Scripture: John 16:5-16, Acts 2:1-10
Today is Pentecost, the day when we rejoice over the
sending of God’s Spirit into this world.
Jesus had spoken of the Spirit before, and later His disciples began to
remember the words of encouragement that they had received from their Lord and
Master, specifically – “… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes
on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
At the time, none of them were able to understand
what all of that would come to mean for their lives. But on that Pentecost, the Holy Spirit would
bring with Him power, authority, and guidance for the faithful in Christ, and
then they began to get a glimpse of what the Lord had been telling them. And we have to remember just who it was that
would be the first to receive these Godly gifts – it would be fishermen, a tax collector, one
who had doubted Jesus, another who had denied ever knowing Him, young and old alike
(Matthew 10:2-4). But these would not be the only ones to be promised
empowerment through Spirit Power – in Joel 2:28-29
we read “28 “And afterward, I will pour out my
Spirit on all people. Your sons and
daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men
will see visions. 29 Even
on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those
days.”
This is the Spirit of Pentecost at work
for humanities benefit.
Read John 16:5-16
This passage is known as a portion of Jesus’ “Final
Discourse” – those final words offered by the Lord Jesus Christ, given to His
closest followers at the Last Supper, just a few hours before He would be
arrested and falsely tried by the Sanhedrin.
These words were offered as encouragement to those who would be called
to carry on in the ministry of Truth that Jesus had begun 3½ years earlier. But this isn’t the beginning of the Spirit’s
presence - the Spirit of God had been part of the Holy
Trinity since before time began, and even Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, before He was even born!
(Luke 1:14-16)
The presence of the Holy Spirit was never intended
to be a protection from the onslaught that evil would bring against those who
the Spirit had come to fill. His
purpose was to be a Reminder of all that Jesus had taught (John 14:26), He will be a “guide” for seekers
who are searching for the truth of God for their lives (John 16:12-13), He will, in the Greek, be known as the
Paraclete – an Encourager, Comforter, Consoler, Helper,
Exhorter, Counselor, and the Appealer for all who follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit would be the very presence of
God – Father and Son – for all who believe in the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Even though the Spirit will not be a Teacher, per
se, He will inspire and lead all who the Lord calls to be a witness to the
world and a servant to the King of kings.
And the Spirit could not arrive for our lives until Jesus had been
welcomed back into the presence of the Father.
It isn’t that the Spirit would bring a new message of divine hope, or
become a new Teacher, or be seen as a manifestation of Jesus – the Lord tells
us that He will be the Spirit of Conviction, that He will be the one who
inspires believers with a “guilt” that leads us to understand the depth
of depravity that resides in our sin, and motivates us to reject the evil, the falsehoods,
and the injustice that surrounds us through the world’s ways.
The Holy Spirit will be the Spirit of Truth – God’s
Truth – and will never be tempted to speak any word that does not reflect
pure and holy truth. Remember Jesus
words from John 5:28-30? 30 By
myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is
just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me. And the Lord says that the Spirit will
function in the same way – that He, too, will speak only that which “He
hears” from both the Father and the Son.
So if anyone tells you that the Spirit has given them a word that
contradicts anything that Jesus has spoken, it is a lie, and truly nothing less
than one that comes solely from the prince of darkness. The
true Spirit seeks no glory for Himself, but only serves to inspire us with
divine truth, that we might be led to experience the heightened glory that continues
to cover Jesus.
Any word, any thought, any person who would have
us believe that they have a knowledge which contradicts anything that comes to us directly from the inspired word of God, should be seen as one to avoid. Trust, and confirm it, through the power of God,
and no one else.
Read Acts 2:1-10
In John 20:19-22, we
read of the time when Jesus’ resurrection has already occurred, and now He is
appearing to the disciples, who are still uncertain as to what is actually
happening in their lives, even though Mary Magdalene has already told them that
she has seen the Living Jesus. The truth
is that He came to prepare these faithful ones to be sent out with these
words: “21 … “Peace
be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and
said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
This passage is important for all who would follow
the Lord’s call to mission and ministry.
For when the Lord sends us out, He fills us 1) with His peace, 2) with
His breath, and 3) with the Holy Spirit.
God’s peace is not intended to be the lack of opposition, but rather a
filling of confidence and assurance that God is with us. His breath is not especially nor exclusively
for our physical well being, but rather to bring the power and ability that
having God’s presence within us should provide.
And having the Holy Spirit within us provides all of the encouragement,
sustenance, wisdom, and guidance that we could ever possibly need!
Consider what the Spirit at Pentecost gave to the
faithful that day! It came as both a
mighty wind and what seemed to be tongues of fire that touched and blessed each
and every one in that place. The Holy
Spirit gave each person the ability to speak in a language that none of them
had ever spoken before and had never understood at all. And was it strictly for their own edification
and glory? Not in the least! It was given for the benefit of all who had
come to find out what that roaring wind and those tongues of flame were all
about, because nothing about this miraculous wonder were hidden from anyone on
that day.
It might
have been just as miraculous if the Spirit had allowed the crowd to hear and understand Peter’s sermon in Hebrew, except that it might not have been as bewildering as
it was for them to hear in their own language.
There were 15 different nations represented in this area of the city
that day, and the Spirit gave each one the full, powerful and truthful message
from that almighty and glorious Lord of theirs.
But did all of the onlookers believe in what their
eyes had seen and what their ears had heard?
No – there were still many scoffers present, but nevertheless, there
were still 3,000 souls who heard and believed in the words that Peter spoke
regarding Jesus. They may have heard
stories and rumors before about Jesus, but now they had heard the truth, were
baptized - and believed! (Acts 2:38-41)
And as we continue further into the second chapter
of Acts, we discover that this was not a one-time occurrence!! The new
believers came to the disciples for additional teaching and fellowship, and
began meeting with each other to share their meals and prayers. They began reaching out to the needy in
ministry and mission, and the Spirit continued to bring more and more people to
faith in Jesus Christ.
Is the power that comes from the Holy Spirit of God truly
awesome and incredible? Without a doubt! Does everyone who encounters the Spirit
believe and accept what they see and hear?
No. There will always be some
who, because they can’t explain or understand something, assume that whatever
they thought that they heard or saw was simply a mirage, or perhaps it was
their imagination playing tricks on them.
But the Spirit’s work is always experienced through,
but seldom for, the believer, and is given to reveal God’s presence at work in
the life of one who needs to be renewed or revived. The Spirit’s coming was prophesied a number
of times by Old Testament prophets, and is evidenced by the work of the
evangelists throughout the remainder of the New Testament.
Beyond our passage for today, Peter’s sermon
continued for many more verses (Acts 2:14-41),
but the work of the Spirit wasn’t completed on that day, for it continues to
this day, and will continue to work in faithful lives as long as God’s patience
for the people of earth still holds firm.
May the Spirit of God also work within each of our
lives, that others will come to know Jesus through the example of our faithful
witness.
