in the minds of Jews, that the men so signally endowed were of Galilee. The Judeans deemed the Galileans much inferior to them in learning and in nobility of birth; and that these should have been selected for such wonderful endowment was indeed amazing to people of Judea. But there was reason for their marveling, from a natural standpoint. The language of the Galileans was imperfect, and unlearned adults among them would hardly have been thought capable of becoming expert linguists. However, this fact tended to make the miracle all the more conspicuous. “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.” 1 Cor. 1:27. Judas, the only proud Judean among the twelve companions of Christ, had proved a failure. The Lord will dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit (Isa. 57:15), without reference to his nationality or acquired learning. (See also editorial article, “The Lesson of Pentecost,” on page 7 of this paper.)