The Coming of the
Holy Spirit
Acts 1:12-2:13
Key verse 2:4
John Wesley said that, "Without the Spirit we can do
nothing but add sin to sin." It is not too much to emphasize the
importance of the Holy Spirit because he is the source of all we do. However,
we often feel distant from the Holy Spirit. We often feel powerless and miserable
like orphans. Some Christians don’t know how the Holy Spirit works for them. Some
even do not know who the Holy Spirit is. If that is the case for you, this
message is for you. In the previous passage, Jesus promised the apostle that he
would send the Holy Spirit shortly. Today’s passage shows how the Holy Spirit comes
upon them and what happens to them. When they are filled with the Holy Spirit,
they become powerful witnesses of Jesus. I pray that God may also fill us with the
Holy Spirit so that we can live a powerful Christian life.
I. The apostles
prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit (1:12-26)
In the previous passage, Jesus was taken into the sky and the
apostles were again left alone. What did they do? They returned to the room in
Jerusalem where they were staying. Why? In 1:4, Jesus commanded them not to leave
Jerusalem but to wait for the Holy Spirit. That meant that they came back to
Jerusalem in obedience to Jesus’ command. Who was present there? All the eleven apostles
were present there along with the women and Jesus’ mother and his
brothers.
13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they
were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and
Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot,
and Judas son of James.
When Jesus was arrested and died, they all scattered and went on
their ways. However, this time after Jesus resurrected and ascended, they got
together with one mind in obedience to Jesus’ command. Interestingly, the
author Luke listed apostles’ names in a slightly different order than that in
Luke 6:14-16.
Luke 6:14-16 14 Simon (whom he named
Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew,Thomas,
James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas
son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
You can notice that Peter was still mentioned first though he disowned
Jesus three times and that John was mentioned after Peter. The apostles used to
argue about who was the greatest among them. (Lk 9:46) There was rivalry
between Peter and John. But there was no more such argument now. They all got
together around Peter who was reinstated by Jesus. And as we can see later in
Ch. 3, Peter and John worked together. What did they do then?
14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the
women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
They prayed constantly. Though Jesus promised to send the Holy
Spirit shortly, that did not do away with their prayer. Their constant prayer
showed their dependency on God. Look at who joined in the prayer. They all
joined together in prayer. No one was missing. Even the women and Jesus’
brothers joined with them. There was no discrimination in terms of position and
gender. They became one in Jesus. By the way, they numbered about 120 in total.
This group of people seemed to be insignificant to people but they were the
people with whom God wanted to launch the greatest ministry for the whole
world.
While they were praying constantly, Peter sensed that there was a lingering
issue among them, which was Judas’ betrayal. Judas was one of the apostles. But
he served as guide for those who arrested Jesus and ended up in a tragic death.
18 (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas
bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his
intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem
heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama,
that is, Field of Blood.)
His death was so gruesome and even horrific. Why
did the author Luke describe Judas’ tragic death in detail? The apostles still vividly
remembered his tragic death. Their wounds due to Judas’ betrayal still bothered
them. They even wondered why God let this tragedy happen among them. And since
they lost one of their members, they felt that something was missing in their
ministry. This could be an obstacle for them to move past. This issue must be
resolved so that their wounds could be healed and their lingering doubt could
be cleaned up. But how could they do this?
While praying, Peter learned that the Holy
Spirit spoke about Judas in the book of Psalms and the Scriptures should be
fulfilled.
15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group
numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said,
“Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the
Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as
guide for those who arrested Jesus…20 “For,” said Peter,
“it is written in the Book of Psalms: “‘May his place be deserted; let
there be no one to dwell in it,’ and, “‘May another take his place of
leadership.’
Quoting from Psalm 69 and 109, Peter said that
the Scripture must be fulfilled. These two psalms are concerning the Messiah’s
suffering and God’s punishment for those who opposed him. Peter particularly quoted
two verses from them - Psalm 69:25 and 109:8.
Based on the Scripture, Peter said
·
Judas’ betrayal was prophesized in the Scripture according to
God’s plan and foreknowledge and Judas’ tragedy was God’s punishment for his
betrayal.
·
Judas’ leadership should be replaced accordingly.
This way Peter clearly explained Judas’ betrayal
from God’s perspective and then suggested a solution based on the Scripture. After
he experienced and understood Jesus’ death and resurrection, he became mature
enough to be the top leader, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Who should be the replacement, then?
21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been
with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning
from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one
of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.
The replacement should be
·
The one who had been with the apostles the whole time
·
Beginning from John’s baptism and to when Jesus ascended
·
Because he must become a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.
According to these conditions, they nominated two men: Joseph and
Matthias and then asked God to choose one of them who could take over the
apostolic ministry. And Matthias was chosen.
Overall, the later part of Ch. 1 showed how the apostles got
united along with other members in preparation for the coming of the Holy
Spirit. They all joined in constant prayer. This group of people became the early
church. The early church began with united prayer and the driving force was the
Holy Spirit. This holds true to all church ministries. People should not be the
owner or driving force of the church. Such a people-driven ministry cannot last
long and causes corruption. The church should be owned and led by the Holy
Spirit and we Christians should be his followers. So we should be sensitive to
the Holy Spirit and his guidance. Otherwise, we could go against God’s will. Also
the church members should be united especially in prayer. The Holy Spirit works
powerfully among united church members and they can be united best through
prayer.
II. The Holy Spirit
comes at Pentecost (2:1-13)
Look at 2:1. It was the day of Pentecost. Pentecost is
·
The Greek name for the Feast of Weeks (50 days
after Passover)
o
Exodus 34:22; Numbers 28:26-31; Leviticus
23:15-21
·
The last day of wheat harvest
·
The celebration of the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai
That day they were all together in one place. And an amazing thing
happened that they had never experienced or expected before.
2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing
of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were
sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of
fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
What was going on? Obviously, we can see that something
supernatural was happening to them. Wind and fire are often used in the Bible as
the symbols of the Holy Spirit or the presence of God. The Holy Spirit came to
them with a violent-wind-like sound and in the form of fire. It was such a
powerful phenomenon that they all could see, feel, and know the presence of the
Holy Spirit. And then, what happened to them?
4 All of them were filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled
them.
Can you imagine that more than 120 people all began to speak
together in other languages at the same time? Not just some of them only spoke
in tongues, but everyone there, including the women, spoke in other tongues. This
couldn’t be explained as any natural phenomenon or something else. This was the
work of the Holy Spirit. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit
enabled them to do so. (By the way, they spoke the languages that other peoples
understood. We are not talking about the “speaking in tongue” mentioned in 1
Cor 12, which ordinary people do not understand.)
What did they speak about, then?
11b “we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own
tongues!”
They did not show off their power to speak in tongues.
Instead, they declared the wonders of God. When we are filled with the Holy
Spirit, we realize God’s wonders and declare them. God’s wonder is his power,
magnificence, honor, and glory. And the wonders of God are best displayed by
what he has done through Jesus’ death and resurrection. (We will talk about
that more in the next passage.) Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we cannot
understand Jesus’ death and resurrection and thus God’s greatness either. Only
when the Holy Spirit touches our hearts and minds, we come to know God and then
we cannot but declare his wonders and render glory to him.
Some powerful servants of God misuse the power of the Holy
Spirit and end up with spiritual bankruptcy. The Holy Spirit is not just
something that plugs us into his power, but he is God in nature. He is given to
us to reveal God – his greatness and power and glory. That is the most
important thing the Holy Spirit does for us. Therefore, if we want to be filled
with the Holy Spirit, we should seek God’s glory and obey his command rather
than our selfish desires.
When they began to speak in other tongues, there were staying in
Jerusalem God-fearing people from other nations. Some of them were Jews living
in other nations and some were converts to Judaism. They came to Jerusalem to keep
the Pentecost and happened to hear the believers speaking in tongues. How did
they respond?
6 When they heard this sound, a crowd
came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being
spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all
these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it
that each of us hears them in our native language?
A large crowd (more than 3,000 people - 2:41) came together to
the place where the believers were speaking in tongues. They were greatly
amazed and perplexed because each one heard the sound in their native languages.
They came from Parthia, Media and Elam, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and
Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene,
Rome, Crete and Arab. How was it possible for Galileans to speak in other
tongues that they never learned? This should have not been possible without
God’s power. The crowd immediately felt God’s power and presence with them. They
had not experienced such a great work of God ever. So they asked one another,
“What does this mean?” They felt that something great was happening and they
wondered what it was. Some made fun of them and said, “They have had too much
wine” because this was too great to believe.
As such, the coming of the Holy Spirit at the Pentecost was so
phenomenal that even a large crowd recognized it in amazement. What did this
event mean? How should we understand this?
1:8 “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.”
Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come upon them in a
few days and promised that
·
They would receive power.
·
They would be his witnesses to all nations.
This Pentecostal event was the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise
and as he promised they received power and became his witnesses to the people
who came from other nations.
First, they received power from the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit enabled the believers to speak in other languages. We, however, should
not think that we all can or should speak in tongues when we receive the Holy
Spirit or that speaking in tongue is the only thing the Holy Spirit does. The
Holy Spirit can do many other things for us. He convicts us to know God’s
righteousness and our sins. He leads us into all truth. He regenerates us. He
sanctifies us. He teaches us and quickens our hearts and minds. He changes our
inner beings. These are the most important things the Holy Spirit does. Other
than these, he also gives some special gifs, such as teaching, healing, leadership,
music talent, and serving. RL is has a gift in serving people. CW has a talent
in learning and editing. MY has a talent in witnessing. DY has the music
talent. SY has the fishing talent. The Holy Spirit also provides us with
wisdom, healing, protection, health, job, and many others. But the Holy Spirit
gives such power and gifts according to our needs especially when we seek him humbly
and sincerely to be Jesus’ witnesses.
There lived a famous pastor in Pennsylvania. He was famous
because his message was dry and boring so he was fired in 6 months wherever he
ministered. So his nickname was a “dry stick.” One day he was fired again and
did nothing for a long time. He felt like he was dying. He tried to catch a
straw and barely found a new church. But he found out that the church was
famous because any pastors had never ministered there more than six months.
Probably the church members were so picky and arrogant that no pastors could do
satisfy them. So the church was well known as a “dry church.” The “dry pastor”
was so afraid of losing his job in the “dry church.” The day finally came and
he delivered his first message. Unexpectedly, the audience’s response was
pretty good. His next message was so powerful that the whole church was thrown
into amazement. So, one man, who actually helped the pastor get the position in
the church, asked the pastor how he could do that. He said that he had
desperately prayed for three months before he ministered the church and then
God filled him with the Holy Spirit. After his first message, he prayed more
and he could have more power from God. And then he said with smile, “You know,
a dry stick is burned better by the Holy Spirit.” When he hit the rock bottom
and depended on God desperately, God filled him with the Holy Spirit and his
message became living and powerful.
Billy Graham used to be a quiet and timid boy. One time he
fell deeply in love with one woman, who rejected his marriage proposal for
another man. He was so hurt and devastated. He said, “It was Paradise Lost for
me… I wept out my misery.” But what happened to him later? He became one of the
most powerful evangelists! How? He said that he changed since he was convicted
by the Holy Spirit and confident that the Bible is God’s infallible Word. But
he did not speak in tongue or experience any dramatic or visible phenomenon.
Instead, he desired for the evangelization of the whole world. The Holy Spirit
gave him confidence, courage, and understanding of the Bible to be a witness of
Jesus to the whole world.
As such, the Holy Spirit gives power to those who witness
Jesus.
Another thing we can learn from this event is that the Holy
Spirit enabled them to witness Jesus to all nations. It was not a coincidence
that many peoples from all nations were staying in Jerusalem when the believers
spoke in other tongues. It happened according to God’s plan. As you can see in the map below, the peoples
came from all surrounding nations.
In Gen 11, God scattered people by confusing their language
so that they could not build the tower of Babel against God. But now God is
gathering them back to him through Jesus. To let all nations hear and know
Jesus, the Holy Spirit enabled them to speak in other languages. This event was
a huge milestone in God’s salvation work in that
·
Now Jesus is with us through the Holy Spirit.
·
The Holy Spirit is the one who drives the church.
·
The Holy Spirit empowers us to be Jesus’
witnesses to all nations.
·
This event was the precursor to what was going
to happen until Jesus comes again.
Conclusion
So far, we have learned that the apostles could be powerful
witnesses of Jesus when they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Now you might
wonder, “How can I be powerful like the apostles or Billy Graham?” “How can our
ministry grow fruitful?” “How can I be a powerful messenger?” “How can I be a
powerful witnesses of Jesus?” Now we know the answer – the Holy Spirit? Remember
the ultimate thing the Holy Spirit does, which is to help us declare God’s
wonders. Do you have desire to seek God and declare his wonders? Do you want to
be a witness of Jesus? Do you truly believe that you are so helpless and sinful
that only God can help you? The Holy Spirit is given to such people. The Holy
Spirit comes to the church where all members are united and pray together.
I pray that you and I can be filled with the Holy Spirit so
that we all can be powerful witnesses to Jesus.
by David Yun
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