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Pentecost — Acts 2:1-12

09 Jun


The image above is from Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups by Ned Bustard. The image itself is called “Communion/Pentecost” and was created by Chris Stoffel Overvoorde.

Acts 2:1-12
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Dear God, I have spent so much time with the passages about the Holy Spirit this week that it’s nice to have a fresh take on it, and the fact that I have this piece of art from Chris Stoffel Overvoorde is great. So let me take a look and se what I can see that Overvoorde might be telling me about his interpretation of the story.

  • The easiest people to make out are the man and woman silhouetted at the front of the image. I’m assuming these are the people who came to the apostles after the spirit moved through.
  • One of the people represented is a woman. Of course there was a woman there. We don’t normally picture that, but there must have been many women among the 3,000 who would become believers that day.
  • There is light flooding from above. I assume this is the Holy Spirit descending from Heaven and into humanity through the original apostles.
  • I can count nine faces that seem to be transformed by the Holy Spirit. The other three (we’ll throw Matthias in there since he was just made an apostle at the end of chapter 1) are likely there too, but not pictured.
  • I think that is a hand reaching out by the silhouetted man’s face. We’ll assume that represents Peter speaking to everyone a little later.
  • Artistically, there is a vague shape of a cross depicted where the Spirit is. The others are in darkness, but coming to the light.

Of this picture, Bustard writes:

The disciples of Christ are gathered together in an upper room just before Pentecost. There is expectation and fear in the various expressions around the table. The Spirit was promised by Jesus when he ascended, but for now they must simply wait and hope. They are in communion with each other and sharing in the Eucharist. The interplay of light and dark created by their bodies close together forms the shape of the Cross, symbolizing that together they are the body of Christ.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit–Trinity–please be with me this morning as I preach. I pray that you will be in that room. I am almost afraid to pray this for what it could really mean, but please show up today. Show up in our church and your church all over the world. Surprise us. Use me. Help me to not look for any glory for myself this morning. Help me to decrease as you increase. Shine through me, sweet Jesus. Holy Spirit, please be with me and pray for me.

I pray all of this in submission to the name of Jesus my savior and with the help of the Holy Spirit, my God with me,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 9, 2019 in Acts

 

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Holy Spirit Baptism

05 Jun

Dear God, I wrote yesterday morning about being baptized in the Holy Spirit. With Pentecost coming this Sunday, and me substitute preaching at the Presbyterian church, I want to spend some time on this issue with you. What is being baptized in the Holy Spirit all about?

First, I want to look at the passages that reference it.

  • John the Baptist – All four Gospels reference John the Baptist saying the Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Here is what Matthew says: “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” [Matthew 3:11]
  • Jesus before the Ascension – Just before he ascended to Heaven, Jesus said this to the apostles: “John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” [Acts 1:5]
  • Pentecost – This doesn’t specifically say, “Baptized by the Holy Spirit,” but it’s the follow up to Acts 1:5 and I’ve always taken it to mean that this is what happened to the early church: On the day of Pentecost[a] all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. [Acts 2:1-4]
  • Peter promises the Spirit – Now that Peter has just received it in that moment, he understands that it is an important part of the experience and he includes it along with repentance and water baptism: Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” [Acts 2:38]
  • Samaritan believers were missing the Holy Spirit – I would say that this story certainly supports the idea of a two-stage baptism: When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there.  As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit. [Acts 8:14-17]
  • Simon the Sorcerer tries to buy the Holy Spirit baptism – Simon is jealous of those who have this baptism, but finds out that being baptized in the Holy Spirit isn’t something you can buy or earn: But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.”‘”Pray to the Lord for me, Simon exclaimed, ‘that these terrible things you’ve said won’t happen to me!” [Acts 8:20-24]
  • Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit before water baptism – The apostles were still figuring out what the New Covenant looked like and then had this experience with Gentiles: Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God.Then Peter asked, “Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. [Acts 10:44-48a]
  • Peter has to convince the other apostles that Gentiles are welcome – Again, everyone is trying to figure this out. Isn’t it interesting that humans seem to have a tendency to think of themselves as part of a select class of humans? But you were teaching them: Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God. But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticized him. “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said. Then Peter told them exactly what had happened. “I was in the town of Joppa,” he said, “and while I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision. Something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners from the sky. And it came right down to me. When I looked inside the sheet, I saw all sorts of tame and wild animals, reptiles, and birds. And I heard a voice say, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.’  “‘No, Lord,’ I replied. ‘I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure or unclean.’ “But the voice from heaven spoke again: ‘Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.’ This happened three times before the sheet and all it contained was pulled back up to heaven. “Just then three men who had been sent from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying. The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry that they were Gentiles. These six brothers here accompanied me, and we soon entered the home of the man who had sent for us. He told us how an angel had appeared to him in his home and had told him, ‘Send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He will tell you how you and everyone in your household can be saved!’ “As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning. Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?” When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.” [Acts 11:1-18]
  • All are baptized into one body – The ultimate lesson the apostles and early church learned is that all humans are your children through this New Covenant. Jesus bridged the gap and your Holy Spirit is available to us all: The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.  Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. [1 Corinthians 12:12-13]

So when I lift all of these references to Holy Spirit baptism out and look at them together, it makes me think back on Jesus’s prayer for us in John during the Last Supper story. When he prayed for future believers he said, “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. [John 17:21].” I think the Holy Spirit is our great counselor, teacher, and uniter. 

Father, I cannot imagine what a post-Jesus world would look like without Pentecost and the Holy Spirit arriving on the scene to baptize us all. I cannot imagine what my life would look like without the Holy Spirit. And I know that part of my job is to ensure that I continue to provide a heart with fertile soil that will not squelch the Spirit in my life, but provide the seeds he plants to thrive and grow into making my life what you need it to be. Thank you for your glory. Thank you for Jesus. And thank you for the Holy Spirit.

I pray all of this in worship of you through Jesus’s name,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 5, 2019 in 1 Corinthians, Acts, Matthew

 

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Acts 2:1-21

04 Jun

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Acts 2:1-21

Dear God, I’m a believer in there being two baptisms–one in the “water” and one in the “Spirit.” I think water can be a relative term, and the important thing there is that there is a submission of heart and will. There is a repentance and a turning.

But then I think there is a time for every Christian that cements the first baptism. It is almost like the mortar that holds the stones of the “water” baptism together. And while the first baptism doesn’t require much work or time, the second one seems to only come when some effort has been put in. When the seeds have started to dig into the good soil a little. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, the soil of the heart. That is the key. The baptism of water can find the seeds of faith landing on shallow soil–growing quickly and then dying. But the baptism of the Spirit is the result of the roots from the seeds finding that good soil. The Spirit might munch through some of that rock to find the soil, so it’s not like the seed MUST land on the good soil to survive. But it is about growth. If we didn’t have the Holy Spirit with us–if I didn’t have the Holy Spirit with me–then there would be no depth to any of our faith. This first rushing of the Spirit in this story from Acts is truly a watershed moment, without which the rest of the New Testament would probably not exist.

Father, help me to contiue to live a life that provdes good soil for your seeds to grow. Help my wife and children to have good soil in their hearts and to grow in Spirit and in faith. Be a light to me through others, and through me to the world. Be glorified through me.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 4, 2019 in Acts

 

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