THE BIRTH OF THE CHURCH ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST In the first chapter, the Evangelist Luke presented a living portrait of the preparations for the birth of the Church of the New Testament, through the speeches of the Lord Christ, risen from the dead, to His disciples, about the kingdom of God, His promise to them that they would gain power from the highest, then His ascension, for the Church to realize her new nature, through her union with the Heavenly, Flaring the hearts for the ultimate coming of the Lord Christ, And finally through the choice of the twelfth disciple in the place of the traitor Judas. Now, the author of the Book of Acts is presenting a truly amazing scene of the birth of the Church on the day of the Pentecost, when the disciples were baptized by the Holy Spirit, who became the heavenly Leader of the Church, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who grants mankind a renewal of their nature, to bear the icon of the heavenly Groom, and to enjoy new exalted relationships with the Holy Trinity. 1- A collective encounter 1 2- Dwelling of the Holy Spirit 2 – 4 3- The reaction of the foreign visitors in Jerusalem 5 – 13 4- Peter’s sermon 14 – 36 5- The appealing power of the Holy Spirit 37 – 41 6- A spiritually rejoicing Church 42 – 46 7- A fertile Church 47 1- A COLLECTIVE ENCOUNTER “Now, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord” (Acts 2: 1). The Pentecost used to be seven weeks following the first day of the Passover. It was called “the feast of the weeks” or “the feast of the firstfruits”, when the first fruits of wheat are offered. It is celebrated on the fiftieth day I.E., counting from the first day after The Passover1. It is called the “Pentecost” meaning the (fiftieth) (Exod 34: 22; Lev 23: 15-22; Deut 16: 10). And “the day of the firstfruits” (Exod 28: 16; Num 28: 26). It is a thanksgiving feast to God for the blessing of the harvest. Later on, the Jews celebrated in it the day when the law came down in Sinai, on the fiftieth day of their exodus from the land of Egypt. Therefore, they call it ‘shimchath torah’, meaning (the joy of the Torah). They consider it as well a memorial of the signs done by God to set them free of their servitude to Pharaoh. The scholar Lightfoot believes that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples on the anniversary of the coming down of the law in Sinai 1447 years before. The Jews used to honor this feast, as a unique day, that was celebrated even by nature itself, when wind blew; fire appeared, together with earthquakes, lightening, and thunder that revealed the might of God, and His awesome presence among His people. The Holy Spirit came down on a day revered by the Jews and proselytes from all nations, 1 Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty. Commentary on the Book of Leviticus. 100 who hasten to Jerusalem to accept the faith, then to return to their own land, to preach the evangelic truth. The Holy Spirit came down on the first day of the week (Sunday), to make it the new Sabbath, in which the Lord Christ resurrected from the dead, and in which the Church was born. With each weekly worship, in the sacrament of the Eucharist, we remember the new resurrected life that became ours through the resurrection of the Lord Christ, by the work of His Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit came down on the Church of the New Testament on the fiftieth day following the resurrection of the Lord Christ, this day became a proclamation of the perpetual presence of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the Church of Christ, to grant her His divine energy to testify to the Lord Christ, and for the world to enjoy the experience of the resurrected life. In the Jewish feast of the Pentecost, the people used to celebrate the coming down of the law upon Moses, when nature trembled before that divine action; Whereas, in the Christian celebration of the Pentecost, the world stands in awe, as the Holy Spirit of God Himself comes down upon the Church, when the nature of the inner man trembled, as it received the Word of God, inscribed, not on two stone tablets, but on the heart, and in the depths of the soul, to transform the stony heart into a divine heavenly kingdom. On that day, it is not nature itself that stood in awe, but the heavenly creatures stood in joy and rejoicing before that exalted divine work. As the birth of the Church was realized on the day of the Pentecost, all the days were sanctified, for the believer to enjoy Baptism, the new birth, or the union with the Church, on any day, as all days became a perpetual feast. The Church has banned the erroneous vows of planning to have the child baptized at a certain church or by a specific priest. ”When Jeremiah says, "And I will gather them together from the extremities of the land in the feast-day" (Jer 38: 8) [in the Septuagint Translation]), he signifies the day of the Passover and of Pentecost, which is properly a "feast-day." However, every day is the Lord's; every hour, every time, is apt for baptism: if there is a difference in the solemnity, distinction there is none in the grace1”. (The Scholar Tertullian) St. John Chrysostom believes that the word “all” in (Acts 2.1) refers to the 120 persons who were present on that day. He says, “Was it upon the twelve that it came? Not so; but upon the hundred and twenty. For Peter would not have quoted to no purpose the testimony of the prophet, saying, “It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on (all) flesh, Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams” (Joel 2: 28; Acts 2: 17). “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2: 4) 2”. However, some others believe that as the choice of the twelfth disciple to replace the traitor Judas came after the dwelling of the Holy Spirit, the word “all” does not mean the 120, but only the 12. The Church, represented by the 12, received the Holy Spirit, and enjoyed the first Baptism, according to the words of the Lord Christ to His disciples, 1 The Scholar Tertullian. On Baptism. 19. 2Hom. On Acts. Hom. 4. 101 “You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1: 5). What came in the book of Joel concerning the dwelling of the Holy Spirit on the servants, the maid-servants, the old and the young was truly realized through the apostles, and not directly from heaven, as it occurred with the twelve. Even with the appearance of the Lord Christ to Saul of Tarsus, and His debate with him, Saul did not get the Holy Spirit directly from heaven, but through the Church, having been instructed by the Lord Christ to go to Ananias. The only exception was the case of the dwelling of the Holy Spirit upon Cornelius and his household, during the prayer of St. Peter, which was a proclamation from God that the gates of heaven were also opened before the Gentiles to accept the faith in the Lord Christ. “All were with one accord” bearing a flaring zeal toward one goal and one wish. All were flaring internally toward the realization of the promise of the lord Christ concerning receiving power from the highest (Acts 1: 8). 2- THE DWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting” (Acts 2: 2). Although the disciples were anticipating the realization of the divine promise of the dwelling of the Holy Spirit upon them, to grant them power from the highest, it seems that they did not expect it to happen through all those circumstances. It was a surprise to them “and suddenly there came”. The significance of that way of dwelling was to let that event stick to the minds of the disciples, and to keep it from disappearing from the eyes of the Church along the generations, having been an event that touches all her being and her existence. It was not a regular wind, but a sound from heaven that filled the whole house. All those sitting there heard it, and realized that it must be from heaven: the sound of thunder that proclaims the divine presence. St. Ephraim the Syrian believes that such a heavenly sound was accompanied by a sweet fragrance, and that such sound did not cross from one room to another, but everyone realized that it came from heaven, and filled all at once. The Holy Spirit filled the place to dedicate it, sanctifying all as a Church for Christ. The sound did not only fill the room where the disciples were sitting to pray, but filled the whole house. That event echoed on the whole city, and in no time a great multitude gathered, of those who came to Jerusalem for the feast. As when the earthquake and the fire prepared the heart of Elijah to enjoy the divine presence, and to enter into a discussion with God during the “still small voice” (1 Kings 19: 12), those circumstances proclaimed the birth of the Church, through the dwelling of the Holy Spirit upon her. Likewise, with the ultimate coming of the Lord Christ on the clouds, to judge the world, His coming will be accompanied by the sound of a great trumpet that will shake the hearts of the evildoers, and will fill the hearts of the believers with joy. It is as though He, “Who brings the wind out of His treasures” (Ps 135: 7) and “Who gathered them in His fists (Prov 30: 4), is crying out with a great voice: Receive My Holy Spirit! The prophet Nahum has previously proclaimed, “The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nah 1: 3), and the Lord spoke to Job “out of the whirlwind” (Job 38: 1). This is the same Lord; He is present to dwell in the hearts of mankind. 102 Here, St. Gregory of Nyssa takes us to the book of the Songs of Solomon, in which he sees in the warm south wind, and not the cold north wind, a symbol of the gift of the Holy Spirit, who kindles the soul with the warmth of the Spirit. In the region of the Middle East, people, especially the farmers, fear the north wind because it is cold, and if it becomes strong, it would completely destroy their crops. They prefer the south wind that comes from the equator, as it is warm and help ripen the crops. In the book of songs, the bride asks the south wind to blow upon her garden (Song 4: 16), and as the wind, namely the Holy Spirit, blows, she calls her garden, the garden of her Groom (Song 5: 16). The work of the Holy Spirit is to turn our hearts to the possession of the heavenly Groom, to become His garden. The Groom considers the pains of His bride as His own pains, and the fruits of the Spirit in her, His fruits; and with joy, He accepts her invitation to enter into her garden to eat and drink, and He even invites His friends – the heavenly hosts – to share His joy with His garden that is planted with His right hand, and watered with His Holy Spirit (Song 5: 1). “… Come, O south (Wind), Blow upon my garden, that its spices may flow out” (Song 4: 16 LXX). The Queen (the Church, the bride) was right in commanding, by her authority, to push away the north wind, and to call the wind of the warm mid-day, that we call the south wind, by which a flowing current of joy would prevail: “Come, O south wind, blow upon my garden that its spices may flow out”. It is analogous to the strong wind that was heard in the upper room, where the disciples were sitting (Acts 2: 2): “Then there appeared to them tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them” (Acts 2: .3). They were like living plants that are helped by this wind to produce fragrant spicy herbs producing prophecies that flow of sweet fragrant teachings of salvation, through the mouths of the apostles, in all languages. This south wind made the teachings of those 120 disciples, who were planted in the house of the Lord, flow over all the nations of the earth (Acts 1: 15). Now, the bride says to the south wind, “Blow upon my garden”, because her Groom made her the mother of gardens -- the text includes gardens and a spring – For this, the Groom wishes for the wind to blow over His garden, filled with living trees, to carry from it its sweet fragrance. The prophet says, “Stormy wind, fulfilling His word” Ps 148: 8). The bride was adorned like a glamorous queen, and changed the rivers that flow of fragrance, to what is more beautiful, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through this portrait, we learn the difference between the Old and the New Testaments: The river of prophecy is filled with water; whereas, the rivers of the gospel are filled with fragrance. The rivers of the apostle Paul carry the sweet fragrance of Christ, and flow from the Church by the Holy Spirit. The other examples of John, Luke, Matthew, Mark, and all the other apostles, All symbolize precious plants in the garden of the bride, on which the south wind blows, to make them all the source of sweet fragrance of the gospel1. St. Gregory of Nyssa “Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them” (Acts 2: 3). 1 St. Gregory of Nyssa. Homilies on Song of Songs. 10. 103 It is not possible to realize the nature of the Holy Spirit, as it is with the Father and the Son. That is why, the Old and the New Testaments present several symbols that reveal the nature of the Holy Spirit in us, the most important of which are: 1- The dove: In the book of Songs, the heavenly Groom commends His bride, saying, “You have dove eyes” (Songs 1: 15). He admires His bride, who always looks at His Holy Spirit, who alone can unite her with Him, and make her beautiful to bear His icon. He watches her eyes, to see whom she sees, as the eyes bear the image of whom she looks at. As the work of the Holy Spirit is the enlightenment, When He dwells in the heart of the believer, He enlightens his/her inner eyes to be able to see the Groom and His glories, and to make sure of His true promises. The Lord Christ Himself asks His bride, “Be simple like doves”, as the bride should bear the simple nature of her Groom, should not accept complications, but should walk along His one way, with no division of heart. “Behold, You are fair, my love! Behold, you are fair! You have dove eyes” (Songs1: 15) Now, as her overall beauty became apparent, He commends the beauty of her eyes, saying that she has dove eyes! This bears the following meaning: When the eyes are pure, it clearly reflects the image of the object seen. According to physicists, eyes see through receiving the images reflected by the objects seen. That is why; He commends the beauty of the bride, because the image of the dove is printed on her eyes. When someone looks at something, he receives in himself the image of this thing. He, who forsakes the material things, namely, the flesh and blood, sees the spiritual life, walks in the Spirit, and with the Spirit he puts to death the works of the flesh. This man becomes wholly in the Spirit, and would never get back to the nature of the flesh. That is why, the soul that forsakes the lusts of the flesh, is described as having the image of the dove apparent in her eyes, namely, the seal of the spiritual life radiates light from inside her; the eyes become pure. The soul that acquires the image of the dove is capable of seeing the spiritual attraction of the Groom. The bride looks at her Groom, when she has the image of the dove in her eyes. Then she can see His spiritual beauty1. St.Gregory of Nyssa 2- The water: Especially the rain, the early rain refers to the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, who granted several divine gifts, in particular the grace of prophecy about the Person of the Lord Christ and His salvation work. The late rain refers to His work in the New Testament, when He dwells and settles down in the soul, He would not be seen as a guest, as it was the case in the Old Testament, But He makes out of the inner man a temple, holy for Him, where he dwells. The rain turns the wilderness into a garden that flows with divine fruits without limits. The Lord Christ connected between faith in Him, and the enjoyment of the Holy Spirit, who is like a divine spring flowing in the believer’s spiritual heart, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7: 38). "The Holy Spirit is the River, and the abundant River, which according to the Hebrews flowed from Jesus in the lands, as we have received it prophesied by the mouth of Isaiah (Isa 66: 12). This is the great River which flows always and never fails. And not only a river, but also one of copious stream and overflowing greatness, as also David 1 St. Gregory of Nyssa. Homilies on Song of Songs. 4. 104 said: “stream that make glad the city of God” (Ps 46: 4). For neither is that city, the heavenly Jerusalem, watered by the channel of any earthly river, but that Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Fount of Life, by a short draught of Whom we are satiated, seems to flow more abundantly among those celestial Thrones, Dominions and Powers, Angels and Archangels, rushing in the full course of the seven virtues of the Spirit1". St. Ambrose 3-The wind: it is the “rushing mighty wind” that shook the house when the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples. 4- The fire: The Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples in the form of tongues of fire. The words of John the Baptist were realized, about the Lamb of God that He baptizes by the Holy Spirit and fire. This is the fire that the Lord Christ “came to send on the earth” (Luke 12: 49). The Holy Spirit appeared like tongues of fire that sat upon each of them. This refers to what He presents to them of various tongues and languages, to be able to preach among the Gentiles, and for the Jews to realize that God is not God of the Hebrews alone, but of all mankind, who speaks to every nation with its own tongue. They felt the Holy Spirit, like a secret wind, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from, and where it goes” (John 3: 8). It appeared as divided tongues, as though of fire, yet not of material fire, but of fire that consumes sin, and scatters every thing that opposes God and His righteousness, that the righteousness of Christ, His holiness, His truth, and His divine justice would be realized in us. Some believe that the Holy Spirit first appeared in the form of glittering glimpses of fire coming from the highest that were soon divided into tongues and sat on the heads of the apostles. In the Syrian versions and in the old Ethiopian versions, it came as “It sat on them”, as though the Holy Spirit sat and settled down upon the heads of the apostles, being the throne of God and His divine temple, after the Spirit departed so long from man. The Spirit is no more a temporary guest, but He sat to reign, to renew, and to lead His Church, working in her along the generations, until He brings her into heaven as a bride adorned for her heavenly Groom. The settling of the Holy Spirit confirms that what they see is not imagination or fantasy. God appeared to the prophet Moses in the form of a burning bush that was not consumed with the fire (Exod 3: 2-3). And on the mountain, He appeared to Him amid thunder, lightening, fire, and smoke, a sign of His presence and might (Exod 19: 16-20). “… sat upon each of them”: upon the twelve, having found comfort in their apostolic being, to make out of them a holy temple in which to dwell (1 Cor 3: 16), in and with whom He works, as they became referred to God, dedicated to Him alone. What preoccupied the disciples was not the wind, the sound, or the fire, but the dwelling of the Spirit in them, to work by them for the sake of the kingdom of God. If God is a fire, he is fire to clinch the cold of the devil2. St Jerome “For a servant of the Lord should be diligent and careful, yea, moreover, burning like a flame, so that when, by an ardent spirit, he has destroyed all carnal sin, he may be able 1 St. Ambrose. On the Holy Spirit. 1.16.77-8. 2 St. Jerome. On Ps. Hom. 57. 105 to draw near to God who, according to the expression of the saints, is called “a consuming fire”1” . Pope Athanasius the apostolic “(Concerning the tongues of fire). “And they were of Fire, perhaps because of His purifying Power (for our Scripture knows of a purifying fire, as any one who wishes can find out), or else because of His Substance. For our God is a consuming Fire, and a Fire burning up the ungodly2”. St. Gregory of Nazianzus If that fire catches us, may it find us solid and inconsumable. May that fire consumes in us the destructive thorns of our sins3. Father Caesarius, Bishop of Arles "Do not wonder when you read that God the Father said, “I am a consuming fire”, and again: “They have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living water” (Jer. 2.13). The Lord Jesus, too, like a fire inflamed the hearts of those who heard Him, and like a fount of waters cooled them. For He Himself said in His Gospel that He came to send fire on the earth (Luke 12: 49), and to supply a draught of living waters to those who thirst (John 7: 37-38)4". "And Isaiah shows that the Holy Spirit is not only Light but also Fire, saying, “So the light of Israel will be for a fire” (Isa 10: 17). So the prophets called Him a burning Fire, because in those three points we see more intensely the majesty of the Godhead; since to sanctify is of the Godhead, to illuminate is the property of fire and light, and the Godhead is wont to be pointed out or seen in the appearance of fire: "For our God is a consuming Fire," as Moses said. For he himself saw the fire in the bush, and had heard God when the voice from the flame of fire came to him saying: "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exod 3: 6). The voice came from the fire, and the voice was in the bush, and the fire did no harm. For the bush was burning but was not consumed, because in that mystery the Lord was showing that He would come to illuminate the thorns of our body, and not to consume those who were in misery, but to alleviate their misery; who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire, that He might give grace and destroy sin5".The voice came out of the fire. The voice was in the bush that was burning but not consumed by the fire. The secret of God is proclaimed, that He comes to give light to our bodies, not to burn those who are in misery, but to take away their misery, who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire, giving grace and destroying sin (Matt 3: 11). So in the symbol of the fire, God keeps His word. “Rightly was the sacrifice consumed, for it was for sin. But that fire was a type of the Holy Spirit Who was to come down after the Lord's ascension, and forgive the sins of all, and who like fire inflames the mind and faithful heart. Wherefore Jeremiah, after 1 Pope Athanasius the Apostolic. Paschal Epistles. 3.3. 2 St. Gregory Nazianzen. On Pentecost. 3 Sermon 96.1. 4 St. Ambrose. The Duties of the Clergy. 3.18.105. 5 St. Ambrose. On the Holy Spirit. 1.14.164-5. 106 receiving the Spirit, says,”It became in my heart like a fire, burning in my bones, and I cannot hold my peace”1". St. Ambrose “That You, Lord, "a consuming fire," may burn up their lifeless cares and renew them immortally2”. When the Lord sends His live coal (red with fire), we seek unity, and what was built in us of evil will be destroyed. And when this location (the heart) is purified, the building of the temple (the Sanctuary) will be erected, in which a kind of eternal happiness will flow. Yet, I do not want you to miss what the Psalmist means when he speaks about the “coal” (Ps 120: 4). The return to God is a crossing over from death to life. Before it ignites, we have to say that it is dead. Then when it ignites with fire, we call it alive. This is a marvelous portrait of the change that happens, when someone, a man or a woman, returns to the Lord, after being dead. Sometimes we hear people saying with astonishment, ‘You should have seen him as he was before. He was a drunkard, his life was a disgrace’. Or, ‘He was the most deceitful human being’. Then they add, ‘Really, I can’t believe how he is now. He serves the Lord with zeal, he leads an innocent life, as though what happened before was nonexistent’. What is strange about that? That sinner was dead, but now he is a living coal. The spiritual who know these spiritual facts concerning someone like that used to cry on him as though on someone dead, but now, seeing him alive, they are swallowed by joy. In this instance, there is something I want you to apply on yourselves: we rejoice and praise God when we see someone becoming like a coal that caught fire. But, if we are prudent enough, we should zealously search what is inside us that has become dead. Be ready and arm yourself with the word of God. To turn to God, you are committed to fight your old ways; you should turn away from the deceitful voice inside you3. The Lord Himself says, “I came to send fire on earth” (Luke 12: 49). And the apostles say, “Warm in Spirit” (romans12: 11), as from Him comes the zeal of love, “because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom 5: 5). On the contrary to this zeal, the Lord says, “the love of many will grow cold” (Matt 24: 12). The perfect love is the perfect gift of the Holy Spirit4. St Augustine "And lest men should be ignorant of the greatness of the mighty gift coming down to them. there sounded as it were a heavenly trumpet, For suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind signifying the presence of Him who was to grant power unto men to seize with violence the kingdom of God; that both their eyes might see the fiery tongues, and their ears hear the sound. And it filled all the house where they were sitting; for the house became the vessel of the spiritual water; as the disciples sat within, the whole house was filled. Thus they were entirely baptized according to the promise, and invested soul and body with a divine garment of salvation. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat 1 St. Ambrose. The Duties of the Clergy. 3.18.102. 2 St. Augustine. Confessions. 5.3.4. 3Hom. On Ps. 5. 4 In Joan. Tr. 21.19. 107 upon each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. They partook of fire, not of burning but of saving fire; of fire which consumes the thorns of sins, but gives lustre to the soul. This is now coming upon you also, and that to strip away and consume your sins which are like thorns, and to brighten yet more that precious possession of your souls, and to give you grace; for He gave it then to the Apostles. And He sat upon them in the form of fiery tongues, that they might crown themselves with new and spiritual diadems by fiery tongues upon their heads. A fiery sword barred of old the gates of Paradise; a fiery tongue which brought salvation restored the gift1". St. Cyril of Jerusalem When the prophet Jonah fled from the face of God, he searched for a ship that goes to Tarshish (jonah1: 3). the great prophet says that the ships of Tarshish were broken by the east wind (Ps. 48.7). Such a wind blew on the disciples as they sat in the upper room, recognized as a rushing mighty wind, then appeared as divided tongues, as of fire (Acts 2: 3). Wind of various forms destroys the evil that fights against the human nature. The wind is known as the ships of Tarshish that symbolize evil2. St.Gregory of Nyssa During the Baptism of the Lord Christ, the Spirit appeared in the form of a dove, and we did not hear about any sound like a rushing mighty wind, or about divided tongues of fire, because in the Lord Christ there is no sin, to get purified by a divine fire. He is the Holy Word of God, who “will not cry out, nor raise His voice”. What was heard was the voice of God the Father gently proclaiming His pleasure with the incarnated Son. In the birth of the Church, on the other hand, there is a need for the fiery Spirit that purifies us from sin, for the sound of rushing mighty wind, to wake us up, and to anticipate the work of God; and for the fiery tongues, to call the whole world to unite together in Jesus Christ, through faith in Him. “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2: 4). “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit”: In Baptism we enjoy being filled with the Holy Spirit Who qualifies us to become members in the body of Christ, and to enjoy sonhood to the Father by a divine grace. By this filling we will have the right to fellowship with Christ, and to the enjoyment of His resurrected life. That filling enjoyed by the twelve disciples of the One Holy Spirit grants unity to the Church, that is not an artificial unity, nor realized by the mere gathering of persons or churches together, or through mere debate, but is a divine work, the secret of fellowship in the One Christ. It is a new creation, where all enjoy One Father and one Mother, enjoy the kingdom of the One God in the hearts of all, and experience the One Bible. Unity here is the work of the Holy Spirit who lets us abide in the One Christ, to sing, “For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones” (Eph 5: 30). St. Augustine believes that, on the day of the Pentecost, each one was granted to speak all the languages of the world, to be able to preach. Now, the Church, the one body, has spread to the whole world, and became able to speak with all the languages of the world3. 1 St. Cyril of Jerusalem. Catechetical Lectures. 17.15. 2 St. Gregory of Nyssa. Homilies on the Song of Songs. 13. 3 Sermons on N.T. 37.9. 108 In the bible we read, “Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned …” (Luke 4: 1). And in the book of Acts, the Holy bible says about the apostles that “they were filled with the Holy Spirit”. Beware of assuming that the apostles are on the same level of the Savior. Let us realize that Jesus, the apostles, and others are filled with the Holy Spirit, according to the capacity of the vessel. After receiving Baptism, the Savior was filled with the Holy Spirit that came upon Him from heaven in the form of a dove (Luke 3: 32), and was led by the Spirit (Luke 4: 1). Many are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God (Rom 8: 14), But He, being the Son of God in a distinct sense, it was fitting for Him to be led by the Holy Spirit1. St Origen The expression “became filled”, especially in the book of Acts, means filled the soul, spread in it, moved the whole being of man with all his feelings and energies. When the Virgin St. Mary entered the house of Zechariah, while bearing in her womb the incarnated Word of God, “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1: 41). And when John the Baptist was born, “Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied” (Luke 1: 67). And here, as the Church got the gift of the Holy Spirit, “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2: 4). When the lame was healed at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, those who knew him were filled with wonder and amazement (Acts 3: 10). And when envy prevailed over the opponents of the truth, “they were filled with indignation”, and they laid their hands on the apostles (Acts 5: 17). The same thing happened again during the ministry of St. Paul in Antioch in Pesidia, where the Jews were filled with envy, and opposed what the apostle Paul said, contradicting and blaspheming (Acts 13: 45). On the contrary, the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit (Acts13: 52). Therefore, it is fitting for us to open the door for the work of the Holy Spirit, to receive the leadership of the heart, of the mind, and of all feelings, to reign inside, and no one but God, the Holy Trinity, would have a place in us. “And began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2: 4): They were Galileans who do not know even the Greek language, yet they began to speak other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. “They speak with new tongues” (Mark 16: 17), realizing an old promise: “With stammering lips and another tongue, He will speak to this people” (Isa 28: 11). When the people assumed that they could oppose God by building a tower in Babel, to protect them against a divine wrath through a great flood as in the days of Noah, God confused their language; they were scattered to several nations; and humanity lost its unity. And now, at the establishment of the Church of Christ, God did not intend for them to use one tongue in the whole world as a sign of unity. But He granted the disciples to speak with tongues, in order that all the nations would unite together under the leadership of the One Holy Spirit, in one faith, and one Baptism, for all to become members in the one body of Christ. By the divided tongues after the great flood, the actual atheism of the people and their opposition to God was revealed. And after more than 2000 years, the divided tongues became the divine remedy to bring the pagan nations back to the knowledge of God. What does it mean to speak with other tongues, or with new tongues they did not know before? 1 The Scholar Origen. Homilies on Luke. 29.1. 109 1- It is obvious that they spoke with tongues that they did not learn, but people coming from various places, everyone heard them speak in his own language (Acts 2: 8). Those were real and deciphered human tongues, not just meaningless words. 2- Those present realized that it was God’s gift to the disciples, neither for showing off, nor without an aim. Rather, it was to confirm that the gate of faith is no more confined to a certain people, or certain tongue, but became open before all peoples, nations, and tongues. Salvation is for the whole world. 3- The tongue was not through certain training, but a gift from the Holy Spirit, so that the speaker is to realize that he is only speaking with what God has given him utterance, and not according to his human experience and past knowledge. With the tongue was given material to speak. The tongue is not to be used except to proclaim the word of God, presented by the Holy Spirit Himself. The speaker would feel that he is a tool in the hand of God, to work through him to the account of his kingdom. 4- That gift was not given to believers to show off along the generations; but it was an event to reveal the beginning of a new era. It was a spreading of the hands of the Savior to all humanity to receive the word of preaching. 5- The apostles, after the day of the Pentecost, were not much preoccupied with that gift. For Example, St. Paul, who was gifted with speaking several languages (1 Cor 14: 18), was in no need for them as it was enough for him to speak in Hebrew (or in Aramaic) or in Greek, to spread the gospel among nations. And as some misunderstood the significance of that gift, the apostle Paul revealed the exaltness of the constructive love above the confusion that prevailed among those who claimed to have the talent to speak with tongues (1 Cor 13: 1, 14.33). He even preferred the preaching of the word to speaking with tongues (1 Cor 14: 39). 6- After this gift has fulfilled its mission, for the Christian faith to touch the life of all humanity, it was not anymore the main factor of preaching, despite its existence with the spirit of order under special circumstances (1 Cor 12: 7-11). This gift did not persist after the apostolic era, although God allowed it in few instances, as a confirmation that it truly happened. Some individuals, along the generations, turned to the use of (gibberish) tongues, and to pretend to enter into a state of unconsciousness: practices by which the devil deceived many, caused offenses to believers and unbelievers, and diverted from the ways of the Lord Christ, whose voice was never heard in the streets. "“They began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” The Galilean Peter or Andrew spoke Persian or Median. John and the rest of the Apostles spoke every tongue to those of Gentile extraction; for not in our time have multitudes of strangers first begun to assemble here from all quarters, but they have done so since that time. What teacher can be found so great as to teach men all at once things which they have not learned? So many years are they in learning by grammar and other arts to speak only Greek well; nor yet do all speak this equally well; the Rhetorician perhaps succeeds in speaking well, and the Grammarian sometimes not well, and the skilful Grammarian is ignorant of the subjects of philosophy. But the Holy Spirit taught them many languages at once, languages which in all their life they never knew. This is in truth vast wisdom, this is power divine. What a contrast of their long ignorance in time past to their sudden, complete and varied and unaccustomed exercise of these languages! 110 The multitude of the hearers was confounded;-it was a second confusion, in the room of that first evil one at Babylon. For in that confusion of tongues there was division of purpose, because their thought was at enmity with God; but here minds were restored and united, because the object of interest was godly. The means of falling were the means of recovery. Wherefore they marveled, saying, “How is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we are born?” No marvel if you be ignorant; for even Nicodemus was ignorant of the coming of the Spirit, and to him it was said, “The wind blows to where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes” (John 3: 8). But if, even though I hear His voice, I know not from where he comes, how can I explain, what He is Himself in substance1?" St. Cyril of Jerusalem Speaking with tongues was a sign that suited that time, to reveal that the gospel of God had to spread through all tongues over the whole earth2. The Holy Spirit at that time was so given, visibly, as those who received Him, spoke with the tongues of all nations, meaning that the Church among the Gentiles spoke with the tongues of all3. “And in that diversity of tongues announced in a way beforehand, that the Church should be throughout all nations4”. “For now the power of truth began to be made known to all. For then even one man having received the Holy Ghost spoke by himself with the tongues of all nations. But now in the Church oneness it, as one man speaks in the tongues of all nations. For what tongue has not the Christian religion reached? To what limits does it not extend? 5”. St Augustine Eunomius used to believe – as did some Jews – that the Hebrew language had been God’s own language, with which He spoke, even before creation, and that, what the prophet Moses or the other prophets recorded have literally been God’s own speech in its Hebrew text. This was debated by St. Gregory of Nyssa as follows: "For to suppose that God used the Hebrew tongue, when there was no one to hear and understand such a language, I think is no reasonable being will consent. We read in the Acts that the Divine power divided itself into many languages for this purpose, that no one of alien tongue might lose his share of the benefit. But if God spoke in human language before the Creation, whom was He to benefit by using it? For that His speech should have some adaptation to the capacity of the hearers, with a view to their profit, no one would conceive to be unworthy of God's love to man, for Paul the follower of Christ knew how to adapt his words suitably to the habits and disposition of his hearers, making himself milk for babes and strong meat for grown men. But where no object was to be gained by such use of language, to argue that God, as it were, declaimed such words by Himself, when there was no one in need of the information they would convey-such an idea, I think, is at once both blasphemous and absurd. 1 St. Cyril of Jerusalem. Catechetical Lectures. 17.16-7. 2 St. Augustine. In Joan. Tr. 4.10. 3 St. Augustine. Sermons on Nt. 9.10. 4 St. Augustine. Sermons on N.T. 39.1. 5 St. Augustine. Sermons on N.T. 111 Neither, then, did God speak in the Hebrew language, nor did He express Himself according to any form in use among the Gentiles. But whatsoever of God's words are recorded by Moses or the Prophets, are indications of the Divine will, flashing forth, now in one way, now in another, on the pure intellect of those holy men, according to the measure of the grace of which they were partakers. Moses, then, spoke his mothertongue, and that in which he was educated. But he attributed these words to God, as I have said, repeatedly, on account of the childishness of those who were being brought to the knowledge of God, in order to give a clear representation of the Divine will, and to render his hearers more obedient, as being awed by the authority of the speaker1". St.Gregory of Nyssa “But He came down to clothe the Apostles with power. And to baptize them; This grace was not in part, but His power was in full perfection2”. “The Holy Spirit taught them many languages at once, languages which in all their life they never knew. This is in truth vast wisdom, this is power divine3”. “The means of falling were the means of recovery4”. St. Cyril of Jerusalem 3- THE REACTION OF THE FOREIGN VISITORS IN JERUSALEM “Now, there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2: 5). “Dwelling in Jerusalem”: Those devout men probably came to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of the Passover, then stayed the fifty days until the feast of the weeks, of the harvest, or of the firstfruits, sightseeing in Jerusalem, the holy city of God, and enjoying the temple. Those, when they heard a sound, like that of a rushing mighty wind, which cause the voices of those praising God to tremble, they rushed to enjoy the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the disciples, or to witness the birth of the Church of the New Testament in a marvelous way. That is why; “When they heard this, they were cut to the heart” (Acts 2: 37). It is assumed that those were probably either Jews born in various nations, who came to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast; transit travelers from one country to another, who stayed for some time in Jerusalem; or proselytes of Gentile origin, who became Jews, and came to Jerusalem for the same reason. According to Philo, a Jew from Alexandria, and Josephus the Historian, there was not one commercial city in the world, at that time, where the Jews had no role, especially in the countries of the Mediterranean. “dwelling”: The Greek expression, ‘Kateikointes’, was most probably used to indicate a temporary or permanent residence, that the rich Jews from foreign countries purchased for themselves in Jerusalem, as a sign of their attachment to the temple, having pride in their Jewish identity. “Devout” refers to individuals who led a life of integrity and prudence, serious in their worship, and seeking the salvation of their souls in the fear of God. Some may wonder how those thousands could have assembled together in one house? Most probably, those multitudes assembled in the streets of the neighborhood to 1 St. Gregory of Nyssa. Answer to Eunomius. Book II. 2 St. Cyril of Jerusalem. Catechetical Lectures. 17.14. 3 St. Cyril of Jerusalem. Catechetical Lectures. 17.16. 4 St. Cyril of Jerusalem. Catechetical Lectures. 17.17. 112 enquire about that amazing sound, until the disciples led them to a public place near the temple. “And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused because everyone heard them speak in his own language” (Acts 2: 6). It is obvious that that incident shook the hearts of the devout people who came from outside Jerusalem, more than the native Jews of Jerusalem, as everyone heard them speak with their own language. “Then they were all amazed, and marveled, saying to one another: ‘Look, are not all these who speak Galileans?” (Acts 2: 7). The day of the Pentecost has been a unique one, unprecedented for humanity, and will never be in the future. God set devout men of fifteen different tongues, who came to watch a marvelous scene, and to hear the word of God, each one with the tongue in which he was born, uttered by simple Galilean men who had no previous knowledge of those tongues, and to believe in the exalted love of God, then to return to the world, with its different languages known at that time, to testify to the living faith. All those devout Jews from various nations came with one common goal, which was their yearning to see Jerusalem, the city of God, and to enjoy the temple of Solomon, the holiest place on earth, then returned to their lands, with hearts yearning toward the higher Jerusalem and the heavenly temple, which embrace the Church of God of all the nations, peoples, and tongues. They all testified to the inner Jerusalem, and to the temple of God, set inside the soul, and to the inner glory of the King’s daughter. They returned praising God on His amazing work, having heard Galilean men uttering in Greek, Latin, Egyptian, Arabic, etc., with different accents, praising God and glorifying the greatness of His love. “… devout men from every nation under heaven”: This title was given by the Jews of Jerusalem to those coming from every nation (to their brethren, the Jews by birth, or those who converted to Judaism), to celebrate the feast in Jerusalem, after going through long wearisome and expensive travels, only taken by those who could afford it, and had the spirit of devotion, especially that they used to donate generously to the poor natives and to the ministers of the temple. “And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we are born?” (Acts 2: 8) The educated multitudes that came from various countries marveled and rejoiced, when they heard uneducated Galileans speak with all the tongues of the world, with eloquence and prudence; whereas, the native Hebrews in Jerusalem were bigoted to their language, and used to ridicule any other, counting their language as that of God and of the heavenly creatures. But now, and for the first time in the history of Jerusalem, a call to recognize, worship, and believe in God is presented in all the tongues of the world. While some believe that the disciples were talking languages that they did not learn before; others think that they were talking in their native tongue but the hearers, each heard them speaking in his/her own tongue. Anyhow, this indicates that the gate of faith became wide open before the Gentiles; and that everyone would worship God, with the tongue in which he was born. “Parthians, and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia” (Acts 2: 9). 113 Those mentioned here were Jews, or Proselytes converted to Judaism: “Parthians, Medes, and Elamites”, which were eastern land, to which Israel was previously taken into captivity (the 10 tribes). Then, some chose to stay there, when the captivity came to an end. Parthians: The people of Parthia, that included the northern territory of the modern Persia, located in the south-east of the Caspian Sea, between the River Euphrates and the Persian Gulf, on the eastern side of both. This almost conforms with the province of Khorasan nowadays, north-east of Iran. Its inhabitants were of Scythian origin. The Parthians were mentioned in the writings of Darius Hestaspes, having made a rebellion against the Persians in the year 521 AD, which was soon devastated. Later on, it was taken over by Alexander the Great, then by his Seleucid successors. The great Parthian empire began in the year 256 BC, when Arsaces the first rebelled against the Macedonian-Syrian authority, starting a new governing dynasty that was known as the Arsaciadae, and extended in the Christian eras. That empire lasted for about 400 years. The Parthians were known for their military reputation as able horsemen, who used to pretend to be withdrawing in battles, then, while withdrawing, would throw their arrows on the enemy behind with amazing accuracy. They entered in struggle with the Roman State in the East for a long time, to take over the province of Armenia. They blocked the Roman extension to the east, from the year 64 BC, until the year 226 AD, and between the year 40 BC, and 37 BC. Their language was the Persian. In the old days, the two words: ‘Parthia’ and ‘Persia’ most probably refer to one state. They invaded Asia Minor and Syria, and took over and plundered Jerusalem, and put Antigonos the last of the Achaemenids on its throne. Some Jews from Parthia came to Jerusalem on the day of the Pentecost, and then probably carried back with them the good news of the gospel. In the year 226 AD, the Persians invaded their country, under the leadership of Ardashir the Sasanid, and destroyed their kingdom. The Medes: Media has been a state, bordered by the River Araxes and Qazwin Sea on the north and the north-east, by Parthia, Hyrcania, and the Persian desert on the east, Persia and Sosiana on the south, and Assyria on the west. It covered an area of 15,000 square miles, extended about 600 miles from north to south, and about 250 miles from east to west. It was divided into 6 provinces; and in the days of the Greeks and the Romans, it was divided into two provinces: Atropaene and the greater Media, The first in the north that embraced the land between Qazwin Sea and the mountains north of the River Zagros; whereas, the greater Media was on the south, and east to Atropaene. Media, in its turn, was divided into small provinces. It has been one of the richest regions of Asia, and was called in the Holy Book Madai (Gen 10: 2). The Medes used to speak the Indo-European language. The Assyrian kings joined forces with the tribes of Media, as from the beginning of the ninth century BC, and remained on good terms with them all along 200 years. Then the Medes joined forces with the Scythians and the Babylonians, to overcome the kingdom of Assyria in the year 612 BC. During the seventh and the sixth centuries BC, they ruled an empire that extended from Persia to Asia Minor, with Akpatana as its capital, the modern Hamadan, north-west of Persia. The Medes were long connected to the Persians, under one government (2 Kings 17: 6, 18: 11; esther 1: 3, 14; 18- 19; Jer 25: 25; Daniel5: 28;6: 8; 8: 20; 9:1). The expression ‘Media and Persia’ has been so common, that the Greeks called their great Persian war, ‘the war against the Medes’. 114 The Elamites: Nowadays, the inhabitants of this region are mostly called Persians. The Medes and the Elamites have been neighbors, inhabiting the region beyond the River Euphrates. The Elamites, descendants of Elam the son of Sheth (Gen 10: 22) were an isolated nation, who shared the culture and language of the Somers, in the ancient cities. Their king Chedorlaomer joined the attack on the valley of the Jordan, and suffered defeat on the hand of Abraham, the father of the patriarchs. The Elamites were mostly under the authority of their neighbors in the west. The Assyrians sent some of the inhabitants of Samaria to Elam, and sent some of the Elamites to Palestine to replace them. Elam, later on, became part of the Persian Empire; their language was undoubtedly the Persian; and their capital was Shushan, called Susa by the Greeks. It was said that the prophet Daniel lived in Shushan in the province of Elam (Dan 8: 2), that is why the Elamites are called the Shushanites. They still claim that they still have the grave of the prophet Daniel. By the return of the Jews from captivity, the remnants of the Shushanites, who immigrated to Palestine, opposed the idea of rebuilding the temple (Ezra 4). The Greeks and the Romans used to call it Elymias; and nowadays, it is called Khuzestan, bordered by the kingdom of Persia to the east, by Assyria and Media to the north, by Babylon to the west, and by the Persian Gulf to the south. The Elamites were men of war who were masters of the quiver (the bow) (Isa 22: 6; Jer 49: 35). Elam was the center of an old empire; and around the year 200 BC, the Elamites got back their might, and some of their kings submitted certain cities in Babylon. Those dwelling in Mesopotamia: these are the Jews of Babylon, who did not wish to return from the Babylonian captivity, and settled down there. They had their own prominent theologian school. They had such profound influence on the north of the Euphrates that many of the inhabitants there converted to Judaism. It was located between the River Tigris and the River Euphrates (in the valley of Syria), bordered by Assyria to the east, Syria to the west, Armenia to the north, and Babylonia to the south. The Jews of the old days used to call it Feddan Aram; and nowadays, it is called Moverannhar, namely the city beyond the river. In this region, there are important locations that were mentioned in the Holy Book, like: ‘Ur of the Chaldeans, the birth place of Abraham (Gen 11: 27-28); ‘Haran’, where Tareh dwelt and died (Gen 11: 31- 32); ‘Carchemish’ (2 Chron 35: 20); ‘Hena’ (2 kings 19: 13); and ‘Sepharvaim’ (2 kings 17: 24). It is a spacious, flat, and fertile region. Its inhabitants used to speak the Syrian language, mixed by the Chaldean. Judea: Some believe that he means here, ‘Iouaian’, meaning the Jews dwelling in Mesopotamia; whereas, others believe that it is Judea in Israel, whose accent was different from that of the Galileans. Those dwelling in Cappadocia: some Jews settled down there and got the right of citizenship. It is the largest province in Asia Minor (Turkey), located in the east, and covers the entire region between the Mountain of Taurus (meaning the tower of light), and the Sea of Euxine. It is located south of Pontus, west of the River Euphrates, north of Syria, and Cylycia, and to the east of Galatia. It is an elevated plain crossed by a chain of mountains. It was made by Tiberius, after the death of King Archelaus, in the year 17 AD, a Roman province. Then, it was united by Vespasian, in the year 70 AD, with Armenia Minor, to become one of the largest of the border provinces. Their language is still unknown. It was probably a dialect mixed of the Greek and the Syrian, together with that of their neighbors, the Lycaonians (Acts 14: 11). Cappadocia was one of the three 115 largest, yet the most evil provinces of the region: Cappadocia, Crete, and Cylycia. Yet, after receiving the Christian faith, prominent and magnificent personalities came out of it, like St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, and St. Cyril the Great. In Asia, especially on its western shores, the Jews had one of the largest minorities. Although they had an influential school, they were corrupted, About whom the book of Revelation says addressing the Bishop of Philadelphia, “Indeed, I will make those of the Synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews, and are not, but lie – Indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you” (Rev 3: 9). Beside the Jews of Pamphylia, Galatia, and Pontus, the Jewish minorities had their influence, and converted many to Judaism. Pontus: A Green and Latin name, meaning (Sea), the old name of the Black Sea, together with the lands located all along its south shores. It was a kingdom with authority and strong influence in the old days, originally part of Cappadocia, bordered on the east by Colchis, on the west by the River Halys, on the north by the Black Sea, and on the south by Armenia Minor. Its famous king was Mithridates, who was later submitted by the Romans. Pontus was the birth place of the disciple Aquila (Acts 18: 2; 1 Pet 1: 1). Asia: Meaning Asia Minor, a section of Turkey in Asia, known nowadays as Natolia. “Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the part of Libya adjoining Cyrene, Visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes” (Acts 2: 10). Phrygia: A great section of Asia Minor (Turkey). Its frontiers changed with time. After Galatia was cut off it, its borders became: Pethinia at its north, Lycaonia and Galatia at its east, Lycia, Pesidia, and Isauria at its south, and Caria, Lydia, Mysia at its west. This region is an elevated plain in between a chain of Taurus Mountains in the south, and those of Olymp in the north and of Temos in the west. Its people used to speak an Indo-European language. Their kingdom was established at the beginning of the first millennium BC, after the collapse of the Hitites. In the ninth century BC, the Cymerians invaded Phrygia that became later on part of the kingdom of the Lydians. In the Assyrian documents, and in the Old Testament, it is called Meshech, Its people used to be warriors, and traded in bronze and slaves (Ezek 32: 26, 38: 2-3, 39: 1, 27: 13, 38, 39). Many of its rulers were called Midas, which was probably a title, like Pharaoh in Egypt. Some of its rulers were buried in magnificent graves, recently discovered, around the capital Gordiom. In the year 116 BC, it became part of the Roman Empire; and since the year 25 BC, its eastern section, known as Galatia, was cut away from it. The New Testament mentioned some of its cities, like Laodicia, Colossy, Herapolis, and Antioch Pisidia. At that time, Phrygia was no more a province, but became the name of the city of Phrygia. The apostle Paul has gone through Phrygia during his second and third trips (Acts 16: 6, 18: 23). Pamphylia: Its old name was Natolia, and is nowadays, Caramania, in between Lycia and Cylycia, close to the Mediterranean Sea. It is a region on the south-eastern shore of Asia Minor (Turkey), 80 miles long, and 30 miles wide, through which three rivers flow: Kestros, Eurymedon, and Orinidon. Its capital was Perga, that was visited by the apostle St. Paul (Acts 13: 13, 14: 24, 27: 5); and its port was Atalia. Clodius added to it Pisidia and Lycia. 116 The Jews of Egypt: The Jewish minority has been one of the strongest minorities in Egypt, and in the Diaspora as a whole. They carried out the translation of the Old Testament to the Greek language, known as the Septuagint Version that helped to spread the Christian faith among the Gentiles and the Greek-speaking Jews. According to the Tradition, it was completed in the days of Ptolomy II or of Philadelphes (285-246 BC). According to Philo, a Jew of Alexandria (20 BC-50AD), whose Philosophy and Interpretations were characterized by a Platonic impression, their number was one million. He tells that, in Alexandria, there was a Jewish suburb that occupied two of the five sectors of the city. In about the year 38 AD, the Jews there suffered a horrible persecution by the hands of the pagan citizens of Alexandria, which led Philo to immigrate to Rome in the year 39 BC, to submit a complaint to Emperor Caligula that was known as Legatio ad Caium. Another influential Jewish minority, in those days, existed in the province of Fayum. Apollos, a Jew from Alexandria, who is mentioned in the first epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, because of his eloquence, philosophy, his fiery spirit and preaching, a group of believers, from the four groups there, referred themselves to him. Libya: The Greek, in general, used to call it ‘Africa’, but here, it refers to the Northern Province around Cyrene. As to the Jews in Libya, we are proud and blessed that one of them – St. Mark – has preached Christianity in Egypt and Libya. He was born there, but his parents had to move to Jerusalem with their son, John Mark, because of persecution. It is also worthy to mention the prophet Lochius in Antioch. The Libyan Jews used to have their special Synagogue in Jerusalem. Cyrene: On the northern Mediterranean shores of Africa, It is located south of the island of Crete, and 500 miles west of Alexandria. It was also called Pentapolis, meaning, the five western cities. Simon the Cyrenian had the great blessing of carrying the cross, on the way to Calvary. The Jews of Rome: They were originally among the captives who were taken by Pompe from Jerusalem in the year 63 BC, then were later liberated. They formed a Synagogue with a congregation of a modest number, then grew to be influential even on the governmental level, before they were expelled by Claudius. Afterwards, they returned to form again an important minority that was represented in Jerusalem by the Libertians. Josephus, the Jewish Historian, says that, in his days, they had eight Jewish Synagogues in Rome. Having been persistent on applying the law, on keeping the Sabbath, and on abstaining from partaking of the pagan rites of the Romans, when they were liberated, they separated themselves, to live together across the River Tiber in Rome. “Cretans and Arabs we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2: 11). Cretans: The inhabitants of the island of Crete, a huge island in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Nowadays, it is called Candia; it is 200 miles long and 50 miles wide. It is 500 miles south-west of Constantinople, and the same distance west of Syria. The minority of Cretan Jews were the nucleus of the Church on which the apostle Paul ordained Titus as a Bishop. They constituted a large and prominent minority in Cyprus, as they rebelled against Trajan; he killed 240,000 of them, according to the Historian Dio Cassio1. the Jews of Cyprus again returned to the Christian faith, and had 1Dio Cassio. Lx III.32. 117 an important role in the spreading of the gospel. Among them was Barnabas, a Levite, citizen of Cyprus, and the uncle of the apostle St. Mark. Arabs: The inhabitants of Arabia, a famous region in Asia, bound to the west by the Red Sea, to the east by the Persian Gulf, to the north by Judea, and by the Indian Ocean to the south. They spoke the Arabic language. The king of Arabia Aretas (2 Cor 11: 32), east and west of the Jordan, joined forces with the Jews, and established an empire, with Petra as its capital. Herod Antipas, the ruler of the quarter of Galilee, married the daughter of Aretas the Arab, then divorced her to marry Herodea, his brother’s wife. Aretas made a war against Herod, and conquered him. As Herod resorted to Rome, Vitelius was sent to punish Aretas, but had to withdraw when Emperor Tiberius died in about the year 39 or 40 AD. During the reign of Caligula, in the year 36 AD, Aretas took Damascus, appointed a Deputy to govern it, before Augustus Caesar sent a garrison that was first defeated, Then Rome finally, in the year 70 AD swept the Arabs, and took over Aden. “The wonderful works of God”: The apostles were speaking, with the tongues of those present, about the wonderful works of God, like the incarnation of the Word of God, His amazing miracles, the exalted work of salvation, of crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, and the plan of God for the sake of the salvation of mankind. Jerusalem has been like a center, not of the Jewish people alone, but of the whole world, where devout Jews and Proselytes from all over the world came. The day of Pentecost was the day when the seeds of faith were sown in the soil of the whole earth within a short time. Those multitudes returned to their lands to testify to the wonderful works of God. He calls all the kingdoms of the world saying, “Sing to the Lord, O kingdoms of the earth. Oh, sing praises to the Lord” (Ps 68: 32). He says that everyone in the world, who gains the light of the knowledge of God, should praise and sing to Him1. St. Theodoret of Cyrus “They were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘Whatever could this mean” (Acts 2: 12)? Those, serious as far as their salvation is concerned, were amazed and perplexed. Finding no human interpretation of what happened, they did not doubt, but had a true wish to search beyond that incident. They began to ask one another: What is the significance of this? Are these men sent from heaven? Are they like the burning bush that was seen by the prophet Moses? “Others mocking said, ‘They are full of new wine” (Acts 2: 13). Those were most probably the Jews dwelling in Jerusalem and Judea, particularly the chief priests and the Pharisees, the opponents of the Holy Spirit of God. They mockingly watched what was happening, assuming that the apostles have consumed too much wine on the day of the feast. They did not stop to think whether drinking too much wine could possibly teach man to speak real foreign languages that he previously knew nothing about. The same people who accused the Lord Christ of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons (Matt. 12.24), were then accusing His disciples, filled by the Holy Spirit, of being drunk with wine. Dr. McClelland says that trying to cover up for their ignorance, they ridiculously adopted a theory that drinking too much wine could teach man new languages. 1 Fr. Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus. Comment on Ps. 68. Article 23. 118 “and they spoke truly though in mockery. For in truth the wine was new, even the grace of the New Testament; but this new wine was from a spiritual Vine1”. St. Cyril of Jerusalem Some scholars believe that, as the house could not accommodate such a huge number of people, who came to Jerusalem, they all headed to the vicinity of the temple, and even there, a kind of chaos prevailed, as they were unable to explain that unique phenomenon in the history of the whole world. 4- PETER’S SERMON “Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, ‘Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words” (Acts 2: 14). Some believe that all the eleven apostles spoke, everyone in his turn, beginning by St. Peter. He stood up to confirm to the multitudes that they were not drunk, and that he was capable of revealing the divine truth, through the prophesies in their hands. He did not direct his speech to a certain category of the audience, but to all those who dwell in Jerusalem, either permanently, or who came to celebrate the feast. The speech here was directed to the religious leaderships, as well as to the laymen, as the gift of salvation is for every human soul. Studying this sermon, some scholars realize that it bears the manner of St. Peter’s speeches, as well as his expressions, in conformity with his first epistle, that reveals that St. Luke honestly presented the sermon as it is. On the other hand, St. Peter’s dealing with the prophesies that he quoted could never be the thoughts of a common Galilean man, but needs the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit to comprehend the Holy Books. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples and the apostles to use the prophesies, interpret, and apply them to the Person of the Lord Christ. St. Peter’s sermon came in three sections: 1- (Acts 14-21): Interpreting the event itself, being the gift of the Holy Spirit. 2- (Acts 22-28): Testifying to Jesus of Nazareth that He is the Savior, through the powers and signs that He made. 3- (Acts 29-36): The resurrection and the ascension of the Lord Christ, and His sending the Holy Spirit are all realizations of the prophesies, and a testimony that He is the Lord Christ. It was amazing that St. Peter, the Galilean apostle, was addressing a multitude coming from 15 nations, each with its own tongue, like the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Persians, the Arabs, etc, who could never understand the vernacular Aramaic accent of the Galileans. The only explanation is that what St. Peter said was heard by each one according to his own language in which he was born. Whether St. Peter spoke in his vernacular Aramaic or in a new language is not the main issue here, but what the book of Acts confirms is that every one understood what he said, and that about 3000 believed, confessed, were baptized, and enjoyed the work of salvation, something that would not be possible unless they fully comprehended and enjoyed the words of the apostle, and unless the Holy Spirit has granted them the enlightenment, and drew them to faith. The Holy Spirit worked both in the speaker and in the listeners. 1 St. Cyril of Jerusalem. Catechetical Lectures. 17.18. 119 The expression “raised his voice” means that he spoke with the spirit of power and strong conviction, with no fear, hesitation, or doubt. He did not stand in weakness, trying to present proofs on the truth of his belief, but his words bore the power of bold testimonial, attractive to the souls by the Holy Spirit. He did not adopt the position of begging or defending, but that of the bearer of the Holy Spirit. “For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day” (Act 2: 15). Some assumed that they were drunk, probably because they were showing great joy, as though they were under a divine trance. St. Peter’s defense that it was only the third hour of the day means that it was still early, as it was rare for a Jew to eat or drink at this hour, even if he was an alcoholic, because it was an hour for prayers, which makes it a serious offense. Moreover, it was the feast of the harvest or of the firstfruits, when the Jews in Jerusalem were preoccupied with offering the firstfruits, sacrifices, and prayers until 10 o’clock in the morning. "But others mocking said, “they are drunk”, and they spoke truly though in mockery. For in truth the wine was new, even the grace of the New Testament; but this new wine was from a spiritual Vine, which had oftentimes before this borne fruit in Prophets, and had budded in the New Testament. For as in things sensible, the vine ever remains the same, but bears new fruits in its seasons, so also the self-same Spirit continuing what He is, as He had often wrought in Prophets, now manifested a new and marvelous work. For though His grace had come before to the Fathers also, yet here it came exuberantly; for formerly men only partook of the Holy Ghost, but now they were baptized completely. But Peter who had the Holy Ghost, and who knew what he possessed, says, “O Men of Israel, You whom the prophet Joel gave you the good news, yet you do not know the Scripture, “For these are not drunk, as you suppose” (Acts 2: 15). Drunken they are, not however as you suppose, but according to that which is written, “They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasure” (Ps 36: 8). They are drunken, with a sober drunkenness, deadly to sin and life-giving to the heart, a drunkenness contrary to that of the body; for this last causes forgetfulness even of what was known, but that bestows the knowledge even of what was not known. They are drunken, for they have drunk the wine of the spiritual vine, which says, “I am the vine, you are the branches” (John 15: 5). But if you are not persuaded by me, understand what I tell you from the very time of the day; for “It is only the third hour of the day” (Acts 2.15). For He who, as Mark relates, was crucified at the third hour, now at the third hour sent down His grace. For His grace is not other than the Spirit's grace, but He who was then crucified, who also gave the promise, made good that which He promised. And if you would receive a testimony also, Listen, he says: “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “It shall come to pass, …says God, that I will pour out My Spirit” (Acts 2.18), implied a rich gift; for God (does not give) the Spirit by measure, for the Father (loves) the Son, and has given all things into His hand and He has given Him the power also of bestowing the grace of the All-holy Spirit on whomsoever He will); “…I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams, and on 120 My menservants and on My maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2.17, 18). The Holy Ghost is no respecter of persons; for He seeks not dignities, but piety of soul. Let neither the rich be puffed up, nor the poor dejected, but only let each prepare himself for reception of the Heavenly gift1". St. Cyril of Jerusalem Establishing the Church is a new creation of the world, and according to the prophet Isaiah: “I create new heaven and a new earth” (Isa 65: 17), and according to the apostle St. Paul: “I rejoice to see the steadfastness of your faith in Christ” (Col 2: 5). A new earth is created, that absorbs the rain dropping on it. A new man is created, who is renewed according to the image of his Creator by the new birth from above. And there is a new light, about which Christ says, “You are the light of the world” (Matt 5: 14), “… among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil 2: 15). That is why, several stars shine in the power of faith. The huge number of stars that were given names by God is not the only wonder in creation. The Word of God says that your names are written in heaven. The Creator of the new world is heard saying to His stars: “… but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10: 20). Beside these stars created by the Lord Christ, there are ‘suns’ that shine on the world by their good deeds, of which their Maker says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt 5: 16). Then, “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt 13: 43) 2. St. Gregory of Nazianzus The scholar Tertullian3 believes that, beside the perpetual inner prayer which is not limited by certain time, there are prayers limited by certain time: the third, the sixth, and the ninth, as it came in the Holy Book. The Holy Spirit came down at the third hour of the day (chapter9). The apostle Peter saw a great sheet, descending to him, and let down to the earth, at the sixth hour of the day (Acts 10: 9). And he, together with St. John, entered the temple, at the ninth hour of the day. Man, at these hours, separates himself from his work to pray. The prophet Daniel used to pray three times a day, according to the Jewish rite (Dan 6: 10), beside praying at dawn, in the evening, before meals and having a bath, as a sign that we give the heavenly matters priority over the earthly matters. “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2: 16): What is happening is not haphazard, but was prophesied by the prophet Joel, before centuries, as an event, connected to the Messianic era. It is as though he was telling them, you have to reconsider your actions, as He, whom you crucified, is Christ, the object of prophesies by the prophets. ”As for the accusation [of drunkenness], he cleared himself of that by his own assertion; but for the grace, he fetches the prophet as witness. “I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh” (Joel 2: 28). To some the grace was imparted through dreams, to 1 St. Cyril of Jerusalem. Catechetical Lectures. 17.18-9. 2 St. Gregory of Nyssa. Homilies on the Song of Songs. 14. 3On Prayer 25. 121 others it was openly poured forth. For indeed by dreams the prophets saw, and received revelations1”. St. John Chrysostom “It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2: 17). By saying, “in the last days”, He proclaims that what happened was the beginning of the end, when humanity enters the waiting stage for the ultimate coming of Christ, and anticipates the day of the Lord with great joy. The Jews knew that term, to be concerning the era of the Messiah, whom they anticipated along the generations (Isa2: 2; Hos 3: 5). When Jacob prophesied to his sons about what would happen in the Messianic era. He called that era, “the last days” (Gen 49: 1). And when the prophet Micah spoke of the Church of the New Testament, as the Mountain of the house of the Lord, he said, “In the latter days” (Micah 4: 1) , and so did the prophet Isaiah (2: 2). The expression “In the last days” reveals the coming of the “fullness of time”, in which “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Gal 4: 4), and the “fullness of the time, when He will gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth – in Him” (Eph 1: 10); Whereas, some see it as the fullness of time, when the kingdom would be taken away from the old Israel, and the temple would be destroyed, to deliver the kingdom to the New Israel, and to set the new temple in the hearts of the believers2. The latter days dwelt when the Levite priesthood became invalid, to proclaim the priesthood of Christ, according to the order of Melchizedek (Ps 110: 4; Heb 5: 6, 6: 20). He, who is not a descendent of Abraham and nobody knows his father or mother. Likewise, in Jesus Christ, the call for work is opened through the unknown persons. Some believe that the history of salvation includes the following eras: Man in paradise The era of the patriarchs The era of the judges The era of the kings The era of the prophets (especially during and after the captivity) The latter era, or the last days: The Messianic era, until the ultimate coming of Christ, or the day of the Lord. The Lord Himself used this expression (John 6: 39-40, 44-45, 11: 24, 12: 48). And it was used as well by the apostles (Heb 1: 2; 1 Pet 1: 20; 2 Pet 3: 3; 1 John 2: 18; Jude 18). “On all flesh”, as the work of the Holy Spirit is no more confined to the Jews, but also works in the Gentiles. He works in the children of God, men and women, to the account of the kingdom of God. Rabbi Tanchum says that when Moses put his hand over Joshua, he said, [The blessed God says, ‘At the time of the old Context (Testament), each prophet prophesied alone, but in the days of the Messiah, all Israel will become prophets]. The word “prophesy” is not to be understood as telling about future events that are 1 St. John Chrysostom. Homilies on Acts. Hom. 5. 2 See Matthew Henry. Comm. on Acts. 2. 122 proclaimed to them, but that they preach the divine truth, especially the salvation by Christ, and the heavenly glories he prepares for the believers. “The visions and dreams”: God, in the old days, proclaimed His divine presence and His divine will, through two ways: through symbols, like the appearance of fire, as it happened with Moses on the Mount of Horeb, with our father Abraham (Gen 21: 17), and with the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 19: 11-12); And sometimes through the appearance of angels, as in the days of the Patriarchs, of which there are many examples in the book of Genesis. The other way is by dreams, as what happened with Joseph (Gen37: 5-9), with Jacob (Gen 28: 1, 46: 2), with Pharaoh (Gen 41: 1- 7), and with Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 4: 10-17). What does the phrase “your sons and daughters” mean? The dwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament was temporary, dwelling upon a special category, like the priests (of the tribe of Levi), the kings (of the tribe of Judah), and the prophets, through a divine call. But in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit became a divine gift presented to all believers, to grant them various graces. Even among the leaders in the Church, like the apostles, the disciples, then the bishops, the priests, and the deacons, it is not confined to a certain tribe or family, but the Lord chose His disciples from among the common people, “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty” (1 Cor 1: 27). “He had said already, that He had poured the Spirit on us; now to give the Spirit with authority, is not in the power of creature or work, but the Spirit is God's Gift For the creatures are hallowed by the Holy Spirit; but the Son, in that He is not hallowed by the Spirit, but on the contrary Himself the Giver of it to all is therefore no creature, but true Son of the Father1”. Pope Athanasius the apostolic The Spirit works in their souls (the prophets) to prophesy and to talk, when there is a need to tell the world about great events. The prophets did not talk all the time, but only according to the will of the Spirit in them; yet, the divine power was always with them. If the Holy Spirit has been so poured in that time, which was just a shadow of the time of grace, how would He be poured in the New Testament, that of the cross and the coming of Christ, in which the pouring out and the filling up of the Spirit occurred2? St. Makarius the Great “And on My menservants and My maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit, and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2: 18). What came here was realized in the time of the apostles through the work of the Lord Christ, starting by the spiritual gifts, that are no more confined to the two tribes of Levi (the priesthood as an inheritance), and Judah (the kings), But the call for ministry became open before every faithful soul that yearns to the work of preaching. Moreover, the call to testify to Christ became open to every living member in the Church, whatever his race, country, age, or capabilities are. 1 Pope Athanasius the Apostolic. Adv. Arian. 2.15.18. 2 St. Makarius the Great. Sermon 2.3-4. 123 “But yet Almighty God, in His most gracious providence, by "pouring out of His Spirit in these last days, upon all flesh, upon His servants and on His handmaidens," has checked these impostures of unbelief and perverseness, reanimated men's faltering faith in the resurrection of the flesh, and cleared from all obscurity and equivocation the ancient Scriptures (of both God's Testaments by the clear light of their (sacred) words and meanings1”. The scholar Tertullian “I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and notable day of the Lord” (Acts 2: 19-20). The ministry of the New Testament was accompanied by wonders and signs in the heaven and on the earth, like what happened on the day the Lord Christ was crucified, when the sun was darkened; the earth quaked; the rocks were split; the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and went into the holy city and appeared to many. On the day of His resurrection, as well, the earth quaked; and on that of His ascension, heaven proclaimed His glory, as a cloud appeared and received Him out of His disciples’ sight (Acts 1: 9). On the last day, signs in heaven and on earth will also proclaim the ultimate coming of the Lord Christ (Matt 24: 29). Some believe that the blood, the fire, the smoke, and the darkness, all proclaim what were to come over them, of both civil and religious devastation, when Titus burned the temple in the year 70 AD, after which the people were dispersed all over the world; and an intellectual darkness dwelt, because of their rejection of salvation. “It is said, indeed, that many such phenomena actually did occur in the sky, as Josephus attests. At the same time the Apostle strikes fear into them, by reminding them of the darkness which had lately occurred, and leading them to expect things to come2. What means, the moon turned into blood? It denotes the excess of the slaughter. The language is fraught with helpless dismay”3. St. John Chrysostom “And it shall come to pass, that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2: 21). What happened is a realization of the prophecy of the prophet Joel, that is the first of the scenes of the kingdom, and the opening of the curtain on the works of Christ, in the dwelling of His Holy Spirit from heaven, not as a temporary dwelling, as has been the case with the prophets of the Old Testament, but a permanent one, and a filling up of the believers’ hearts, for establishing the kingdom of Christ, to make out of all, kings, prophets, and priests of the Most High. “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit” (1 John 4: 13). Away from the Spirit, we are strangers to God and far from Him; whereas, by the fellowship of the Spirit, we became close to the Deity. 1 The Scholar Tertullian. On the Resurrection of the Flesh. 63. 2 St. Chrysostom. Homilies on Acts. Hom. 5. 3 3 Homilies on Acts, hom. 5. 124 Consequently, we are in the Father, not out of our own doing, but it is the work of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us1. St. Athanasius the Apostolic “Thus far, however, he makes the discourse light, by introducing that which relates to faith, and that terrible which relates to the punishment. For in the invocation is the salvation2”. St. John Chrysostom “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, A Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, And signs, which God did through Him in your midst, As you yourselves also know …” (Acts 2: 22) In our commentary on the gospel according to St. John, we saw how many have been offended because of the Person of the Lord Christ, being a Nazareth. Nathaniel protested against Philip, when he invited him to encounter with the One on whom Moses has written, and said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth” (John 1: 46)? And mockingly, the reason for crucifying Him was put on the cross: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”. It was called ‘Nazareth’, because it was a small town of little value, like a small off-shoot coming out close to the root of a tree, in an inconvenient place, that would be probably cut off by the caretaker, called ‘Netzer’ in Hebrew, and hence the name ‘Nazareth’ was driven from it. It is obvious that the miracles and signs, which the Lord Christ did, were to confirm that the era of the Messiah, for which the fathers and the prophets have for so long yearned and anticipated, has already come, “The kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt 12: 28). “… which God did through Him”: to confirm the sayings: “… for I proceeded forth and came from God” (John 8: 42), “My father has been working until now, and I have been working” (John 5: 17), and “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me, But if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I am in Him” (John 10: 37- 38). St. John Chrysostom3 speaks about the wisdom of St. Peter: 1- He began by saying: “Men of Israel”, not to flatter them, but to draw them to listen to him. 2- He did not proclaim a verdict in the matter of Jesus, but said, “Hear these words”, to let them reach their own verdict, and recognize Him with prudence. 3- He did not start by proclaiming Him as being the only-begotten Son of God, and His Word, but said, “A Man”, in a modest way. 4- Referring to His miracles, he said, “that God did through Him”. Thus, he descended to the level of their thoughts, to lift their minds up to the Truth. As it would have not been possible for them to receive it in one installment, He sets forth with them from down upwards. 1 St. Athanasius the Apostolic. Contra Arians. 2.42, 3.24. 2 St. Chrysostom. Homilies on Acts. Hom. 5. 3 St. Chrysostom. Homilies on Acts. Hom. 6. 125 In his response to Valentinus, the scholar Tertullian1 used this expression, to confirm that the Lord Christ took a true body, and became Man, that His body was not spiritual or a shadow. “Him being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death” (Acts 2: 23). The Jews used to call the kingdom of Rome ‘the kingdom of evil’. Hence, the word ‘lawless’ here refers to the Romans, meaning ‘those without law’. In the gospel according to St. Mark, it came, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners” (Mark 14: 41). Here, St. Peter clarifies that the death of the Lord Christ was not haphazard, Even though it occurred “by lawless hands”, yet they cannot claim their innocence of what they themselves did, except by believing in Him. What happened has been through an eternal divine plan that He had previously proclaimed by the prophets, who have got divine knowledge. “Whom God raised up, having loosed the pains (pangs) of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it” (Acts 2: 24). God the Father, for His love, has delivered His only-begotten Son for the salvation of the world (John 3: 16), and raised Him up to justify all. Indeed, in obedience to the will of the Father, which is One with His own will, He delivered Himself, and in like obedience, He raised Himself from the dead, loosing “ the pangs of death” (Ps. 18: 4-5). As to saying “the pangs of death”, he likens death to a woman in labor. Death tried in vain to hold on the Lord Christ in him. Death labored with pain; and the Lord Christ split the womb and abyss of death, and raised Himself. The Psalmist also called them “snares of death”. Death assumed that he could cast its snares of authority on the Lord; But the Lord loosed those snares, as did ‘Samson’, when he broke the bowstrings as a strand of yarn breaks when it touches fire (Judg 16: 9-12). In the Version of Bezae, as well as the Syrian, the Coptic, and the Vulgate, the word ‘death’ came as ‘Hades’, the place where souls are held after death. He indeed died, and His soul entered into ‘Hades’, not to be held there eternally, but in order to break its bolts, and to bear the spoils to paradise. He brought the good news to the departed, not by human uttered words, but by the power of His authority, loosing their chains, and carrying them to the place of comfort. “For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken” (Acts 2: 25). The state of joy expressed by the Psalmist is not his own, but concerns the Messiah, as death could not separate the only-begotten Son from the Father. The Son is on the right hand of the Father; and the Father is on the right hand of the Son, as they both do not submit to place limits. The right hand here refers to power. Christ is not preoccupied by death, as it is under His feet, but He is rather preoccupied by the fact that, by His resurrection, He opened the gate of hope to His believers to enjoy it. “Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad, moreover my flesh will rest in hope” (Acts 2: 26). The apostle here quoted from the Septuagint Version, “My tongue was glad”, In the Hebrew Version; it came as “my glory” instead of “my tongue”. 1On the Flesh of Christ. Chap15. 126 “Because You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will you allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (Acts 2: 27). What a magnificent portrait of the truth of ‘putting death to death’! The body was placed in a tomb for a certain time, to put the dead at ease in having Him among them temporarily. Then His soul set forth to Hades to break its bolts, to set forth with the souls of those departed on the hope of the enjoyment of paradise. The Lord Christ did not fall under the verdict: “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3: 19). For, as He is without sin, He will not see corruption. It was not possible for humanity that became the ‘Word’, to submit to what befell the falling nature of Adam. Indeed, His soul could separate from His body, but just temporarily, with no corruption to either the soul or the body. By His resurrection, He destroyed the abyss, and “said to the prisoners: ‘Go forth’, and to those who are in darkness: ‘Show yourselves’” (Isa 49: 9), and ascended to His Father up in heaven, where no human can enter. He took on Himself our sins, and became atonement for us1. Saint Cyril the Great “You have made known to me the ways of life, You will make me full of joy in Your presence” (Acts 2: 28). It was not possible for the Psalmist to say, “You have made known to me the resurrection from the dead”, as no one could ever realize that, But, in the resurrection of the Lord, he saw “the ways of life”, where death is destroyed; and the believers are lifted up to eternal life. “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the Patriarch David that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day” (Acts 2: 29). The Jews assumed that what the prophet David said concerned him personally. It came in the Midris2 that no warm or insect had authority over David. That is why the apostle Peter intended to clarify to them that David was buried, was not raised up; and his grave was still there testifying to this. What is said concerns the Lord Christ. Rabbi Jose said that David died on the fiftieth day; and all Israel mourned him, then offered sacrifices the next day3]. David, called ‘a Patriarch’ by St. Peter, and his grave is in the southern part of Jerusalem close to Selwam, talked about the resurrection of the Lord Christ, who came from his seed (according to the flesh), saying that His soul was not left in Hades, and his body did not see corruption. St. John Chrysostom says that beginning to refer to the greatness of the Lord Christ; he talks to them as though he is starting his speech anew, saying, “Men and brethren”. St. Peter, being aware that the Jews did not believe that what David says does not concern him personally, but is a prophecy about Christ, the Son of David, he confirm to them that what David said was realized in Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified. “Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption” (Acts 2: 30-31). 1 St. Cyril the Great. Lettens. 41.13. 2Midris Tillin. 3 Chagig, Fol.78. 127 “His flesh saw no corruption; ours, after corruption, shall in the end of the world be clothed by Him with incorruption: He had no need of us, in order to work out our salvation; we, without Him, can do nothing: He gave Himself as the vine, to us the branches; we, apart from Him, can have no life1”. St Augustine In a letter by St. Jerome to Pammachius, he confirms the resurrection of the Lord, and His enjoyment of the fellowship of the glory with the human soul. That is why we have a holy and revered view of the flesh. As an example, the fasting of the flesh, as far as we are concerned, does not mean that we consider it as a corrupt thing, but it is a way to enjoy a fellowship with God, not just on the level of the soul, but of man as a whole. “What we aim at in fasting, they have through fellowship with God. They feed on heavenly bread, and are satisfied with every word of God, having Him as their food who is also their Lord. Listen to the Savior saying: “My flesh will rest in hope” (Ps 16: 9). And elsewhere, “His flesh did not see corruption” (Acts 2: 31), and again, “The glory of God shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isa 40: 5) 2". St. Jerome “This Jesus, God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2: 32). After presenting the testimony of the prophets, concentrating on the book of Psalms, concerning the coming of the Messiah from the seed of David, His death, and His resurrection, he ended it by the testimony of the disciples themselves; and in another location, the apostle referred them to the Holy Spirit, as a witness to the Lord Christ (Acts 5: 32). All those present: the disciples, the apostles, and others have seen Him after His resurrection from the dead; and they all were ready to testify to this, even in the face of persecution and death. “Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this, which you now see and hear” (Acts 2: 33). The apostle Peter confirms that Jesus was not only raised from the dead, but was also glorified on the right hand of God; and through that glory, He sent the Holy Spirit, that was prophesied by the prophet Joel, and promised by the Lord Christ Himself (John 14: 16, 16: 17). The apostle Peter quotes the psalm: “The right hand of God lifted me up, the right hand of God made strength” (Ps 119). The right hand does not refer to a place, but to a status. It refers to the equality in glory and dignity to “the saving strength of His right hand” (Ps 20: 6). “Your right hand, O Lord, destroys the enemy” (Ezek 15: 6). He refers to the promise of the Lord Christ to send the Holy Spirit, who consummates the work of Christ in our hearts, as the apostle Paul says, “… that he would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ dwells in your hearts” (Eph 3: 6). The Father poured out the Holy Spirit from heaven, to testify publicly, and to be seen by those who crucified Him. He poured Him on the disciples who closed the doors on themselves in fear and terror, lest they face what their Lord did. He poured Him out to turn their terror into courage to testify to the Truth, to turn their grief into joy, and their 1 St. Augustine. In Joan. Tr 84.2. 2 St. Jerome. To Pammachius against John of Jerusalem. 29. 128 weakness into strength, to testify by the Holy Spirit, and to deliver the message from one generation to another. “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand” (Acts 2: 34), What David uttered did not concern him personally, or was realized to him, but to the ‘Son of David’. St. John Chrysostom says that St. Peter was not any more talking modestly about Jesus, but he was revealing His Person, that He, and not David, is the One who ascended to Heaven, which is not strange, as He is the Lord of David, who said, “The Lord said to My Lord …”1. Having Himself, ascended to heaven, He brought man as a gift to God2. Saint Hippolytus “Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” (Acts 2: 35). The apostle paraded the works of the Lord Christ, the blessings He offered, and the testimonies of the prophets to Him; and now, having not accepted Him through love, they had to submit to Him through fear, lest they fall as enemies under His feet. “For men are not so much attracted by benefits as they are chastened by fear3”. St. John Chrysostom “Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2: 36). St. John Chrysostom says that St. Peter spoke with the language of confirmation to all the house of Israel that they were committed to accept Him, whom they crucified, as Lord and Christ. As what preoccupied the minds of the Jews was to enjoy the coming of the Messiah, the apostle confirmed to them that He had already come, and the signs of the truth of His coming are the following: His resurrection from the dead, as testified by many. His ascension to heaven. His sitting on the right hand of the Father in the highest. His sending the Holy Spirit, as a realization of the prophecies, and which is the first fruit of His glory after the ascension. The fall of the devil under His feet, he who, by the cross, has lost his authority. The apostle explained to them gradually, through the testimony of the psalms, until he reached with them to the prophecy of the prophet David about the ascension of the Lord Christ, and His sitting on the right hand of the Father, and that He is the Lord of David. The apostle Paul says, “Therefore God has also highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2: 9-11). Those, who intended to take Him down to the abyss through the 1Homilies on Acts. Hom. 6. 2 St. Hippolytus. 3 St. John Chrysostom. Homilies on Acts. Hom. 6. 129 cross, had fallen down into it themselves. He carried His believers with Him to heaven, and His enemies came to be under His feet and those of His believers. His Lordship has been proclaimed: everyone bowed to Him; and the devil and all his hosts were crushed under His feet. With simplicity, yet with theological depth, St. Peter set forth with them through the prophecies, to recognize the secret of salvation, the realization of the work of the cross, to get in touch with the resurrection of the Lord Christ, His ascension to heaven, and His sitting on the right hand of the Father, to lead them to realize the end proclaimed by God, that the One whom they crucified is the Lord Christ, the Savior. It is, as though he was ending his speech about the Lord Christ, by asking those who crucified Him to cast off from themselves the ancient man, and to attach themselves to the Crucified, the Grantor of victory, and the Source of joy and heavenly peace. “while on our part it is said that it is not pious to refer the word "made" to the Divine Nature of the Only-begotten, but that it is to be referred to that "form of a servant which came into being by the Incarnation in the due time of His appearing in the flesh1”. St.Gregory of Nyssa Both Arius and Eunomius used this phrase, to claim the essence of the Son, as being created by the Father, and that He has made Him a Lord and Christ. St. Athanasius the apostolic contradicted Arius; and St. Basil contradicted Eunomius; and both were included in the work of St. Gregory of Nyssa Against Eunomius, the fifth book. "At all events the great Basil writes expressly as follows: Nor, moreover, is it the intention of the Apostle to present to us that existence of the Only-begotten which was before the ages (which is now the subject of our argument), for he clearly speaks, not of the very essence of God the Word, Who was in the beginning with God, but of Him Who emptied Himself to take the form of a servant, and became conformable to the body of our humiliation (Phil 3: 21), and was crucified through weakness.' And again, `This is known to any one who even in a small degree applies his mind to the meaning of the Apostle's words, that he is not setting forth to us the mode of the Divine existence, but is introducing the terms which belong to the Incarnation; for he says, Him God made Lord and Christ, this Jesus Whom ye crucified, evidently laying stress by the demonstrative word on that in Him which was human and was seen by all2". St. Gregory of Nyssa 5- THE APPEALING POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT “Now when they heard this, they were cut (Pierced) to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do” (Acts 2: 37)? Those present did not enter in debate or discussion with him, because the Holy Spirit, who gave the word to St. Peter, has likewise worked in the hearts of the listeners, who feared falling under judgment for opposing the divine truth. The Holy Spirit (pierced) the hearts of the listeners, to enquire what they should do. The Greek word that was translated ‘cut’ is itself the one translated ‘pierced’, when one of the soldiers pierced the side of the Lord Christ with a spear (John 19: 34). If the evil ones have pierced Him 1 St. Gregory of Nyssa. Against Eunomius. 5.2. 2 St. Gregory of Nyssa. Against Eunomius. 5.2. 130 with a spear, to cut His heart with a deadly wound, The Lord Christ is now casting the spear of His Holy Spirit, to pierce their hearts, and to rebuke them, in order to bear the healing wounds of love, through the true repentance. If the Holy Spirit has uttered by the mouth of the apostle Peter, He has also pierced the hearts of some of the listeners to respond to the word. The Holy Spirit, by the first sermon said in the Church of the New Testament, caught in His net about 3000 souls in one batch. "Do you see what a great thing gentleness is? More than any vehemence, it pricks our hearts, inflicts a keener wound. For as in the case of bodies which have become callous the man that strikes upon them does not affect the sense so powerfully, but if he first mollify them and make them tender, then he pierces them effectually; so in this instance also, it is necessary first to mollify. But that which softens, is not wrath, not vehement accusation, not personal abuse; it is gentleness. The former indeed rather aggravate the callousness, this last alone removes it. If then you are desirous to reprove any delinquent, approach him with all possible mildness. For see here; he gently reminds them of the outrages they have committed, adding no comment; he declares the gift of God, he goes on to speak of the grace which bore testimony to the event, and so draws out his discourse to a still greater length. So they stood in awe of the gentleness of Peter, in that he, speaking to men who had crucified his Master, and breathed murder against himself and his companions, discoursed to them in the character of an affectionate father and teacher. Not merely were they persuaded; they even condemned themselves, they came to a sense of their past behavior. For he gave no room for their anger to be roused, and darken their judgment, but by means of humility he dispersed, as it were, the mist and darkness of their indignation, and then pointed out to them the daring outrage they had committed. For so it is; when we say of ourselves that we are injured, the opposite party endeavor to prove that they have not done the injury; but when we say, we have not been injured, but have rather done the wrong, the others take the contrary line. If, therefore, you wish to place your enemy in the wrong, beware of accusing him; nay plead for him, he will be sure to find him guilty. There is a natural spirit of opposition in man1". St. John Chrysostom Let them learn that the ‘Logos’ is the Son of God, as it was said before, and that He is not created, They should refrain of referring such words to Him, but should rather search why those things were written. Then, the fact of incarnation that He made for our sake will undoubtedly answer their enquiries. When Peter said, “He made Him a Lord and Christ”, he added at once, “whom you crucified”, which made the matter clear to all. The word ‘made’ does not apply to the essence of the Word but to His humanity, because it was the body that was crucified. “He made Him Lord”, and not only that, but “He made Him your Lord”, and “in your midst”. This is what He means by saying “attested” in (Acts 2: 22). He proved that He is not an ordinary man, but He is God in flesh, the Lord, and the Christ. The Father made Him Lord and king in our midst, and for us, who were rebels before. It is 1 St. John Chrysostom. Homilies on Acts. Hom. 7. 131 obvious that He, who appears now as Lord and king, has not started as such, but has started to show His Lordship, extended even to those who rebel against Him1. “but that very Word who was by nature Lord, and was then made man, has by means of a servant's form been made Lord of all and Christ, that is, in order to hallow all by the Spirit2”. St. Athanasius the Apostolic “They had slain, not Him so much, as themselves. They were saved by Him who was slain for them. For, as the Apostles spoke, they were pricked; they were pricked in conscience, who had pricked Him with the spear; and being pricked they sought for counsel, received it when it was given, repented, found grace, and believing drunk that Blood which in their fury they had shed3”. St. Augustine “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2: 38). “The Jewish people repenting of their misdoing are sent forthwith by Peter to be baptized4”. St Jerome “Who should despair of the forgiveness of his sins, when the crime of killing Christ was forgiven to those who were guilty of it? They came to the Lord's Table, and in faith drank that Blood, which in their fury they had shed5”. St. Augustine “What can be a greater sin than to crucify Christ? Yet even of this Baptism can purify6”. “So great was the grace which wrought in all the Apostles together, that, out of the Jews, those crucifiers of Christ, this great number believed, and were baptized in the Name of Christ, and continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and in the prayers (Acts 2: 14) 7”. St. Cyril of Jerusalem Whoever did not listen to St. John the Baptist when he called for repentance (Matt 3: 1-2), and did not respond to the preaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, who also called for repentance (Matt 4: 17), can start now, through the work of the Holy Spirit, to offer repentance or ‘Metaniah’ I.E., to change his heart, will, and mind, to reconsider his inner life and his apparent behavior, to give God the face, instead of the back (Jer 7: 24, 33: 33), and to give the back, instead of the face, to sin. Repentance is to discover the exalted love of God. And as it was said about the sinful woman, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much” (Luke 7.47), the sinner finds in God’s love the source of forgiveness, comfort, and exalted joy. 1 Adv Arian. 2.15.12. 2 Ibid. 2.15.14. 3 St. Augustine. Sermon on the Mount. 39.1. 4 St. Jerome. Letter 69 to Oceanus. 5 St. Augustine. Sermon on the Mount. 27.4. 6 St. Cyril of Jerusalem. Lect. Catech. 3.15. 7 St. Cyril of Jerusalem. Lect. Catech. 17.21. 132 The scholar Origen, referring to the Baptism of even the little children “for the remission of sins”, asks whose sins these are; and when they ever committed them; or how we can explain the cleansing by Baptism, that happens even to the little children. As no man is without (wrinkles), even if his life is only one day, by the sacrament of Baptism, every wrinkle will be wiped out. Little children are baptized because “Unless one is born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3: 5) 1. Through giving God the face instead of the back, by repentance, they receive Baptism to gain sonhood to God, to have their sins forgiven, and to enjoy the gift of the Holy Spirit who dwells in them. We can say that repentance is like a life boat for the traveler. When the ship is broken and destroyed by the waves of sin and the storms of rebellion, he should jump in this boat. Whereas Baptism is throwing oneself into the bosom of one’s Father, and to enter as though into His eternal dwelling place. He would find his comfort in his sonhood to the Father, his fellowship with the only-begotten Son, and his joy by the work of the Spirit of God dwelling in him. By repentance, medication is presented for healing the wounds of sin; whereas, by Baptism, man’s dignity is restored, to become in truth an icon of Christ, whose righteousness he bears, and to have the right of fellowship in the eternal glory. “He does not yet say, Believe, but, “Let every one of you be baptized”, for this they received in baptism. Then he speaks of the gain; “for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. If you are to receive a gift, if baptism conveys remission, why delay?” 2. St. John Chrysostom Cleansing our sins and our renewal do not mean the death of the body, but death of the body lusts, or of the old man with his works; whereas, the body is good and holy. When I wish this body to die to sin, I do not ask for the death of the body, but that it does not sin again. And, as the dead body is beyond the possibility of sin, so is he who come out of the water of Baptism would be saved from sin. If you happen to die in this water, you should stay dead to sin3. It is fitting for the repentant to keep away from the sins he repented, for which reason we are commanded to say before being baptized, “I deny you, O Satan”, so as not to return to him4. St. John Chrysostom Baptism is a gate that leads to paradise, through which man enters to be with God. Baptism is a new ship that carries the dead, by which they cross to eternity. Baptism is made for the sake of the new world, in which man crosses over from the land of the dead to that of life. Come over, O indebted, and enter! Take back your bills for free; Your sins will be forgiven in the water. 1Homilies on Acts. 14.5. 2 St. John Chrysostom. Hom. On Acts. Hom. 7. 3 In Epis Ad Rom. Hom. 2. 4 St. John Chrysostom. Baptismal Instructions. 12.22. 133 Come over, O poor! Acquire the riches by the spiritual baptism And the great safe box instead of poverty. Come over, O prodigal sheep of the Master of the herd and be baptized, as with you, the figure will be a whole hundred. Come over, O sinner, tired, contrite and heavily wounded! Cut off yourself the burden of transgression by baptism. Come over, O blind and darkened by choice! Be baptized to have your eyes opened, and to get enlightened by the daughter of the day. Come over, O perishing! The good Shepherd has come after you to gather you at the spring. Come over! The ways leading to God’s house are open in the waters. Come over, O ancient, who grew old and worn out! Acquire renewal in the new font of Baptism1. Saint Jacob of Serugh “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2: 39). This promise that was prophesied by the prophet Joel, is very spacious, offered to “all who are afar off”, offered to all humans. The promise is to everyone who is called by the Lord, the Philanthropist. From God’s side, the call is to all; it remains for man to respond to the call, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, there shall be deliverance. As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls“ (Joel 2: 32), “Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near” (Isa 57: 19). It can be easy for man to neglect enjoying his rights, but he would never be, as far as his children are concerned. That is why the apostle confirms, “The promise is to you and to your children”. That is why it is said, “I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring” (Isa 44: 3), “My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants, says the Lord” (Gen 17: 7; Isa 59: 21). “And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying: ‘Be saved from this perverse generation” (Acts 2: 40). At the end of his sermon that was not given in its entirety by the Evangelist St. Luke, St. Peter concentrated on the sin of that generation, that he called it “the perverse generation”, who said, “His blood be on us and on our children” (Matt 27: 25). Offering repentance for what they did to the Savior, they would enjoy forgiveness of their sins, or reconciliation with the Forgiver of sins. It became within their authority, as God has offered every thing. The Father proclaimed His love by giving His Son up; The Son paid the price; and the Holy Spirit came to dwell in the Church. It is their turn to receive the Holy Spirit, the Giver of every thing. It is time for salvation before their eternal devastation, and the divine punishment of the destruction of the temple. He warns them against joining the unbelievers and the wicked, as the Psalmist says, “Depart from me, you evildoers, for I will keep the commandments of my God. … You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross, therefore I love Your testimonies” (Ps 119: 115, 119). 1 St. Jacob El-Sorouggi. A Hymn on Baptism. A manuscript found in St. Anthony’s Monastery transcribed in 1488 M.A. 134 I beg you, O beloved, and throw myself at your feet, Give me and give yourself this one prayer: to “be saved from this perverse generation” (Acts 2: 40). “Withdraw, dearly beloved, from the heresy of Origen and from all heresies1”. St. Epiphanius of Salamis “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized, and that day about 3000 souls were added to them” (Acts 2: 41). St. Peter’s call for repentance led them to the life of joy, because they offered a true repentance, and enjoyed what the prophet and king David yearned for: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation” (Ps. 51.12). The sign of the work of the Holy Spirit is to receive the Word with joy that made them worthy of repentance, confession, and Baptism. Whoever truly wishes to live according to the gospel would destroy both the beginning and the end of his evil condition, and would practice every virtue, both by words and by action. He would set himself free from all the temptations of lusts; and once his mind is set free from that struggle, he would be possessed by the hope of happiness, and would know nothing but the perpetual joy that nourishes the soul. St. Mark the Hermit Some believe that the addition of 3000 souls was realized not by St. Peter’s sermon alone but by those of the other apostles as well, each in one language or another. The profit of their preaching on that whole day was 3000 souls from all over Jerusalem; that is why, it is said, “that day”, not “that hour”. It was not an easy matter for 3000 souls, on a single day, to forsake their submission to the chief priests and the Sanhedrin, and to proclaim their acceptance of the crucified Jesus as Lord and Christ. 6- A REJOICING SPIRITUAL CHURCH “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers” (Acts 2: 42). The Greek word for “continued steadfastly” bears the meaning of the dedication, sanctification, and attachment of the soul to that work. “The apostles’ doctrine” includes the living belief in Jesus as the Lord and Christ, the Savior of the world; together with a new understanding and comprehension of the goal of the Old Testament, especially what it contains of Messianic prophesies; and teachings of the Church’s oral tradition which they received from the Lord Christ during His ministry. The “fellowship”: The early Church practiced the fellowship on several levels: 1- The fellowship in practical giving love, apparent in taking care of the poor, the needy, the afflicted, the captives, the strangers, the grieved, and the sick. 2- A fellowship in the banquets of love, in which all partake, with the spirit of joy and love. 3- A fellowship in collective worship, prayers and fasting, etc. 4- The fellowship in the Eucharist to partake of the body and blood of the Lord. 5- The fellowship of the Spirit, and realization of unity, on the level of the different members of the one body -that of Christ- in harmony together. 1 St. Jerome. Letters: Letter LI. From Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamis, in Cyprus, to John, Bishop of Jerusalem. 135 “Here are two virtues, perseverance and concord. All in common, all with perseverance1”. St. John Chrysostom Imagine a circle, with rays or lines diverging from its center. The farther these lines travel away from the center, the more they depart afar from each other; and the more they converge toward the center, the more they get closer to each other. Assume that this circle is the world, its center is God, and the lines from the center to the circumference, or from the circumference to the center, are the ways of life of men. We shall find the same thing: The more the saints move inside the circle toward the center, wishing to get closer to God, the more they approach each other. The more men get closer to God, the more they get closer to one another, and the more they get closer to one another, the more they get closer to God. And the more they depart from God, and preoccupy themselves with materialistic matters, every one of them departs from the other, and accordingly would depart more from God. The same applies to acquiring love: the more we are afar off the love of God, each one of us would depart from the other. But if we love God, the closer we get to Him, we unite with love with our brethren, and the more we do that, we unite with God. Father Dorothius The perfect love is for man to wish to offer his life for all men. Yet, can this love reach such level all at once? No, getting born, it needs to flourish, to get stronger, then to become perfect2. St. Augustine “Breaking bread” is the early term for the communion in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The angel could not touch the live coal with his fingers, but with tongs, he brought it close to Isaiah’s mouth (Isa 6: 6). The angel did not touch it; and Isaiah did not eat it; yet our Lord allowed us to do this and that (in the Communion of His holy body and blood). St. Ephraim the Syrian In truth, Christ gives even His body, by which the believers flourish, like little children. St. Hippolytus the Roman The “prayers”: They began by partaking together of the prayers of the temple, with all what they included of psalms, praises, and the 18 prayers of blessing, according to the season, beside other prayers at home. In their prayers, they were not preoccupied except with offering praise and thanksgiving to God who shined with His light on them and drew them to His love and the realization of His secrets, and seeking the same gift for every human soul in the world. In their minds, they did not have yearning neither for huge Church buildings nor for other ambitions, except for spreading the Word, and edifying the Church of Christ. “Let us apply ourselves to Prayer. It is a mighty weapon if it be offered with earnestness, if without vainglory, if with a sincere mind. It has turned back wars, it has 1 St. John Chrysostom. Homilies on Acts. Hom. 7. 2 Llewelyn, Robert. The Joy of the Saints: Spiritual Readings throughout the Year. Springfield: Elinois, 1989. 114. 136 benefited an entire nation though undeserving. “I heard their bemoaning,” (He) says, “and came down to save them” (Acts 7.34). It is itself a saving medicine, and has power to prevent sins, and to heal misdeeds1”. St. John Chrysostom Let us gather together in a congregation, to offer a unified prayer. Let us wrestle with God in our supplications, this pleases Him. The Scholar Tertullian “(You have) as the glory of Baptism the Son Himself, the Only-begotten of God. For why should I speak any more of man? John was great, but what is he to the Lord? His was a loud-sounding voice, but what in comparison with the Word? Very noble was the herald, but what in comparison with the King? Noble was he that baptized with water, but what to Him that baptizes with the Holy Ghost and with fire? The Savior baptized the Apostles with the Holy Ghost and with fire (matthew3: 11) , when suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire: and it sat upon each one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost2”. St. Cyril of Jerusalem “Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles” (Acts 2 :43). “Then fear came upon every soul”: The Holy Spirit filled the Church with the spirit of apprehension, especially because many of them have previously taken part in the crucifixion of the Lord Christ, or approved of it. All were filled with the fear of God which is the head of wisdom, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit, about which it is said, “The spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of God” (Isa11: 2). The fear of God exhorts people to keep the commandments, through which the mansion of the soul is established. Therefore, let us fear God and establish mansions for ourselves, in order to find shelter from rain and thunder in winter, as whoever without mansion would suffer greatly at the time of winter. Father Dorothius If somebody wishes to gain God’s love, let him first have the fear of God, as fear produces crying, and crying produces strength. And when all these are consummated in the soul, it starts to give fruition in everything. When God sees these nice fruits in the soul, He smells them as good fragrance of incense that brings joy to Him and His angels. He satisfies the soul and keeps it in all its ways, until it safely reaches its place of comfort. As the devil sees such great and exalted guard keeping an eye on the soul, he fears approaching or attacking it. Acquire therefore such a great power to scare the demons before you, in order that your affairs would be easy, and you enjoy the divine work, as the sweetness of God’s 1 St. John Chrysostom. Homilies on Hebrews. Hom. 27.9. 2 St. Cyril of Jerusalem. Catechetical Lectures. 3.9. 137 love is more delicious than honey. Indeed, many monks and virgins have not tasted that divine sweetness, or acquired that divine strength, on the assumption that they have already did, despite their lack of strife. Whereas, whoever strives for them will certainly acquire them through the divine mercies, as God does not look at faces. Whoever wishes to have God’s light and strength has to forsake the dignities and uncleanness of this world. He has to despise all the things of the world and the lusts of the flesh, to purify his heart of all unclean thoughts, and to offer God fasts and tears, day and night, persistently, as pure prayers. Then God would pour out on him His light and strength. Diligently seek this strength, so as to do all your works with ease, and to have great favor before God, who would grant you all what you ask for1. St Anthony the First Monk Finally, the Holy Spirit supported the apostles with numerous wonders and signs, in the name of our Lord Jesus. “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common” (Acts 2: 44). Before speaking of the fellowship in possessions and material needs, the Evangelist St. Luke spoke of the fellowship in the Spirit, the heart, and the thought, saying, “they were together”. Physically, we cannot say that the 120, beside the 3000 souls, lived together in a single room or a single house for a whole day, but they were together in Spirit, in thought, and in true love. “They have all become angels on a sudden; all of them continuing in prayer and hearing, they saw that spiritual things are common, and no one there has more than other, and they speedily came together to the same thing in common, even to the imparting to all. This was an angelic commonwealth, not to call anything of theirs their own. Forthwith the root of evils was cut out. By what they did, they showed what they had heard: this was that which he said, “Be saved of this perverse generation” (Acts 2.40) 2". “There is nothing equal to unanimity and concord; for so one is manifold. If two or ten are of one mind, the one is one no longer, but each one is multiplied tenfold, and you will find the one in the ten, and the ten in the one; Each of these has twenty hands, twenty eyes, and as many feet. For he sees not with his own eyes alone, but with those of others; he walks not with his own feet alone, but with those of others; he works not with his own hands alone, but with theirs. He has ten souls, for not only does he take thought for himself, but those souls also for him. And if they be made a hundred, it will still be the same, and their power will be extended3”. St. John Chrysostom “And sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need” (Acts 2: 45). The apostles did not commit the believers to a certain law for giving, but the believers became fond of giving love, and giving generously, with the love for God. As the Holy Spirit gave them what is God’s, they forgot what is theirs’, and counted every thing in their hands as valueless, compared to acquiring that pearl of high price. 1 St. Anthony the Great. Letters. 9. 2 St. John Chrysostom. Homilies on Acts. Hom. 7. 3 St. John Chrysostom. Homilies on John. Hom. 28.4. 138 They did not act senselessly like what some Greek Philosophers did, when they forsook their land, or foolishly threw all their immense wealth in the sea, something that actually gave pleasure to the devil, who seeks to let man underestimate God’s creation, as though there was no better way to use the wealth, which is God’s gift. St. John Chrysostom The Church presented, not by commands and laws, but by love, a living example before the world, of how it is possible through fellowship to make all fulfilled, joyful, and rejoicing, with no body in need. Feeding the hungry is greater than raising the dead. Look at how much God gave you: take from it what you need, then what remains somebody else may need it. Present to Him the dignity that He Himself seeks from you by offering your money to the poor. St. John Chrysostom “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart” (Acts 2.46). With love, they set themselves free of any depressing worries, and dedicated their hearts and life to collective worship and collective life. Thus, their life turned into what is like a perpetual wedding feast, joyful, even while eating their meals together. Remember, O beloved, that we should not stop praying, until we see the day in which we become one, a united congregation, not divided in thought, as we would be indeed strangers to God, if we find pleasure in dissensions and seditions that threaten the safety of the Church. St. Basil the Great “Give heed then, brethren, and from this acknowledge the mystery of the Trinity, how it is we say, There is both the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and yet there is one God. See! There were so many thousands of these, and yet there was one heart; there were so many thousands, and one soul. … If by approaching God many souls by love become one soul, and many hearts one heart, what of the very fountain of love in the Father and Son?” 1. St Augustine They neither departed from the temple, nor bore the spirit of animosity toward the Jews. Yet, they undoubtedly did not partake of offering animal sacrifices, and so they remained until they were driven out from the temple, and banned from worshipping with the Jews. By saying “from house to house”, it is obvious that every group that spoke one language assembled together under the leadership of one or more apostles, who were given the gift of speaking that language to worship with that (intelligible) language, both by Spirit and mind. “They cast away their riches, and rejoiced, and had great gladness, for greater were the riches they, received without labor. None reproached, none envied, none grudged; no 1 St. Augustine. On John. Tr. 39.5. 139 pride, no contempt was there. As children they did indeed account themselves to be under teaching: as new born babes, such was their disposition” 1. “The poor man knew no shame, the rich no haughtiness. This is gladness. The latter deemed himself the obliged and fortunate party; the others felt themselves as honored herein, and closely were they bound together” 2. “Fear there was none; yea, though they had taken their position in the midst of dangers” 3. St. John Chrysostom “Simplicity of heart”: Unfortunately, the image of simplicity has now become distorted, and many count it as ignorance, lack of wisdom, and of prudence. As God Himself is described as being Simple, the simplicity of heart is therefore considered as sharing in one of God’s attributes: when in the heart, there is only one straight way, with no twisting or intermingling with another way. St. Felixinus presented a magnificent essay on simplicity, (which I have already published.) "For it is written, "Blessed is every simple soul." (Prov 11: 25). And again, “He who walks simply, walks surely” (Prov 10: 9). "True," you will say, "but prudence also is needed." Why, what is simplicity, I pray you, but prudence? For when you suspect no evil, neither can you fabricate any: when you have no annoyances, neither can you remember injuries. Has any one insulted you? You were not pained. Has any one reviled you? You were nothing hurt. Has he envied you? Still you had no hurt. Simplicity is a high road to true philosophy. None so beautiful in soul as the simple. … A man of this last description may be safely made a friend, and when at variance easily reconciled. No need of guards and outposts, no need of chains and fetters with such a one; but great is his own freedom, and that of those who associate with him. But what, you will say, will such a man do if he falls among wicked people? God, who has commanded us to be simple-minded, will stretch out His hand. What was more guileless than David? What more wicked than Saul? Yet who triumphed? Again, in Joseph's case; did not he in simplicity approach his master's wife, she him with wicked art? Yet what, I pray, was he the worse? Furthermore, what more simple than was Abel? What more malicious than Cain?”4. St. John Chrysostom The Lord, in His preaching, gave us an easy principle; that is, the true simple faith. Simplicity is not the one known in this world, as slothfulness and fantasy, but it is rather a simple thought, that would listen and does not investigate, would receive and does not research. … When Abraham was called, he departed and followed God, without investigating the voice that called him. He was not hindered by relatives, friends, possessions, or by any human bonds. Look now, and let your departure be like his, Do not linger before the voice of Christ, who calls you in His preaching saying, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9: 23). He thus did call every one. When He called the 1 St. John Chrysostom. Homilies on Acts. Hom. 7. 2 St. John Chrysostom. Homilies on Acts. Hom. 7. 3 St. John Chrysostom. Homilies on Acts. Hom. 7. 4 St. John Chrysostom. Homilies on John. Hom. 75.5. 140 apostles, they left their nets and followed Him (Mark 1: 18). As they were not burdened by the possessions of this world, they responded to the call of the Lord. Rejoice in simplicity to become beloved by God and people; and if you think that you are mocked by people, and counted as ignorant and halfwit, with no mind or discernment, Know for sure, that there is no goodness without offense. If you escape before the obstacles in the way of goodness, You will never be able to acquire virtue. St. Felixinus “For they who now trembled and feared, after they had received the Spirit sprang into the midst of dangers, and stripped themselves for the contest against steel, and fire, and wild beasts, and seas, and every kind of punishment; and they, the unlettered and ignorant, discoursed so boldly as to astonish their hearers. For the Spirit made them men of iron instead of men of clay, gave them wings, and allowed them to be cast down by nothing human. For such is that grace; if it find despondency, it disperses it; if evil desires, it consumes them; if cowardice, it casts it out, and does not allow one who has partaken of it to be afterwards mere man, but as it were removing him to heaven itself, causes him to image to himself all that is there. On this account no one said that any of the things that he possessed was his own, but they continued in prayer, in praise, and in singleness of heart. For this the Holy Spirit most requires, for "the fruit of the Spirit is joy, peace-faith, meekness." (Gal 5: 22- 23)” 1. St. John Chrysostom 7- A PRODUCTIVE CHURCH “…praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the Church daily, those who were being saved” (Acts 2: 47). They were a rejoicing Church, incessantly praising God, for what all the congregation have got of divine grace. The congregation was in a state of spiritual satisfaction that floods joy in every soul. The Church cares for praise, as it is an angelic work, the only work that will not stop by our departure from this world. Praise is the support of the believer in the midst of this valley of tears, that swallows up every affliction, grief, or bitterness, to let the believer live, as though in a perpetual heavenly banquet. As for the grace that the whole congregation enjoyed, it is that of the Holy Trinity, working incessantly in their life. We have already presented an annex to the first chapter of the gospel, according to St. John, that I called, ‘A grace beyond grace’, to which you can refer. As to the fruit of the life, rejoicing in the Lord, and perpetually praising, it is: “The Lord added to the Church daily, those who were being saved” (Acts 2.47). This is the work of the divine grace in the life of the people, rejoicing in the Spirit, and perpetually praising. 1 St. John Chrysostom. Homilies on Acts. Hom. 7. 141 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF ACTS2 TO UTTER WITH A FIERY TONGUE With the gentle breath of the wind, You have ascended, O My Savior, to heaven. The whole heaven trembled with joy. The Son of Man, carrying humanity in Him, entered to the divine throne. You sent Your Spirit to our land like fiery tongues, For my depths to shake by a sound like that of a rushing mighty wind. Indeed, You have granted me Your fiery Holy Spirit to dwell in me. Your fiery Spirit transforms me into a fiery minister. Even my silence and inner tranquility utter as though with a fiery tongue: The exalted tongue of love that draws many to You. You know that I am illiterate, unable to utter divine things. Your Spirit dwelling in me, Speaks through me in the hearts of many. He alone knows the tongue of every man, his thoughts, feelings, and faults. He alone speaks to everyone according to his inner intellect. Your Spirit fulfills the needs of everyone, Pours out joy and comfort in the hearts of the sad and the suffering. He fills every soul and fulfills it, To become in need of nothing. He shines inside it, To scatter the kingdom of darkness, To be her leader, That no enemy can get to her. He lifts her up to heaven. The World can not bring her down. Indeed, He grants me a fiery tongue, He, the Grantor of light, To draw many. Together with Peter I cowardly refrain from testifying to You before a maidservant. Yet by Your Spirit I can draw thousands, To become members in Your body.
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