In light of the culmination of Christ's extraordinary mission that redeemed the human race from the yoke of sin and eternal condemnation in which hell and death were vanquished leading to a new era of grace and salvation to the sinners, the day came when Jesus, before ascending to be with his Father, gave his disciples a strict order that they must not go astray off the City-limit of Jerusalem before the descend of the Holy Ghost AKA the day of Pentecost.
This was a season in which the disciples were undergoing a testing time in the aftermath of witnessing the dreadful hours of Jesus' crucifixion and no doubt that they had been gripped with unimaginable grief and desperation; but the worst was yet to come when the Lord revealed to them for the first time that he would be departing the earth to be with his father and said to them "but now I am going to him who sent Me; and none of you ask Me, 'where are you going' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your Heart. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you". (John 16:5-7) In a simple fashion, he professed to each one of his disciples of the utmost necessity of his departure from this planet that they may have a place in the Kingdom of God. This was indeed one of their darkest moments marked with tremendous sense of emotional anxiety.
Eventually, as the scripture states in John 16:5, the Lord had to prepare them emotionally and spiritually knowing that they are about face the harsh reality of pursuing daily life without him. With no beau-ideal mentor and a shepherd like Jesus that could fill the leadership vacuum, the disciples were bracing against rather formidable prospect of subsequent uncertainties that they might encounter as they reintegrate themselves into a society that was rather hostile and overly critical of them just for merely being followers of Jesus Christ.
Indeed, they arrived at a critical juncture in which they were forced to pursue life in adherence to Jesus' legacy for the first time at their own discretion in the absence of the true shepherd who in retrospect met their spiritual and carnal need and who guided them with stark discipline. They are about to lose a great provider and a true leader.
When Jesus resurrected and appeared to his disciples in a bid to prove to them that he is alive, their immediate reaction was displayed in a state of apprehension. Astonished and unable to grasp what was happening, at some point they thought they were seeing a ghost and their faith had betrayed them to the point of failing to remember the hair-raising marvels and miracles that Jesus once performed by reviving the dead out of the grave, healing the sick, casting demons out and freeing the captives through his divine authority and to have them rest assured and in an attempt to prove himself beyond doubt that it was indeed the true Christ whom they once followed, Jesus asked for something to eat.
Given the dramatic scene in which Jesus Christ reemerged as an immortal deity, one can speculate that the disciples may have entertained the idea as though Jesus were coming back in some form of spiritual being in line with what he had told them earlier "I will come back to you" (John 14:18) for they had no prior knowledge of the promised comforter the 'Holy Spirit' that had yet to come and replace Jesus as an immediate care-taker in the form of unseen Spirit as opposed to Jesus, the dualistic supernatural power manifested in human flesh.
Taking the Lord's word for all it’s worth and with the promise that he bestowed upon them in mind, Acts 2. declares that the disciples were tenaciously conducting their prayer and simply exercising faith and hope in harmony knowing that Jesus would some day come to their help by sending the 'comforter' which he once foretold about. More over, Jesus' legacy reminded them that he had never failed them in anything that has to do with promising something and living up to his word throughout the entire course of time that he spent with them and therefore they were assembled with mixed surge of premature faith and dilemma that hopelessly confined them to one place. But the Lord had told them "surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" Mat (28:20) and thus, they managed to stay afloat with the hope to see light at the end of the tunnel until they were finally encountered by the sudden visitation of the Holy Spirit. What happened thereafter was a turning point that would dramatically change their lives for ever putting them at the receiving end of a rather unique and divine manifestation no one had experienced before.
Exactly fifty days into Christ's resurrection, the story according to Acts 2 goes "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them".
In a rather spectacular scene, the Holy Ghost had caught the Disciples by surprise setting the room ablaze with gentle fire and this also marked the apparent establishment of the prototype Church and It was then Peter, a man who once betrayed his master in a disgraceful timidity yet in stark contrast, was so filled with the Holy Spirit and stood up bold and courageous enough that he was willing to stick his neck against anything that stands in the way of his faith. According to scriptural statistics, 3000 People were saved in a single crusade when Peter spoke during the day of Pentecost until he was finally seized along with John by the Priests, Captain of the Temple-guard and the Sadducees who according to Acts 4:4 were dismayed when they sew people massing to the scene and responding to the call of salvation by the droves.
Obviously, the devil was feeling the heat and somehow managed to instigate insurgency against Peter and John in a bid to thwart the progress short of reaching out for more souls. But the Scripture says the number grew up to 5000 believers overnight irrespective of the futile interruption.
When we are poised to carry out the great commission that the Lord mandated the universal Church, (Mat.28:20) that is when we enter a new dimension of spiritual warfare to strike the Devil on the Achilles'-heel. Nothing frustrates the enemy than when someone starts spreading the Gospel and apparently it appears to be the main reason why the devil tries to resist our effort so fireclay and tribulation seems to mount high every time we try to foment the gospel and introduce Jesus to those who don't know him. That also explains why the authorities cited in Acts 4:4 reacted in such a belligerent attitude up on witnessing multitude of people responding to the call of Peter and John which was a call to salvation and a call for emancipation none of the people were willing to give the chance of missing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of this wonderful free gift.
It was spectacular event that exceeded usual bonds of nature up on which the disciples embarked an era of significant spiritual transformation where fear and feebleness, power and boldness changed hands on the Disciples in such a short period of time and as a result, they were given a new apostolic title.
The Greek word Apostolos was derived from the original terminology Apostellein which means to send away for mission. Where as the etymological term for the word Disciple according to the Illustrated Bible-dictionary is: Learner and it refers “having academic and intellectual connection correlative to the designation of Jesus as teacher.” Henceforth being empowered by the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, they began to operate with full-fledged authority and they also were promoted from 'learners' to fully ordained apostles/missionaries. Indeed, the day of Pentecost was a graduation period whereby each one of them was granted with equal degree of exaltation and power.
In the norms of vision, all people tend to see or picture an object in a perfectly identical manner with the exception that someone's eyesight might be compromised due to partial or total lose of vision. In the spiritual realm however, what someone sees could totally be divergent to that of which others can see. According to John 16:13, the Lord said "When He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth". And when Ananias and his wife Sapphira came out with their sinister idea to cheat the Holy Spirit by omitting the true figure of their wealth, Peter was able to discern the dishonesty through his 20/20 spiritual vision and condemned them to death right at the scene. Their shrewdly effort backfired costing them their very lives but Peter was inspired by the Holy Spirit that he was able to see the attempted swindle in advance and the bible says “great fear seized all who heard what had happened.”
In conclusion, Jesus, in Luke 12:51 said "Do you think I cam to bring peace on Earth? No, I tell you, but division". And unlike Jesus who came to earth to sort-out light from darkness, faith from blasphemy, the Holy Spirit does not come to Earth to divide but to usher unity and harmony among Christians across the universe yet for generations, the role of the Holy Spirit has been a matter of division among various sects of Christendom such as those who merely accepted him as did the Apostles and are wiling to experience his power and on the other hand, those who adamantly opted to stick with their skepticism for the sake of defending their erroneous doctrine.
The prince of darkness is laboring hard, making this World extremely hostile to the body of Christ day in and day out, it is no time for discord nor is it time to ignore the power of the Holy Spirit as He is our eyes and ears in the uphill battle against the enemy therefore, we can't conquer the enemy through our human effort without the help of a divine power such as the Holy Spirit for the warfare is spirit versus Spirit. And at this point in time, amid the growing magnitude of deception and false teachings that are attacking the Body of Christ in full force, we all need to take advantage of the presence of the Holy Spirit and let us experience his power in our lives so we can discern the true source of all spiritual manifestations that echo around our ears every day and it is through the 'help' of the 'comforter', that we can practically counterbalance the spiritual warfare and strive against all odds. Amen!
