The Day of Pentecost: Peter’s Secret to Being Jesus’ Disciple
Jesus gives second chances. One look at Peter’s life makes that clear. After denying his Rabbi three times, Peter believed his time of following Jesus as a disciple was over. But after Jesus’ resurrection, He restores Peter and gives him a second chance. And Peter took full advantage of that chance. The Day of Pentecost is the beginning of this. I’ll prove it to you in less than 10 minutes.
As Jesus prepared to ascend into Heaven, He gave a final command to His followers; one final teaching for those who sought to be like Him:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
Just like we saw at the beginning of this series, true discipleship rests on two key points. Jesus has all authority (semikah) in Heaven and Earth, and because of this we must do as He commands us.
Commanded to Go
Jesus expected His disciples to continue to obey everything that He commanded them to do. But now, that command is taken one step further. They were to teach others to do as He commanded as well. In Luke’s version of this story, Jesus again makes it clear that one more ingredient was necessary for success:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 ESV
Jesus told His disciples that the power of the Holy Spirit was critical. If they were ever going to be able to be His witnesses throughout the Earth. And just ten days later, that Holy Spirit would descend upon the disciples, and everything changed forever.
The X-Factor
There is only one way that a Disciple of Jesus can ever hope to live like Jesus lived: they must be filled with the Spirit of God. Jesus made this clear in His final instructions to His disciples before going to the cross:
If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.
John 14:15-17a NIV
Jesus’ teaching regarding the Holy Spirit was not new. The ancient prophets of Israel also foretold of a day when the Spirit of God would be given, and because of this, the people of God would be empowered to obey God’s commandments:
“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, “Know the LORD,” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, “declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Jeremiah 31:31-34 NIV
The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament
If there’s any doubt that Jeremiah is referring to the Spirit of God, consider these verse by another prophet, Ezekiel:
For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. And I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. And I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you. I will move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Ezekiel 36:24-27 NIV
The key to being Jesus’ disciple is to allow the Spirit of God to control and guide us in every way.
The Spirit takes the Word that we are learning and growing to understand, and helps us know how to properly obey and live according to it. It helps us overcome the weakness of the flesh and to be what God desires us to be. And when Jesus’ first disciples took the commands that they had learned during their years with Jesus, and became empowered by the Spirit of God, the results changed the direction of humanity forever.
Just ten days following Jesus’ ascension back to Heaven; they were gathered together in the Temple for the celebration of the Feast of Shavuot – the Day of Pentecost. And when the Spirit fell, the disciples overcame all of the fear and anxiety they’d been plagued with for the past fifty days, and they boldly declared that the Messiah had come, and that forgiveness is available to all:
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, there were cut to the heart and said to Peter and other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replies, “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. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Acts 2:36-41 NIV
Something Has Changed.
Peter, this man who had only days earlier fled from the very religious leaders who were undoubtedly standing before him at this moment, now boldly proclaimed that their only hope was to put their faith in the Messiah they had crucified. The Spirit of God had fallen. And Peter’s role in the future of the Church was only beginning.
