Pentecost Was Coronation Day
Most Christians think of Pentecost as the day the church began.
It was.
But something even bigger was happening.
Pentecost announced that Jesus had been enthroned as King.
To see it, we need to begin hundreds of years earlier with Daniel.
Daniel Saw the Coronation Before It Happened
Daniel was given a vision of four earthly kingdoms.
Then the scene suddenly shifts from earth to heaven.
Daniel writes:
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.”
— Daniel 7:13
We often hear “coming with the clouds” and immediately think of Jesus' second coming.
But look carefully at where the Son of Man is going.
“He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.”
— Daniel 7:13
The Son of Man is not coming from heaven to earth.
He is coming to the Ancient of Days.
And when He arrives, something happens:
“He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him.”
— Daniel 7:14
Then Daniel says:
“His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Daniel has shown us the Son of Man approaching God and receiving His kingdom.
So when did that happen?
Jesus Ascended to the Ancient of Days
After His resurrection, Jesus remained with His disciples for forty days.
Interestingly, Luke tells us what He talked about:
“He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.”
— Acts 1:3
Then Jesus ascended.
“He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”
— Acts 1:9
Notice the cloud.
Daniel had seen the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days.
Now the disciples watch Jesus ascend until a cloud hides Him from their sight.
From earth they saw Jesus leave.
Daniel had already shown us the other end of the journey.
The Son of Man approached the Ancient of Days and received authority, glory, and a kingdom.
Then Came Pentecost
Ten days after Jesus ascended, the disciples were gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost.
Suddenly the Holy Spirit was poured out.
They began speaking languages they had never learned.
People from many nations heard them declaring the wonders of God in their own languages.
The crowd was astonished.
They asked:
“What does this mean?”
Peter answered that question.
And his answer was about Jesus.
Peter Explained What Had Happened in Heaven
Peter first proclaimed the resurrection:
“God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.”
— Acts 2:32
Then he explained what happened next:
“Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.”
— Acts 2:33
That sentence is enormously important.
The people could not see Jesus in heaven.
But they could see and hear the evidence on earth.
Jesus had been exalted.
Jesus had received the promised Spirit from the Father.
And now Jesus was pouring out the Spirit upon His people.
Pentecost was visible evidence that something had happened in heaven.
The Son of Man had taken His place beside the Ancient of Days.
Peter Then Points to David's Throne
Peter had already reminded his listeners that God promised David:
“He would place one of his descendants on his throne.”
— Acts 2:30
Peter does not tell them to wait for Jesus someday to sit on David's throne in Jerusalem.
Instead, he points to Jesus' resurrection and exaltation.
Then he quotes Psalm 110:
“The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’”
— Acts 2:34–35
Where is David's promised Son?
At God's right hand.
That is where Peter says the risen Messiah is reigning.
Then Comes Peter's Coronation Announcement
Peter reaches his conclusion:
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
— Acts 2:36
The Jesus whom Jerusalem had rejected had been vindicated by God.
The Jesus whom they crucified had been raised.
The risen Jesus had ascended to heaven.
He had been exalted to God's right hand.
And now Peter publicly announced:
Jesus is Lord.
Jesus is Messiah.
The King reigns.
That is why Pentecost can rightly be called coronation day.
It was the earthly demonstration and public proclamation of Christ's heavenly enthronement.
Daniel Had Said the Nations Would Come Under His Rule
There is another interesting connection.
Daniel said the Son of Man would receive authority over:
“all nations and peoples of every language.”
— Daniel 7:14
What happened when the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost?
Jerusalem was filled with Jews from nations across the known world.
And they said:
“We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
— Acts 2:11
Daniel spoke of nations, peoples, and languages under the authority of the Son of Man.
At Pentecost, people from the nations began hearing the message of the enthroned Christ in their own languages.
And Jesus had already told His apostles where this was going:
“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
— Acts 1:8
The kingdom would not remain within Israel's borders.
The message of the King was going to the world.
Was the Kingdom Postponed?
Now consider the common claim that Jesus intended to establish His kingdom but postponed it when Israel rejected Him.
Acts 2 presents a very different picture.
Israel's rejection led to the cross.
The cross led to the resurrection.
The resurrection led to the ascension.
The Son of Man approached the Ancient of Days.
He was exalted to God's right hand.
And from His position of authority He poured out the Holy Spirit.
Nothing had been postponed.
The King had been enthroned.
The Kingdom Was Already Here
The rest of the New Testament speaks exactly as we would expect if Daniel 7 had been fulfilled.
Paul told Christians:
“He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.”
— Colossians 1:13
They had already been brought into Christ's kingdom.
Hebrews says:
“We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.”
— Hebrews 12:28
And Paul says Christ:
“must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:25
Notice that Paul does not say Christ must begin reigning after His enemies have been defeated.
Christ reigns while His enemies are being defeated.
That sounds remarkably like Psalm 110:
“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
Pentecost Was More Than the Birthday of the Church
Pentecost was certainly the beginning of something new for God's people.
But Acts 2 is centered on something even greater.
Jesus Christ had been enthroned.
Daniel had seen it centuries earlier:
The Son of Man approaches the Ancient of Days.
He receives authority.
He receives glory.
He receives an everlasting kingdom.
Then Acts shows us the fulfillment:
Jesus rises from the dead.
He ascends in the cloud.
He is exalted to God's right hand.
He pours out the Holy Spirit.
And Peter announces to Israel:
God has made Jesus both Lord and Messiah.
Pentecost was not evidence that the kingdom had been postponed.
It was evidence that the King had taken His throne.
The kingdom had come.
The King was reigning.
And His kingdom would spread from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
Pentecost was coronation day.