Pentecost Sunday

¹Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. ²Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. ³Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them. ⁴They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak. ⁵Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky. ⁶When this sound was heard, the multitude came together and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans? ⁸How do we hear, everyone in our own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!” ¹²They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.” ¹⁴But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. ¹⁵For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day. ¹⁶But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: ¹⁷‘It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams. ¹⁸Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy. ¹⁹I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood, and fire, and billows of smoke. ²⁰The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. ²¹It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

³Therefore I make known to you that no man speaking by God’s Spirit says, “Jesus is accursed.” No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” but by the Holy Spirit. ⁴Now there are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord. ⁶There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all. ⁷But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all. ⁸For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; ⁹to another faith, by the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healings, by the same Spirit; ¹⁰and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; to another different kinds of languages; and to another the interpretation of languages. ¹¹But the one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing to each one separately as he desires. ¹²For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. ¹³For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all given to drink into one Spirit.

¹⁹When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle, and said to them, “Peace be to you.” ²⁰When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” ²²When he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit! ²³If you forgive anyone’s sins, they have been forgiven them. If you retain anyone’s sins, they have been retained.”