Written by Paul J Bucknell on June, 06, 2026
Joel 2:28-32 Reflections: Marks of Abounding Grace
Peter's use of Joel at Pentecost shows that this ancient prophecy was not merely a distant mystery but fulfilled grace bursting into history. The Spirit was poured out widely, the nations heard the mighty deeds of God, men and women were drawn into Spirit-enabled witness, and salvation was proclaimed to all who call on the Lord. This reflection traces the marks of New Covenant grace and connects Joel's words with Christ's death, the wonders surrounding the cross, and the birth of the church.
Book of Joel: Importance of Joel
Study Questions: Intro1-Purpose | Intro2-Design | 1:1-20 | 2:1-11 | 2:12-17 | 2:18-27 | 2:28-32 | 3:1-21
Commentary and Reflections: 1🔢11 | 2:12-27 | 2:28-32 | 3:1-21
Joel 2:28-32
Marks of Abounding Grace
The section in 2:28-32 (Hebrew Bible 3:1-5) seems to highlight what happens when God’s people humble themselves. The two disciples talking about the “hidden” resurrected Christ asked, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” (Luke 24:18). They kept sharing how the people had their hope in the mighty prophet, Jesus Christ.
Could the grief of God’s people have been the key to the renewal God intended and planned for at Pentecost? This sadness overshadowed Israel from Acts 1 until the proclamation in Acts 2, where the people were urged to recognize their sin. In Acts 2:37, we read, “They were pierced to the heart.” This paved the way for more grace and miracles to be released.
Most interesting is how Peter quotes and uses that passage to describe what happened that day with the pouring out of the Spirit and the signs associated with Christ’s death.
28 “And it will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. 29 “And even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. 30 “And I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire, and columns of smoke. 31 “The sun will be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. 32 “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered” (Joel 2:28-32).
I have discussed the relevance of this message elsewhere (Acts 2:14-40), but it suffices to say here that Joel is prophesying about God’s awakened grace and the pouring out of the Spirit of God on His people, signs that signify the establishment of the New Covenant and the church. Note that the marks of the New Covenant are of the same type but are greater than those of the Old Covenant.
(1) God’s Spirit poured out signifies a large amount being given, contrasting with only a little. This idea of “poured out’ is shown by Saul’s anointing. Sometimes, the Holy Spirit would fully come upon him, leading everyone to recognize Saul as a prophet. “Therefore it became a proverb: ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’” (1 Samuel 10:11).
In the case of Pentecost, we see a similar outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
“And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4).
Some people used their limited experiences to interpret what they saw. They couldn’t understand the pouring out of the Spirit, so they claimed the people were drunk. That’s when Peter steps in and explains that this is the pouring out of the Spirit as prophesied in Joel (Acts 2:14-16 and on).
(2) The Spirit of God was given to all humanity, not just to Jews. This is a remarkable prophecy, especially given the emphasis in Acts 2 on people from all over the world being present at that feast. The nations were, one by one, distinctly listed.
“Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because they were each one hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and marveled, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs--we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God” (Acts 2:5-11).
Note the emphasis here: people from every nation under heaven speaking in their own language—the list includes nations from around the world, such as the distant Parthians and Medes (Iran) and northern Africans (Libya around Cyrene), as well as modern-day Turkey, where Paul the Apostle traveled on some of his journeys, i.e., Asia.
(3) God works in all believers, regardless of sex, age, or status. “And it will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. “And even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days” (Acts 2:28-29). This should be contrasted with the few who served in the court of the Old Testament temple, but even they were not allowed to enter the Holy of Holies.
There is no direct evidence of women speaking in these various languages, but it did happen! In Acts 1:14, it says, “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” Later, the scripture in Acts 2:1 states they were all together in one place when the flame of fire rested on each person’s head. Acts 2:3 emphasizes this and includes the women as part of the group. This later influenced the church’s structure on how women could worship God equally alongside men (different from the temple courts). These may not be significant prophecies for us, but they were important at the time. Regarding future fulfilled prophecy, this aspect might be hard to repeat today due to societal changes. We would no longer be surprised to see the Spirit of God move on slaves, women (1 Cor 14:34), and seniors.
(4) Changes in heaven would become visible. Significant events happened on that Pentecost Day, but we should also recall the darkened skies during the middle of the day Jesus died. This was not just an ordinary eclipse, as the darkness lasted for three hours. Even solar eclipses do not cause complete darkness for nearly that long. While this sign occurred fifty days before Pentecost, Peter saw it fulfilled, connecting the event on the cross and its miracles with Pentecost, just as the Passover, Leavened Bread, Firstfruits (Leviticus 23), and Pentecost feasts are closely linked through their timing (for example, Pentecost occurs 50 days after the crucifixion).
There were no recorded events in the heavens on the day of Pentecost, so only a few limited interpretations are possible.
A) Peter was talking about the sky turning dark during the crucifixion.
B) Although Peter quoted the entire text, he was only referring to a part of it. This is unlikely. He could have quoted the relevant section if only part of it made sense.
C) Peter was referring to an upcoming judgment that had not yet occurred but would soon. This judgment was about Jerusalem in 70 A.D. It is possible. The main question, if it can be answered, is whether the sign was a confirming sign (which would mean the timing was closer) or a trigger for the impending judgment.
Overall, along with the next point, it seems that linking the earth’s darkness (which never happened again) at Jesus’ crucifixion as a key sign of God’s judgment on Jerusalem in Christ makes sense. The darkening of the earth and moon is often used figuratively to represent the defeat of a nation, as in Joel 2:10. The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. would fully fulfill this prophecy. The rejection of Jesus is connected to the destruction of Jerusalem, which Jesus mentioned several times during His life. However, it makes more sense to see the earlier darkness—50 days prior—as a sign of the implementation of the New Covenant, especially since all witnesses saw it.
(5) Amazing happenings occurred on earth at that time.
Besides the spiritual impartation and the prophecies of men and women, we will see displays in the skies and on the earth.
“And I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes” (Joel 2:30-31).
What could all this signify? We are inclined to connect the previous point with this one. The separation of the events in the sky and on the earth is even mentioned in verse 30. Most importantly, God is orchestrating the display and broadcast to all the networks.
The New Testament gospels clearly record several significant events that happened during Jesus’ death and resurrection. They would be called wonders, whether it’s the tearing of the curtain, the great earthquake, or the resurrection of many dead people. This is combined with the sky turning dark from noon to 3 pm. All were amazed at these events, so much so that even the centurion acknowledged Christ’s true identity as the Son of God.
“Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:54)
(6) Salvation would be offered to all who would believe.
The very last words of Joel 2:32 were not included in Peter’s speech, specifically.
“For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the LORD has said, even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.”
Reflecting on this might be helpful. Is it simply that someone edited Peter’s remarks, or that Peter himself shortened the verses, or that the later words here refer to a different time, such as what Jesus predicts in 70 A.D.? And although 5,000 people were saved that day, many more stubbornly refused to believe.
Perhaps, Peter recognizes this calling aspect found in Joel 2:32 in verse 39, “For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself” (Acts 2:39).
Summary
Jesus’ death caused grief among many Jews in Acts 2 and allowed God to pour out His saving grace. Following the murder of the Messiah, there was mourning over Jerusalem, and God responded by pouring out abundant grace, confirmed by signs and the continuous awakening of His people. It is not certain that the words in 2:28-32 fully fulfilled the prophecy of Joel in a way that rules out future reference, but like Peter, we should believe that the events of Pentecost are an extension of that prophecy and not look for future fulfillment. It is probably best to accept that this fulfillment was realized through Christ’s death on the cross, an event that the Lord would want us to focus on.
Application
For us, hope is always just around the corner if we would only grieve, mourn, and earnestly call out to our God. God would surely break forth in abundant grace. Oh, why do we wait for tragedies to happen before taking time for solemn reflection? City solemn assemblies truly have their place in urging us to humble our hearts, stay spiritually alert, and keep tragedy at bay, while also providing a way to seek a greater outpouring of God’s mighty grace—something we so desperately need!
