Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

2 When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers gathered in one place. ² Suddenly a sound came from heaven. It was like a strong wind blowing. It filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw something that looked like fire in the shape of tongues. The flames separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages they had not known before. The Spirit gave them the ability to do this.

⁵ Godly Jews from every country in the world were staying in Jerusalem. ⁶ A crowd came together when they heard the sound. They were bewildered because each of them heard their own language being spoken. ⁷ The crowd was really amazed. They asked, “Aren’t all these people who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then why do we each hear them speaking in our own native language? ⁹ We are Parthians, Medes and Elamites. We live in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia. We are from Pontus, Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia. Others of us are from Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene. Still others are visitors from Rome. ¹¹ Some of the visitors are Jews. Others have accepted the Jewish faith. Also, Cretans and Arabs are here. We hear all these people speaking about God’s wonders in our own languages!” ¹² They were amazed and bewildered. They asked one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³ But some people in the crowd made fun of the believers. “They’ve had too much wine!” they said.

Peter Speaks to the Crowd

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the 11 apostles. In a loud voice he spoke to the crowd. “My fellow Jews,” he said, “let me explain this to you. All of you who live in Jerusalem, listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵ You think these people are drunk. But they aren’t. It’s only nine o’clock in the morning! ¹⁶ No, here is what the prophet Joel meant. ¹⁷ He said,

The Tower of Babel

11 The whole world had only one language, and everyone spoke it. ² They moved to the east and found a broad valley in Babylon. There they made their home.

³ They said to one another, “Come on! Let’s make bricks and bake them well.” They used bricks instead of stones. They used tar to hold the bricks together. ⁴ Then they said, “Come on! Let’s build a city for ourselves. Let’s build a tower that reaches to the sky. We’ll make a name for ourselves. Then we won’t be scattered over the whole earth.”

⁵ But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶ He said, “All these people are united and speak the same language. That is why they can do all this. Now they will be able to do anything they plan. ⁷ Come on! Let us go down and mix up their language. Then they will not be able to understand one another.”

⁸ So the Lord scattered them from there over the whole earth. And they stopped building the city. ⁹ There the Lord mixed up the language of the whole world. That’s why the city was called Babel. From there the Lord scattered them over the whole earth.

¹⁴ Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received doesn’t make you slaves. Otherwise you would live in fear again. Instead, the Holy Spirit you received made you God’s adopted child. By the Spirit’s power we call God Abba. Abba means Father. ¹⁶ The Spirit himself joins with our spirits. Together they tell us that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ As his children, we will receive all that he has for us. We will share what Christ receives. But we must share in his sufferings if we want to share in his glory.

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

2 When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers gathered in one place. ² Suddenly a sound came from heaven. It was like a strong wind blowing. It filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw something that looked like fire in the shape of tongues. The flames separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak in languages they had not known before. The Spirit gave them the ability to do this.

⁵ Godly Jews from every country in the world were staying in Jerusalem. ⁶ A crowd came together when they heard the sound. They were bewildered because each of them heard their own language being spoken. ⁷ The crowd was really amazed. They asked, “Aren’t all these people who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then why do we each hear them speaking in our own native language? ⁹ We are Parthians, Medes and Elamites. We live in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia. We are from Pontus, Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia. Others of us are from Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene. Still others are visitors from Rome. ¹¹ Some of the visitors are Jews. Others have accepted the Jewish faith. Also, Cretans and Arabs are here. We hear all these people speaking about God’s wonders in our own languages!” ¹² They were amazed and bewildered. They asked one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³ But some people in the crowd made fun of the believers. “They’ve had too much wine!” they said.

Peter Speaks to the Crowd

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the 11 apostles. In a loud voice he spoke to the crowd. “My fellow Jews,” he said, “let me explain this to you. All of you who live in Jerusalem, listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵ You think these people are drunk. But they aren’t. It’s only nine o’clock in the morning! ¹⁶ No, here is what the prophet Joel meant. ¹⁷ He said,

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father. That will be enough for us.”

⁹ Jesus answered, “Don’t you know me, Philip? I have been among you such a long time! Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father? Don’t you believe that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. The Father lives in me. He is the one who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say I am in the Father. Also believe that the Father is in me. Or at least believe what the works I have been doing say about me. ¹² What I’m about to tell you is true. Anyone who believes in me will do the works I have been doing. In fact, they will do even greater things. That’s because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do anything you ask in my name. Then the Father will receive glory from the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name. I will do it.

Jesus Promises That the Holy Spirit Will Come

¹⁵ “If you love me, obey my commands. ¹⁶ I will ask the Father. And he will give you another friend to help you and to be with you forever. ¹⁷ That friend is the Spirit of truth. The world can’t accept him. That’s because the world does not see him or know him. But you know him. He lives with you, and he will be in you.

²⁵ “I have spoken all these things while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Father will send the Friend in my name to help you. The Friend is the Holy Spirit. He will teach you all things. He will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷ I leave my peace with you. I give my peace to you. I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be troubled. And do not be afraid.