Disciples Global Network

The description of the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost stresses the theme of fulfillment. On that day, what was foreshadowed by the ancient feast began to receive its promised substance. The bestowal of the Spirit was an epochal event that marked the start of the Age of the Spirit, and the Gift of the Spirit fulfilled what the annual Levitical feast symbolized.

After completing his sermon on Pentecost, Peter summoned his audience to repent and be baptized “ in the name of Jesus Christ ,” though something more than just a call to accept the Gospel was transpiring. He concluded his words on a note of fulfillment and with a foretaste of things to come. He began with a citation from the  Book of Joel , and he finished with a clause from the same passage, thus neatly bracketing his message.

John proclaimed a baptism in water “ for the remission of sins ,” and he announced the arrival of the “ Coming One .” He was sent as the Forerunner of the Messiah as promised in the  Book of Isaiah  - “ Behold, I send my messenger before your face… The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord .” Moreover, he was the promised King of Israel who would baptize his people “ in Spirit and Fire .”

All four gospel accounts apply the passage from the  Book of Isaiah  to John the Baptist, the messenger who called men to repent “ for the remission of sins ” in preparation for the  Messiah. John is identified as the forerunner who was expected before the “ Day of Yahweh ” to summon the nation of Israel - “ The voice of one crying, in the wilderness, prepare the way of the LORD ” - (Isaiah 40:3-5).