Jesus’ death and resurrection are a big deal.  Take a moment to reflect that these two events happened on the same planet you live on, in real history.  Jesus is just as real as George Washington or your grandmother.  These very real events began a very real church.  The infancy of that church, or gathering of the called, begins in Luke’s sequel to his Gospel, Acts of the Apostles.

I had planned on moving on from looking at the Spirit in Matthew and then on to Mark, but I decided variety would help the process.  Most of the occurrences of pneuma in Matthew, Mark and Luke are parallel.

(1) Acts 1:2 “Until the day when [Jesus] was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen”

Luke begins his sequel by reminding Theophilus of Jesus’ resurrection appearances and instructions to the remaining disciples who now bear the title “apostle” or “sent-one”.

Jesus quickly points out the not-ready-ness of the apostles with “but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”  The main purpose of this looking at the Holy Spirit and spirits in scripture is to understand the workings of the spiritual world.  Jesus affirms that the Spirit somehow will baptize the apostles.  However, it is interesting that the timing is not instant.  Luke will build up the theme that the Spirit is not on a train schedule.  After all, this is the Spirit of the risen Son of God, why wait?  Certainly, the delay isn’t because of some material insufficiency, the Spirit’s timing is its own (cf. John 3:3).

This theme of timing picks up with 1:7-8 “It is not for you to know times or seasons… but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses.”  The Spirit’s coming upon the apostles is at once a promise of Christ’s providing spiritual power and a reminder that they are completely insufficient for His mission.  They can’t know the timing, they can’t know the means, but that can know power is coming.  Furthermore, the power is not without bounds.  They aren’t being given power to jump buildings, slay enemies, but power to “be my witnesses”.  This idea of power for a mission and not for anything will come up again (Acts 8:18).

(2) Acts 1:16 Peter says “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas.”  Peter then goes on to cite Psalm 69:25 and 109:8 for explanation of how they should move on to elect Matthias by prayer and casting lots in v26.  We learn two ideas that will expand as the story continues.  First, the early Christians deeply believed the Spirit connected Scripture to Scripture and Scripture to their present circumstances.  The Scriptures weren’t just old history texts but living truth for their time.  Second, the early church always sought the Spirit’s direction and occasion for putting forward leaders.  Why pick someone new? Because God’s Word says so.  Who do we pick?  The one appointed by God.  Leadership was not established based on trends or models, but God’s word.

(3) Acts 2:2 “There came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind… and divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirt and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”  The Spirit does many things in this passage.  First, the Spirit fulfills Jesus word from Acts 1:5 and as Peter will point out Joel’s prophesy from Joel 2:28.  But most strikingly, the Spirit manifests with observable phenomena, wind and fire.  And what power do they receive?  Healing, super-strength, super intelligence?  They receive power to communicate the Gospel to every tribe tongue and language.  Acts 4:6 says “Each one was hearing them speak in his own language.” This is not the worshipful utterances of 1Cor 14:4-6, but a miracle of enabling the reception of the Gospel.

(4) Peter then begins to preach a message with two parts 1) What are you seeing/hearing? 2) What did Jesus do?

With regards to the Spirit, the citation of Joel 2:23-32 states “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy…. In those days I will pour out my Spirit and [male and female servants] shall prophesy.”  The Spirit is drawing people into God’s service who before did not have power.  There is a youthfulness to what the Spirit is doing and an unexpected-ness.  Certainly, the crowd could not fathom why these ex-fishermen disciples should be part of this spiritual movement. They must be drunk. The crowd is seeing/hearing God’s Spirit poured out and at work.

Then Peter explains what Jesus is doing in all of this.  Acts 2:33 “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.”  The Spirit is the Spirit of Christ to pour out on His followers for the works the crowd is seeing.  Peter defends Jesus’ life, ministry, and Scriptural claims and then appeals to the crowd with “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (2:38).  Jesus is the one pouring out this Spirit, and it can be the crowd’s gift too.  Notice that this first sermon is just as much an invitation to receive the Spirit as it is a plea for repentance.  The Christ who forgives is the Christ who pours out.

The Spirit is alive in the church, not the buildings but the people.  Christ has poured out His Spirit on those who are forgiven.  This timing and work is not for the apostles or us to control.  However, the entire work is a reminder of our insufficiency and God’s perfect timing.  Furthermore, in this initial story we see that the Spirit provides power for the mission.  Next time in Acts the Spirit will empower a miracle that begins the church’s initial persecution.