“Did the 120 receive Holy Spirit baptism on the day of Pentecost?” No, they did not! Acts 1:17 states, “And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of the names together were about an hundred and twenty).” Some assume that because of this that 120 received the Holy Spirit baptism. However, the rest of the chapter shows that out of the “about 120,” one was chosen to take Judas’ place. Yet, as we move into Acts 2, there are several things which show that “about 120” could not have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
First, note Chapter 1:26. “And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” Now for Acts 2:1. “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Which they? The eleven of the preceding verse. “They” finds its antecedent in the previous verse.
Note verse 7. All those speaking in tongues were Galileans. A close study of Scripture reveals that Jesus had disciples who were not Galileans. Even Judas was not a Galilean, but the other eleven were Galileans. Peter’s defense against the charge of being drunk helps us know it could not have been more than the number of the apostles who were speaking and who had been baptized with the Holy Spirit. Only those speaking in tongues were charged, and only the apostles were defended.
The clinching argument is found in verse 37. The Jews, realizing their sin, said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men, and brethren, what shall we do?” They asked Peter and the rest of the apostles. They did not inquire of anyone else but the apostles. They did not expect 120 people to answer them in their own languages.
Add to this the fact that Jesus never promised to send the Holy Spirit to Jerusalem to guide anyone but the apostles into all truth, and we arrive at no other conclusion than that the 120 disciples did not receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. No one has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit since. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was not promised to anyone except Jesus’ personally appointed apostles.
This was a fulfillment of prophecy of John the Baptizer. He had stated, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Matthew 3:11). Jesus later stated to his apostles, “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
When one studies these Scriptures, he must come to the conclusion that the apostles rather than the 120 received that baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. When one studies these Scriptures, he must come to the conclusion that no one today receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit either.
