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Author: Stephen Weller
635 words, 3 minutes read time

Wait In Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit

Scripture: Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4

In the previous lesson we covered some important instructions Jesus gave to his disciples and ultimately to us about what he expects us to do after he ascends to heaven. In this lesson we will look at what Jesus tells his disciples to do in the immediate future.

^{Acts 1:4} And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ^{Lk 24:49} And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Over a period of forty days, Jesus appeared to his disciples speaking to them about the kingdom of God. While Jesus was with them, he ordered them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. That promise refers to the gift of the Holy Spirit to them which would empower them to do the work of ministry.

It was in Luke 3:15 – 17 (ESV) that John the Baptist refers to the Holy Spirit: ¹⁵ “As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, ¹⁶ John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

As John began his ministry as forerunner to Jesus Christ, people began to wonder if he might be the Christ, the coming Messiah. John made it clear that he was not the Christ, but there was one coming who was mightier than he, in fact, so mighty that John did not consider himself worthy to be his servant. While John baptized with water, this mighty one would baptize with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. He would also have the authority and power to separate all of humanity into two groups: (1) the wheat that he would gather into his barn (the work of the Holy Spirit) and (2) the chaff (those of unbelief) that would be burned. Thus, he would determine who would be forgiven of their sin and be baptized by the Holy Spirit and go to heaven, and who would remain in their sin and go to an eternal hell.

John spoke of Jesus baptizing with the Holy Spirit and now Jesus is telling the disciples that he is sending the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, upon them and they are to wait there in Jerusalem until that happens, and when it does they would be clothed with power from on high. This power from God would then enable the disciples to fulfill their commission as witnesses for Jesus (Matthew 28:19 – 20).

Conclusion

What a time of expectation this is. Jesus has risen from the dead and has spent time with the disciples and now he orders them to stay in Jerusalem until the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon them. Once that occurs they will have the ability and power to carry out their assigned work. We, as disciples of Jesus, at the time of our spiritual birth received the Holy Spirit and are likewise equipped for ministry that he assigns to us (Ephesians 2:10).