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." So the Word of God is what Jesus took and explained, it is what the Church went to, to explain what was happening, and then, it is the Spirit of God. That's what He did. About 10 days earlier, Christ had finally ascended for the final time and they were left alone. 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. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." So it was a bodily appearance that He made completely to them, and He showed them His hands and His feet. I remember taking my little bag and walking over and kind of looking around, and sitting down on a bench. Again, the answer is yes. The Sadducees were more focused on the Five Books of Moses than the history and prophets. But first let me tell you why I think it is so relevant. (1 Cor., 148 pp., XI, 8-22). By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. Luke 24:53 says that the disciples stayed continually at the Temple praising God. 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. Some say apostles got Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. 60 seconds. For example, Numbers 14:24 says of Caleb, "My servant Caleb, because he has a different Spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into this land." 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. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Pentecost was a Jewish festival fifty days after the Passover. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. And perhaps like you and I would today, we might look at it as a little bit odd. That is the vision that Jesus has for His Church as articulated by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:16 Ephesians 4:16From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body to the edifying of itself in love.American King James Version, and they had it at this moment. 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. He was the one who was the leader of that doubt and fear and terrified approach, because he denied Christ three times, and he had to be pointedly taught by Jesus. The Christian aeon is a renewed order, a new creation. How can I recognize one? We give ourselves to that devotion, to that devoted study and the process of taking on the nature of God. And to live with the reality that there is a God who judges, who sees, and who knows. Beginning with Easter Sunday (e.g., Luke 24:32,45) and most likely throughout the forty days before ascending, the Lord instructed and formed the Apostles in the Gospel. Does anybody care? "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.". "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). Where is it being manifested in the church today? 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. Just think, if Jews returning from God's judgment in Babylonian exile can take heart that God's Spirit will protect them, how much more fearless should we be who have the overwhelming assurance of God's love and power in Jesus' death and resurrection! But it is also due to a much simpler and . LISTEN NOW. Because they were seeing Christ risen and they saw Him in a bodily form, but then they were attributing something different to that. It's an interesting way that they did. "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. How was Simeon able to have the Holy Spirit upon him prior to Pentecost? From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body to the edifying of itself in love. It was a mighty, powerful machine, the most powerful that the world in that day had ever seen. And of course, one of the most dramatic scenes in all the Bible occurred with the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the gathered disciples, and the speaking in tongues, and a mighty rushing wind that we find it hard to imagine what it was like, because it's not part of our custom to try to pray that down today like some other denominations and religious forms do. This time, Thomas was with them. I was going to get on a Greyhound bus. "What do we do?" Not completely unraveled, but the doubt and the disbelief has an impact. and there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. They were with Him and they asked Him in verse 6, "Lord, will You at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?" Show them otherwise what had been done, rebuke their unbelief, as it goes along here. And not for the reality that the 1st century world would have known and experienced, that other dimension. It had been organized quite well and in that remote backwater of Judea, the Roman government kept things in order. And they chose Matthias by casting lots. ", A church begins to develop. The vision of the Church was coming together and the mission of the Church was being accomplished. Suddenly, Jesus appeared in the middle of the group. But they were terrified, and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit." Most people believe the disciples were assembled in the "upper room" when the holy spirit of YEHOVAH God descended upon them during that Pentecost of 31 A.D. 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. What's the next step?" And all the others came right in and were a part of it with him. This is the threefold commission that is given to this group of disciples where they are to be witnesses of Him in the city of Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samariathe wider region of the country, look at it as kind of the wider counties of the country of Israel at the timeand then ultimately, to the end of the earth, to take the Gospel and to be a witness of God, to do this. That power would come in the form of the Holy Spirit. Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. If you forgive anyone's sins, they will be forgiven. And then even when we see in the days after Jesus' final ascension, a roughly 10-day period, when they came to make a decision to replace Judas, they read Scripture, they applied it properly, God blessed the decision. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.". Question 8. "He appeared first to Mary Magdalene out of whom He had cast seven demons. Why were Jesus' disciples so disheartened and fearful after His death? 2. Evidently, God only gave a brief taste of prophetic powers to the seventy elders. 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. And this dramatic miracle, but beyond that, 3,000 people being added to the Church, and then a community being developed. 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. When I was 15 years old, I got on a bus from my little hometown of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. What was possibly on the disciples' mind the morning of Pentecost? John 16:7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Old Testament saints knew then and Christians know today that victory over all threats and obstacles belongs to God. Life, that a doubt every once in a while creeps in, sometimes an unbelief, fear, bonds of trust might be tested. The second power that they'd run up against was that of the Jewish authorities. And you can begin to imagine how this dynamic begins to must have been being set up within the disciples, because when you begin to doubt one another, you begin to lose trust. As Jesus' disciples they may be afraid of someone that would deliver them to soldiers to punish them for taking part in 'rebellion' (as occupants may see it). Two things we can summarize to show what was the key to bring about this scene that we see here at the end of chapter 2 in Acts. Those in the Spirit are indwelt by the Spirit and are enabled by him to fulfill the just requirement of the law. It goes on, verse 12, "After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country." Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. And then the 50th day came, the morning of Pentecost, and they were gathered together. Learning and labor which do not lead people in love to God are not prompted by the Spirit of Christ. 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