Читать книгу Holy Smoke! Unholy Fire! - Robert C McKibben - Страница 11

Jesus said He would leave for a little while, and He did. The gospel records the terrifying events that followed their supper in the upper room. Jesus was arrested, whipped, paraded through the streets as a criminal and then crucified. After He died, they buried Him. The disciples fled and hid out of fear. During the course of those three days the disciples agonized over Jesus’ words. The promise was not fulfilled!

But we all know what happened next! The Resurrection! God raised Jesus from the grave, defeated death, and glorified His Son. After Jesus was raised from the dead He personally visited the disciples. He fellowshipped with them. He walked with them. He ate with them. He talked with them. Jesus was seen not only by the disciples and their close friends, but also by five hundred people! But God said, “Wait.” The promise was not yet fulfilled.

Jesus was with them. He still had to leave them so the promised Holy Spirit could come. His final departure is recorded in Acts, chapter one:

To them he presented himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, “you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:3-8).

Jesus was leaving again, only this time He would ascend into Heaven. His ascension was only seconds away. Jesus wanted to reassure His followers of God’s promise. Again, they were asked to wait. But, when the promise was fulfilled, the disciples would receive power – power to be witnesses for Christ throughout the world. Take a close look at the passage again. Jesus didn’t say “if” the Spirit comes, but “when” the Spirit comes.

Unfortunately, it is the promise of power that has caused the most trouble for the Church down through the centuries. But we shouldn’t be shocked. Minutes before Christ’s ascension the disciples still persisted in their lack of understanding. “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) After all they had experienced over the previous three years, they still didn’t get it. After the tremendous events of Easter and the forty days that followed, the disciples were still thinking about political kingdoms and personal influence. It was over this very issue that Jesus assured them with the promise of power. But this power would be different than anything the disciples could have imagined!

Then Jesus was gone, and the waiting began. The disciples continued to meet and the scriptures tell us that they “devoted themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14). They even went about the heartrending task of replacing Judas. Each day that the promise didn’t come must have been dreadful.

Linda and her twin brother, Buddy, lived in the same foster home as my brothers, sister and me. They would receive presents and cards at Christmas time from their absentee parents. Birthdays were the same. But there was never a personal visit. Each time, the cards would promise the twins that the parents would return soon. The years went on, the presents and cards became fewer and fewer. Though I had left the foster home years earlier, I kept in touch with Linda and Buddy right up until their graduation from high school. The promise was never fulfilled. I thank God for the love given by our foster parents, which softened their disappointment.