And not for the reality that the 1st century world would have known and experienced, that other dimension. But after Pentecost the power of the Spirit spread out to light the whole world. And again, He gives, through Mark's account here, He gives the same commission to go. He greeted his disciples and said to Thomas, Put your finger here and look at my hands! And it was the high priest and those people who had engineered His death, and they knew the power that they did have. The Roman Empire was not anything to fool around with. Please take the Tour, see below, where you will find that in order to practice biblical hermeneutics we need a text upon which to practice the technique. Send inquiries regarding the operation of this Web site to webmaster@ucg.org. It is a remarkable period of church history, because right here we have a vision being fulfilled that Jesus Christ has for His Church. And one set upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." We sometimes just kind of tail off when we get to the end of one of the Gospels and we know the events, Christ was crucified, Christ was risen, and we don't look at some of the details there. But on the day when the reservoir poured through the turbines a power was unleashed that spread far beyond the few folk down river and brought possibilities they had only dreamed of. The OT believers were saved the same way we are: they were born of the Spirit, they trusted in God's promises, and they followed his commandments in the obedience of faith. "Behold, He said, My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. We can deal with them. And then there came a time, in verse 4, where they were assembled together with Him and He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, which He said, "You have heard from Me, for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.". So He begins to teach them from the Scriptures that they might understand, and that they might comprehend what He was and how He had fulfilled everything that they would have understood to one degree, and then even more they had begun to develop a fuller understanding of the prophecies of Isaiah, or Joel, or Jeremiah, or Ezekiel, the statements about the Messiah. It's God's Spirit that is the only thing that we can have to overcome those fears, because really, it's all the Church of God has ever had. Not completely unraveled, but the doubt and the disbelief has an impact. The bonds of trust among the disciples were beginning to be frayed. But by doing so, when you read the account, you understand that they knew the Scripture, and they applied Scripture to their choice and their decision to replace Judas. The last holy day season, the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread had seen the death of Jesus Christ, and then three days later He was resurrected and He had appeared to them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:24). This means that the disciples could not have Christ in them, as we born again believers have, until the day of Pentecost. First few verses of Acts chapter 1, beginning in verse 3, Luke in his prologue to the account as he writes to this man named Theophilus, about all that had been done by Jesus until the day in which He was taken up through the Holy Spirit and had given commandments to the apostles, whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during 40 days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God., So Luke gives us an explicit reference point that this went on. Consider this question, with what we have just read: how could people filled with doubt, even a measure of unbelief, fear, general fear, intense fear, heightened fear, abject fearfear takes many different forms and guises; sometimes we can control our fear, sometimes it overcomes us and we're just shaking in our bootshow could a people dealing with all of these emotions during this 50-day period of time be expected to do what Jesus told them here in verse 8, they would do, when they have problems figuring it all out at that particular moment? Again Jesus in John 15 talks about Spirit that he will send it, does this mean they yet had no Spirit upon them? Joh 1:13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but . ; 39:29) and Joel (2:28) prophesied and longed to see. We get on to verse 40, the wrap-up: "With many other words, he testified and exhorted them saying, Be saved from this perverse generation, that those who were, who gladly received his word were baptized; about 3,000 souls were added to them. As we have received the gift of God's Spirit, as those on that first day of Pentecost received the gift of the Holy Spirit were brought into the Church, they became, and so are we, partakers of the divine nature. A period of unity, one accord, fellowship, love for one another, treating people as equals, not in a completely socialistic manner that we understand from our modern context of socialism, or the welfare type of society. In one sense, all craftsmanship and artistic ability is a gift of God, just like our breath is. Best Answer. I think it will make a difference. Doubt, some of them doubt, what did they doubt? People need to see that Spirit within us. The appearance of Jesus' face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. When Nicodemus was bewildered about Jesus' demand for new birth by the Spirit, Jesus responded (John 3:10), "Are you a teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand this?" Again, nothing like this had been a part of their frame of reference before. But all of this in the midst of a troubled, terrified, frightened mindset that they were having to work through, during these days between the resurrection and Pentecost. Was Galileo expecting to see so many stars? Every generation of God's people have done that. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to Gods law; indeed, it cannot. Week 8 to Pentecost. So they told him, We have seen the Lord! Colossians 2:15 Colossians 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.American King James Version, tells us that He disarmed the powers with His death. The NIV adds the word "disciples," saying, "The disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid." But the word "disciples" is not in the Textus Receptus Greek text. It wasn't a common manifestation of the Spirit, but it was real then and it is today. In Job 33:4 Elihu speaks for all faithful Jews when he says, "The Spirit of God has made me and the breath of the Almighty gives me life." No longer did they flee like sheep without a shepherd. These are the days of Pentecost, the days of the fullness of the Spirit, the days of worldwide mission. 157 views, 3 likes, 4 loves, 3 comments, 2 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Mora Grace Lutheran Church: Music used with permission from CCLI Luke 24:49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. 19952023 All correspondence and questions should be sent to info@ucg.org. Otherwise how would they ever overcome their natural hostility to God? The Church was given favor, we're told, as they demonstrated these fruits and others were added. 38Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. 39By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Signs and wonders followed their ministration, and they were continually filled with [] 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Darris is the Associate Media Producer for the Church. Question 8. And I think there was and is today a special touch or filling of the Holy Spirit that elevates the work of an artist or a musician or a craftsman from mere technical skill to divinely empowered ministry that exalts God and builds faith. Now let me suggest an analogy to illustrate the experience of the Spirit before and after Pentecost. So it's something for us to examine in our own way, see how much of that is being demonstrated in our life. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. The ministry has had those two themes for the past two conferences. Having Peter's undivided attention, Jesus spoke of the eventual crossing of Peter's own finish line. I remember taking my little bag and walking over and kind of looking around, and sitting down on a bench. And so it was very key that His final ascension would be from this mountain. They were also filled with fear for their own future. After Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream about the coming famine, Pharaoh says, "Can we find such a man as this in whom is the Spirit of God?" Third, the OT believers enjoyed the constant presence of God's Spirit. 1. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. People should see God in the firstfruits. It did not become true after Jesus said that. How to increase the number of CPUs in my computer? "Also for this very reason, giving all diligence into your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, the divine nature. And so Christ gives them teaching and He gives them understanding. Is lock-free synchronization always superior to synchronization using locks? Finally, please know the disciples did receive the Spirit when Jesus breathed on them BEFORE Pentecost (Jn. They saw it in different ways and understood it completely different from anything from our frame of reference and they were ascribing, would have been ascribing then even to Jesus something that was not of God, which in itself can be a problem. But on that morning as they gathered, made their preparations, put on their clothes, walked to the location where they all were gathered, and they were about 120 disciples as chapter 1 of Acts tells us, they no doubt had a lot on their mind. Christ in you, the hope of glory. And that is of people led by the Holy Spirit, knit together, everyone providing that which they can toward a community of faith, power, and love, sharing, looking out after one another and caring for one another. All of these qualities are to the divine nature, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love. At the end of John, you remember, John says, there were so many other things that He did in his life and no doubt probably part of that 40-day period that it would take volumes to teach it, and to record it during this period. And yet some doubted. Before Pentecost: What Were They Thinking? . From this point, they had only 10 days. The disciples had to walk a week away to get to Jerusalem (Acts 1:12). I also think this is true in some way, but in gospels there is record that Jesus 'gave them authority over devils and diseases and sent them to preach gospel, to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead. Being mentally separated from other people (because of being ashamed of lost of their 'cause') made them being afraid of people. These were not terrified, doubtful people. Peter says, "Repent, believe, be baptized, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:8 is the vital point about Pentecost. . No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth. For example, when Moses gathered with the seventy elders of Israel at the tabernacle, it says in Numbers 11:25, "The Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him and took some of the Spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders; and when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. Why are you standing around gazing? They were kind of like this, and like this. Thus, the Pentecost is the culmination, the ultimate gift of Spirit, when the apostles get Him to such an extent and intensity that they can already be emboldened by Him to preach to all corners of the world, withstanding all calamities and opposing powers. These significant events from the life of Jesus are made easier to comprehend and better-illustrated thanks to the passages . By using our website, you accept our use of cookies as described in our Privacy Policy. This is the underlying message Jesus gave to his disciples in today's 2nd Sunday of Lent year A Gospel (Mt 7:1-11) which narrates the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, after having announced to them his Passion and Death on the cross. Such notions have always struck me as profoundly atheistic. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. Did they experience fear, doubt, and disbelief as we sometimes do? Has 90% of ice around Antarctica disappeared in less than a decade? People should see that in us. "And all who believed were together and they had all things in common. [Darris McNeely] On the morning of Pentecost 31 AD, what do you think was going through the minds of the assembled disciples in Jerusalem? The Key to a Life Well Lived. This was just three and a half years, and in really a few weeks, seven weeks and a day of intense thought, emotion, that they had to grapple with and deal with as they came into the presence of one another on the morning of Pentecost. Go, therefore, make disciples of nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded, and lo, I am with you, always, even to the end of the age.'" Did they doubt what they were seeing? There's a lot of information in the details that we are given in chapter 28 verse 16. A: Yes, repeatedly Jesus assured them that although He would be put to death by His enemies, He would come back to life by the power of God. A common manifestation of the will of the Holy Spirit. that they did have to fool around with much! Regarding the operation of this Web site to webmaster @ ucg.org them, as we born believers! 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