Pentecost and unity
The imperative that drove Jesus to His knees the night before paying the ultimate price for each of us… is highly connected to the birth of the Church fifty days later on Pentecost. Here are some examples:
Prayer had unified them
Acts 1:14 tells us the primary activity of those ten days between the Ascension and Pentecost: they all joined together constantly in prayer. The work of unity is never complete - why else would Jesus have prayed for it when He’d already demonstrated it and taught it? But there were some obvious works of reconciliation required before the Holy Spirit could fully descend and fill them. In Acts 2:1, we read that “they were all together in one place.” More than a statement of geography, I absolutely believe that was a reflection on a heart condition. Unity draws the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost was a glocal event (not a typo)
Unity evangelism must start locally, but it can never stop there. Pentecost was both local and global, gathering Jews from all over the world. From Day 1, the Church was multi-ethnic and multi-geographic. Often we’re satisfied with unity efforts that aren’t actually all that impressive, because we’d probably enjoy one another entirely apart from Jesus. Love for one another that catches the world’s attention must be broad and diverse enough that Jesus is the only thing we have in common. “See how they love each other” must lead to the conclusion that such a love is other-worldly, of divine origin.
Holy Spirit inflamed
A friend of mine is in such a new season of ministry that he believes God has told him, “If you’re pretty sure you’ve seen this before and know what to do, you’re doing it wrong.” Those ten days in the Upper Room were not spent developing a five year strategic plan. Neither were those ten days spent on Duolingo or Babbel, a crash course on the languages likely to be present. Planning and preparing can be just as Spirit-led as spontaneity can, so please don’t misunderstand me. But Holy Spirit loves to lead us into areas of weakness and unfamiliarity, requiring resources we can’t possibly marshal on our own. They didn’t even know when the big day would arrive. They only knew that the One who defeated death was thoroughly trustworthy. Like John the Baptist and the Three Musketeers, their school of leadership was “all for One and One for all,” with Jesus becoming greater and them becoming less.
Don’t forget the end of the chapter
So many amazing events in Acts 2, such as:
The little band of brothers and sisters going public, fearlessly, after having holed up and isolated as often as possible.
Such a powerful move of the Holy Spirit that people saw them overcome, wondering if they were literally drunk.
Peter - yes, that Peter - preaching a sermon fearlessly, correctly, selflessly (dependent on Holy Spirit, not himself), and effectively.
Thousands of people hearing a message personally that cut them to the heart, so that as one they responded, “What should we do?”
A church of 120 successfully welcoming 3000 new members.
Yet Acts 2 ends where it started - all together in one place, learning together, dining together, praying together, sharing resources together, worshipping together, growing together. Acts 2 is a picture of John 17 being answered affirmatively and supernaturally.
More Pentecost Power, please!
