Day Seventy-Seven -- From Promise to Fulfillment to Mission

John 15:18 to Acts 6:7

As John's gospel account moves towards its climactic conclusion, Jesus teaches the disciples that he will leave them neither comfortless nor without heavenly assistance.  When he has gone away (ascended to the Father) Jesus will send the Counselor, the Spirit of truth which is the Holy Spirit of God.  This is the promise the disciples must cling to as the betrayal, arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus unfolds in rapid succession over the next eighteen hours.  When did Jesus confer the Holy Spirit on his disciples?  According to John, the group of disciples (minus Thomas) received the Holy Spirit on the Day of the Resurrection when Jesus appeared to them as they huddled in fear behind locked doors.  Thomas does not get his share until a week later, and it is no less a share than what the others had received.  However, in the Acts of the Apostles the Holy Spirit does not come upon the disciples until the Feast of Pentecost - fifty days after the Resurrection!

Is it essential to know which account is correct?  Not to me.  My faith does not rest on such details but on the overall witness of what God has and is doing among his people.  The Holy Spirit was/is indeed sent by God and the evidence is the church itself, that is, the gathering of individual faithful Christians whose lives have been empowered and changed. We see this empowerment and transformation of lives as the Acts of the Apostles begins to tell the story of the early mission work for Christ.  It was a time for getting organized, of giving the gospel and teachings of Jesus new voices so that it could be heard by people both nearby and far away.  This new fellowship and community cared not only for itself, but for the healing and well-being of those around them.  And as it did so, it began to flourish.

This is not just a history lesson.  It is much more than that, for it is the blueprint for the church of today as well.