Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Jesus’ last words before His ascension.)
Acts 2: 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words. 15 These men are not drunk as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel … 22 Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. 23 He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. 24 But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches…. “
Pretend that it’s Christmas morning and when you look under the tree, there is this wonderful present. The present is beautifully wrapped, but what really catches your eye is that the box is literally vibrating, practically jumping up and down. And when you open it, suddenly the entire room is bathed with light! You hear music! You feel a joy such as you have never felt before. And suddenly, wonderful thoughts are coming into your mind and you feel like an entirely new person! And now the question is this: what do you do next? That’s how the disciples must have felt on the day of Pentecost.
On Pentecost, that little band of believers in the prayer room in Jerusalem had no idea what they were in for! Perhaps if you had asked Peter before that fateful day, he might have said, “Well, we know that God is already blessing us. Perhaps that’s what Jesus was talking about.” Nobody was more shocked and excited than the disciples when the Holy Spirit suddenly descended. And then to top it off, Peter went out into the street and began to preach. PETER???? HUH??? Up to this point, Peter had functioned as a leader, certainly. But eloquence wasn’t exactly Peter’s long suit. Peter was a fisherman, for goodness’ sake! Once you got Peter out of his boat, his conversational skills were pretty basic.
If any of the disciples had been choosing a spokesman, they might have selected Matthew; after all, as a tax collector, Matthew was used to mingling with all kinds of people and could speak several languages. But no, it was Peter who found himself rushing down the stairs, out the door, and into the street to confront the huge crowd that had already gathered. Peter had no idea what he was going to say, but when he opened his mouth, God gave him the message – a message of explanation, and an appeal for those present to realize that Jesus truly was the Messiah for whom they had been waiting. And while the disciples watched in amazement, three thousand people knelt down right there in the street, repented of their sins, and believed on Jesus Christ! And nothing was ever the same again, not for those people or for the disciples.
As the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit sometimes doesn’t get very much attention, but He should. The Holy Spirit represents the presence of God with us and the power of God to work in our lives. After all, if that Holy Spirit power could take a stammering Galilean fisherman like Peter and turn him into an articulate Christian leader, then that same power is available to us for God to change us and to transform us.
PRAYER: Lord, please send your Holy Spirit on everyone who reads these words. You know the needs. You know the fears. You know the desires of their hearts. Come, Holy Spirit! In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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