It’s Pentecost Sunday today, celebrated 50 days after Easter, commemorating the day that the Early Church received the promise of the Spirit as recorded in Acts 2.
Pentecost promised in Joel
“And it shall come to pass afterward,
Joel 2:28-29 ESV
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
Pentecost fulfills the prophecy spoken by Isaiah, Joel, Ezekiel, and Jesus. Before Pentecost, the gift of the Spirit was unusual, given for a specific purpose and most often for a short amount of time. But Jesus promised that He would send the “advocate,” also translated as “helper,” to be with His disciples when He went away. This helper would remind them of all that Jesus had taught and continue to teach them, pointing them to Jesus. The disciples had specific instructions to wait for the gift, the outpouring, of the Spirit.
Pentecost promised in Isaiah
Like a devoted gardener, I will pour sweet water on parched land, streams on hard-packed ground; I will pour My spirit on your children and grandchildren— and let My blessing flow to your descendants.
Isaiah 44:3 VOICE
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, He met with His disciples often before His ascension. The gospel writers tell us that He opened their eyes to understand the scripture and told them specifically that He would send them what His Father had promised. He told them to stay in the city until they had been clothed with power from on high. Luke recounts that same admonition in the first chapter of Acts, where he writes that Jesus told them to wait for the gift promised by the Father. Jesus reminded the disciples that they had been baptized with water but that they would be baptized with the Spirit in a few days.
Pentecost promised in Ezekiel
For here’s what I’m going to do: … I’ll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you; remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed; put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. You’ll once again live in the land I gave your ancestors — be my people! I’ll be your God!
Ezekiel 36:26-28 MSG
Our power to live out the Christian life, to walk worthy of our calling, comes from the Spirit living within!
[It is] the Spirit of God that made me [which has stirred me up], and the breath of the Almighty that gives me life [which inspires me].
Job 33:4 AMPC
We receive this gift of the Spirit today when we accept the work that Jesus has accomplished on our behalf and believe in the One who redeems us.
If the Spirit of the One who resurrected Jesus from the dead lives inside of you, then you can be sure that He who raised Him will cast the light of life into your mortal bodies through the life-giving power of the Spirit residing in you.
Romans 8:11 VOICE
Prayer
Father, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. May we listen intently as the Spirit instructs, guides, teaches, and comforts us. Move us by your Spirit to walk in the path You have ordained for us and help us to glorify You in all that we do. Amen.
