Nearly everyone can remember where they were and what they were
doing on dates of infamy or cataclysmic events. November 22, 1963 (JFK Assassination);
May 18, 1980 (Mt. St. Helens eruption); January 28, 1986 (Space Shuttle Challenger
disaster); September 11, 2001 (Terrorists attack the World Trade Center).
These are dates which stand out in our minds and memories because of the events
with which they are associated.
We are still in the season of Pentecost. It’s the remembrance
of the day the Holy Spirit of God erupted into the lives of all believers
personally, and into His Church collectively. It was a disruption of the norm.
It was the start of something new.
Pentecost (Greek for “fifty”) is also known as Whit Sunday in the
Anglican tradition because of the white clothing worn on that day symbolizing
purity. We celebrate Pentecost each year because we want everyone to understand
the significance of this day. Today we focus on what Pentecost was, is, and
what it means for the Church today. Pentecost stands as the birthday of the
Church, but it is far more than just a date from which to mark history.
As already stated, Pentecost is the Greek word for fifty. It
is so named because it occurs fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus.
It is tradition to celebrate on the Sunday closest to the fiftieth day. In
the ancient Hebrew tradition this day was celebrated as the Festival of Weeks,
or the Feast of Firstfruits. It became one of the most important pilgrimages
for Jews because it ultimately represented the day on which Moses received
the Law of God on Mt. Sinai.
The Church began at Pentecost. We sometimes assume that the
Church has always been here, but the Church began at Pentecost.
Pentecost, like Easter, is the hinge point of history because
God forever changed the way He accomplishes His plan for the world. The life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus forever divided history into two distinct
eras: BC, Before Christ, or the now more politically correct, BCE: Before
the Common Era, was forever separated from AD, anno Domini, The Year of our
Lord, or the now more politically correct CE: “common era.” Life
was forever changed because the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus introduced
hope for the hopeless. But the outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God also ushered
in the “Church Age.” We are in that age today, and will remain in
that age until the Second Coming of Jesus.
It was Pentecost that empowered a rag-tag group of people to
become the Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ. For a body to have life it
must have the power of life in it. The followers of Jesus in that upper room
went from being power-less to being power-filled.
Before Pentecost the disciples had no real power and no real
authority. They certainly had moments of power and authority, but it was always
limited to specific occasions that Jesus led them through (ref. Luke 9-10).
But after the death and resurrection of Jesus all they had left
was a memory; a memory of all the time they had spent with Jesus. They could
remember all the things they had done with Jesus, but now, on their own, they
could do nothing! And so, they “holed up” in Jerusalem, praying
and waiting. Just for what, they weren’t sure, but Jesus’ parting
words were to wait. So, wait they did. They needed the power of God to carry
on, but they didn’t have it!
With the advent of Pentecost the Holy Spirit indwelled His Body
of believers. This handful of people was suddenly empowered to be changed,
and to become agents of change for the whole world. It started first of all
with a change in them, individually, in their own hearts, then a change in
their group, then a change in their community, then a change in their country,
and ultimately they brought change even to the ends of the earth! It was just
as Jesus had said it would be:
“But 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).
With the Holy Spirit there is power and purity; without the
Holy Spirit, there can be no power but human power (and we are very weak),
and there can be no purity but human purity (and God has already declared
that our version of purity is like filthy rags!). Without the Holy Spirit,
we’re all that we can be—already. “God help us!” If we
are going to be what God wants us to be, it’s going to be because He
does a new work in us by His Spirit! Jesus foretold of the time when the Holy
Spirit would be given to the Church. “On the last and most important
day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, ‘If you are thirsty,
come to me and drink! Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water
flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say.’ Jesus was
talking about the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone who had faith
in him. The Spirit had not yet been given to anyone since Jesus had not yet
been given his full glory” (John 7:37-39).
And again we are told: “I tell you that I am going to do
what is best for you. That is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot
come to help you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit
to you” (John 16:7).
By this, Jesus was indicating that the presence of the Holy
Spirit filling the lives of individual believers who make up the Church was
even better than the bodily presence of Jesus. He told them that He was going
to do what was best for them. But how could it be? How could it be better
not to have Jesus with them? That was their question, as well. They couldn’t
comprehend what He was talking about because it had never been done before.
Just as people cannot possibly comprehend the unbelievable hope the Gospel
has for them until they just trust in Christ Jesus. We can’t and don’t
“get it” on our own. We have to experience the Holy Spirit to know.
(For the full manuscript of this sermon
go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons”)
Before Pentecost the disciples were wishy-washy at best. But
on that Day, the disciples were empowered to be what they had been unable
to be for three years.
For three years: They couldn’t understand the parables; they couldn’t
cast out demons; they couldn’t heal the sick; they didn’t know what
to do when so many came to Jesus; and on and on. So, for three years Jesus
taught them and equipped them, knowing that they would have to be able to
carry on the mission without His physical presence.
At Pentecost the disciples moved from being simply equipped
and trained, to being empowered, and there is a major difference! Before Pentecost
the disciples had to go back constantly to where Jesus was whenever they ran
into trouble.
For three years they came across demons they couldn’t cast out, teaching
they couldn’t understand, people who didn’t hear their message,
and more. But now, Christ is in them, wherever they are, and He’s empowering
them to finish the work that He had begun with them.
I love the changes that show up in the lives of the disciples
after Pentecost. In Acts 3 Peter and John are going to the temple and meet
the man crippled from birth: “Silver and gold . . . no we still don’t
have any money! But . . . we do have the Holy Spirit! Get up and walk!”
The Holy Spirit is Jesus without the limitations of a physical
body. At Pentecost, the Church becomes His Body, and with Jesus living in
us and working through us, together we are a powerful change agent in this
world to carry on what Christ began.
“Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh
what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake
of his body, which is the church” (Colossians 1:24).
This is the picture of Pentecost. It’s how Peter moved from being a scared, pathetic disciple who could only follow from a distance the night Jesus was arrested, to a powerful, world-changing voice preaching on the Day of Pentecost. Remember, it was Peter who denied even knowing Jesus. This same Peter is now boldly telling the crowd that they need to know Jesus! Peter was so filled with power on that day that 3,000 people were cut to the heart and cried out, “What shall we do?” And they put their faith, hope, and trust in Jesus for salvation!
