What does Acts 2:2 mean?
Jesus has told His followers to stay in Jerusalem until they are baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4–5), and their patience is rewarded. The word translated as "Spirit" is pneuma, which can also refer to breath or wind. The Pneumatos Hagiou, or "Holy Spirit" is a person—an individual with personality—and one of the three members of the Trinity. In the Old Testament, He often appeared as some form of wind. To Job, He answered from a whirlwind (Job 38:1). To Ezekiel, He was a stormy wind (Ezekiel 1:4). To Elijah, He came as a low whisper (1 Kings 19:12). Like here, He filled the room when Solomon dedicated his temple (1 Kings 8:10–11).When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about being born again, He said, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). Jesus did the work required to reconcile us to God with His sacrifice on the cross. The Holy Spirit indwells those who believe and equips them to further spread that good news. He emboldens believers in their preaching (Acts 4:31), affirms their teaching (Acts 6:10), tells them whom to talk to (Acts 8:29), identifies who should do the talking (Acts 13:2), leads them in what to say (Acts 15:28), and tells them where to go (Acts 16:6–7).
The Jews tasked with starting the church are facing a serious paradigm shift, and the help of the Holy Spirit is vital for that work. Nothing like this has happened in Jewish history before. Under the Mosaic law, the responsibilities of the Jews were to obey God and remove themselves from the evil nations around them. Now, Jewish representatives are called to go out into Gentile nations and teach them about their Jewish Savior. Only the Holy Spirit can make sense of this.
What's described here is a sound, not a sensation. The Christians hear a sound, compared to the sound of wind—they don't feel a blast of fast-moving air.
Acts 2:1–13 finds Jesus' followers waiting in a house in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit, as Jesus instructed (Acts 1:4, 12–15). The Holy Spirit comes, not only establishing His presence in each individual permanently, but equipping them as needed to spread the news that Jesus forgives sins and reconciles sinners to God. Jews from all over the Roman Empire, in Jerusalem for Pentecost, hear the message in their own languages. Some are derisive, but others are very interested in what the apostles are saying.
Acts 2 describes the beginning of the church in three episodes. First, the Holy Spirit comes upon the Jesus-followers in Jerusalem, equipping them with the ability to teach the gospel in different languages (Acts 2:1–13). Second, Peter gives a public declaration using Old Testament prophecy to show Jesus is the long-awaited Jewish Messiah (Acts 2:14–36). Third, people believe. They repent, trust Jesus will forgive their sins, and agree to be baptized as a public sign that they are now Jesus-followers (Acts 2:37–47). That quickly, the church is born.
