Pudadera, Maika J.

11/28/19
BSA 2

1. What is Pentecost?
Pentecost comes from the Greek word “Pentecoste” meaning 50th day. Pentecost
Sunday is one of the most prominent feast days in the Christian calendar. It is often
referred to as the “birthday of the church”.
It marks the day when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, who had been
living in fear for fifty days following the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.
On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down visibly on the Apostles. He gave them the
power to speak in strange tongues to the crowds that came to Jerusalem for that
Feast. He also transformed them, from selfish and timid men into giants of courage
and faith.

2. What event takes place at Pentecost?

In the Christian tradition, Pentecost is the celebration of the person of the Holy
Spirit coming upon the Apostles, Mary, and the first followers of Jesus, who were
gathered together in the Upper Room.

The main event of Pentecost (the strong driving wind and tongues of fire) takes
place in Acts 2:13, though the events immediately following (Peter’s homily, the
baptism of thousands) continue through verse 41.
A “strong, driving” wind filled the room where they were gathered, and tongues of
fire came to rest on their heads, allowing them to speak in different languages so that
they could understand each other. It was such a strange phenomenon that some
people thought the Christians were just drunk - but Peter pointed out that it was only
the morning, and that the phenomenon was caused by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit also gave the apostles the other gifts and fruits necessary to fulfill
the great commission - to go out and preach the Gospel to all nations. It fulfills the
New Testament promise from Christ (Luke 24:46-49) that the Apostles would be
“clothed with power” before they would be sent out to spread the Gospel.

3. How did the Christianity spread?

Christianity began in the 1st century AD after Jesus died as
a Jewish sect in Judea, but quickly spread throughout the Roman empire. Despite
early persecution of Christians, it later became the state religion. In the Middle Ages it
spread into Northern Europe and Russia. During the Age of Exploration,
Christianity expanded throughout the world; it is currently the largest religion of the
world.

The spread of Christianity was made a lot easier by the efficiency of the Roman
Empire, but its principles were sometimes misunderstood and membership of the sect
could be dangerous. Although Jesus had died, his message had not. Word of his
teachings spread to Jewish communities across the empire. This was helped by
energetic apostles, such as Paul and by the modern communications of the Roman
Empire.

Over 30 years, Paul clocked up around 10,000 miles, traveling across the Roman
Empire. He preached in some of the empire’s most important cities. Although places
like Ephesus, Philippi, Corinth and Athens looked magnificent, they were also home
to tens of thousands of poor, desperate people who were the perfect audience for the
Christian message of eternal life.

Like Jesus, Paul spoke to people in their homes and synagogues. But he went
beyond Jesus, who had only preached to Jews. Paul believed his message should
also be taken to gentiles – the non-Jews.

4. Who were the persons involved in the missionary work?

Peter was a missionary. People look at the time when he preached a sermon
during the Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41). This sermon was given to the onlookers that saw
the effects of the Holy Spirit coming onto the believers. This was a sermon of love, but
also of conviction. Peter was trying to get the people to see the urgency in accepting
the truth of Jesus, the reality of the Gospel.

Philip really encapsulated “missionary”. But that is not the first time that Philip
spoke the Gospel. Only a couple verses before the story of Philip and the Eunuch we
see that Philip goes and proclaims Christ in Samaria (Acts 8:4-8).

In this situation, Philip did end up getting up and going. Which could help his case
in being seen as the first missionary, but Samaria was considered to be “homeland”
for the disciples.

Some also believe that Paul was the first missionary. Paul wasn’t heading off to a
place he had been before, but instead going off to where He felt God was calling him.
There wasn’t hesitation or questioning of God. There was simple obedience to “go”.