Evening star., 1927-05-14

Pentecost, or the fiftieth, was the
Greek name for what in the books of
Moses is called, variously, the feast of
harvest or of weeks or of first fruits.
It was known as "the concluding as
sembly" that commemofated the CIV
ing of the law at Sinai, and was OBJ
served in connection with a great ma
tional thanksgiving service. Fifty
days previously Peter and John had
been investigating the empty tomb
and about ten days had INTERVIEWED
since Jesus had ascended, having
charged them to wait for "the prom
ise of the Father" During this period
His followers had with lone mind
given their attention to prayer, pre-
pairing themselves for the dawning OF
a new day in their lives and In the
worlds history, without understand
ing what the future had in store for
them.
Suddenly there came to them the
Holy Spirit, preceded by the symbols
of sound and sight. Only one other
event in the annals of men surpassed
the baptism of the Spirit, the birth of
Christ, who in parting had assured
them of the coming Of the Spirit. All
barriers between earth and heaven
were removed, for God, through the
presence of the Holy Spirit, came to
dwell in the souls of men. They were
filled with the. evidence of power. HUI
man language was not able to com
pletely give expression to the new fact
of their Christian experience, so that
there was given unto them the spe-
cial power Of speaking in other
tongues. This miracle filled the minds
of men with amaZement. Some OF
them, in cynical effort to explain
the experience. suggested that they
were filled with new wine. This
charge resulted in the revelation OF
Peter to us in a new light and power,
preaching the first Christian sermon.
Peter in delivering the first defense
of his brethren showed that the com
ing of the Holy Spirit had wrought
a complete change in the coWardly
soul, who had less than two months
previously denied his Master. There
is a courage and confidence In his
delivery, that reveals the presence
of the Spirit. Sitter has well said
that his address presents a convinc'
ing proof of the Spirits presence
In it's adroitness, in the arrange
ment of the arguments, in its analy'
sis, in it's steering clear of jewish
prejudices, in its appeal and effect
it is without a peer among the prod
ucts of uninspired men. AS an eX
ample of persuasive argument 1t has
no rival The more 1t is studied, the
more it's beauty and power are dis
closed. And yet it Is the work OF q
Galilean fisherman, without culture
and training. and is his maiden
effort.
Peters soul was on fire. He based
his sermon upon the Scripture: quot
ing from memory from the Septua
gint, he cited five verses from the
prophet Joel in which God had fore
told of a great outpouring OF Ills
Spirit, as an explanation OF their
great spiritual experience. He found
a point of contact in Gods WORD
which evidently he knew thoroughly
and was familiar, with the Greek
translation of the Old Testament
I BY its use he had won hearing and
by claiming that the miracle, which
caused them to wonder, was due tc
Gods coming down to dwell with mer
and that the Messiah had appeared
he aroused their curiosity to know
Where then was the Messiah? This
he took up in the second part Of
his sermon, claiming that Jesus was
the Christ.
There was a boldness about Peters
address and skillful handling of his
evidence to prove the Messiahship OF
Jesus. He cited two facts that were
well known to his hearers very
briefly, claiming that His works es
| tablished His relationship with God
In one short sentence Peter claimed