The Day of Pentecost is an historical event we celebrate. But it is not about the one day in history that our focus is on today. The details may be important to learn about the divided tongues of fire resting on each disciple and people speaking in other languages as the Spirit gave voice to, and Peter’s interpretation to the assembly of people that this is a fulfillment of the scripture: “In the last days I will pour out my Spirit to all flesh”
What is most important about our celebration of Pentecost is that we celebrate that this day is for us. On Christmas we celebrate a Savior is born onto us. On Easter we rejoice that Jesus has overcome death for us. Today we celebrate that we as the church have life through God’s Spirit.
Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Helper. The Greek word used in the scripture is Paracletos , the one who stands along side us, and advocates for us and comforts us.
The role of the Helper is to testify about Jesus “When the Paracletos comes, He will bear witness to me.”
Throughout the Old Testament the Spirit inspired prophets to speak about the coming of the Savior. Now instead of speaking through one prophet at a time or one king at a time such as David- The Holy Spirit has been poured out on all flesh.
We heard from the reading from Acts: “In the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams.”
The coming of the Holy Spirit to the church makes visible the reign of God’s kingdom among us in Jesus. It is not just Moses or Elijah, or Isaiah that now point to God’s salvation to the world- it is now us as well. Not just in Jerusalem is the Lord present, but in Indianapolis too- because Jesus has ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to us.
And not just here in this building, but in our very hearts. Consider what Romans chapter 8 teaches about the Holy Spirit in or life…
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Through Holy Baptism we have the gift of new life in Christ, where the Spirit dwells in us instead of the flesh which brings only sin and death. With the Spirit we walk in newness of life. We are given life from the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead.
And as a result we have the ability to do something that is truly amazing. We as the church can bring life to others. The Holy Spirit that dwells in your heart can work in your life in such a way that what you do and what you say to others can give them this gift of life.
It is like you have a superpower- not one that lets you turn to goop and ooze through the cracks in the floor to get somewhere else- but one that lets you share the light of Christ to others through the gift of the Holy Spirit in you.
Because of the day of Pentecost you have the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Helper that Jesus sent, who has come to us to convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgement.
The Spirit helps us to see the truth of our sin and the need for judgement to the false idolatry and evil of this world. The Spirit helps us to understand through the scriptures that in Christ alone is our Righteousness.
Although Pentecost is the day when the church received the Holy Spirit in full as Jesus promised, the Spirit was already present and working in the world from the start. We might say the seeds were already planted.
The Spirit was there at creation and there as the first promise of the Savior was made, The Spirit was present as Jesus was born unto us, and when Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River and the Spirit descended on Him.
It was the Spirit who drove Jesus out to be tempted so that Jesus could fulfill righteousness where we failed. The Holy Spirit was there as Jesus was betrayed and scourged and nailed to the cross, and finally it was the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. In the birth, life and ministry of Jesus, the seeds were already laid for the Spirit of God to be poured out on all flesh.
Our Old testament Reading represents a ready made sermon for our church. In fact a powerful sermon- Ezekiel is transported to a valley of dry bones in the middle of a valley and asked the question: “Son of man can these bones live?”
The answer to the question is a resounding yes- after the breath of the Lord enters them. I have based sermons on this reading before and the sermon really writes itself- as you reflect on how dry the bones of the church can come together, and through the Lord’s breath have life.
But here in this day of Pentecost, the focus of our worship is not so much how the Lord brings life out of the ruins of our fallen world. Instead, we can see a bigger picture of how the life the Lord brings to His church has been there all along. The Spirit of God has been at work in the church since the beginning of creation, and since Adam and Eve received the promise of the Savior. And Pentecost is the icing on the cake where the Holy Spirit became specifically present in the church gathered that day in Jerusalem.
The reason for the long vision of resurrection is not simply to amaze the hearts of us who are slow to believe- not only to change to outlook for the people of Israel from despair to hope. In fact the most important reason of all for this miraculous vision shown first to Ezekiel and shared to the church in God’s Word- is that we would know that Jesus is our Lord. Verse 6, “..and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
Verse 13 You shall know that I am the LORD, and then to close the reading: “And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.”
The purpose of the great sign is to help us to know that Jesus is Lord. Everything the Holy Spirit does, points to Jesus. The Day of Pentecost was so that we would know that Jesus is not only Lord of the world, but my Lord as well. Amen.