The Holy Spirit
Sunday, February 8, 2009 by Dee
I remember before I was saved I enjoyed the bible stories like Noah’s ark and Jonah and the whale but didn’t really understand the rest of it. The bible was boring and I couldn’t get past who begat who.
The same thing happened with Jesus’ disciples. He told them over and over again that He was going to die yet they didn’t understand it or couldn’t grasp it.
Luke 18:31-34 Jesus took the twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.” The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them and they did not know what he was talking about.
In reading the gospels we’re confronted many times with the disciples not understanding what Christ had told them or was showing them. They constantly questioned him even when he laid things out in front of them.
Matthew 26:23-25 Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born." Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you
Even after hearing Jesus say that Judas was going to betray him and He told Judas to go and do what he needed to do the disciples thought he was going to get what they needed for the feast.
How could seemingly intelligent men not understand what was being told to them or what they were seeing with their own eyes? The answer is the same as why the bible doesn’t make much sense to us until after we accept Christ. They didn’t have the Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit that God sent in Jesus’ place after His death, resurrection and ascension into heaven that opens our eyes and ears and makes everything clear. He’s the interpreter of God’s Word.
This is further explained in Luke.
Luke 9:43-45 While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you. The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.” But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
Luke 24:45-46 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written, The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
John goes on to explain that the Holy Spirit hadn’t been sent yet. He tells us that the Holy Spirit won’t come until Jesus has been glorified. He further explains who the Holy Spirit will be sent to and what the role of the Holy Spirit is.
John 7:37-39 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
As Don and I were reading this last night we started discussing why the disciples were being blocked from understanding what Jesus was telling and showing them. It was the God’s plan all along. If they’d have understood that Jesus was going to die, when and how would they have tried to stop it? They loved Jesus and didn’t want to loose Him. By being shown this and later having their eyes opened they were living witnesses and could give testimony about Jesus, who he is and what He does.
If you’re like me, when I accepted Christ I felt a fullness in me like I’ve never felt before. I was walking on air and wanted to tell everyone about Christ and what He did for me. I wanted everyone to know what I now knew and feel the way I felt. That was the Holy Spirit. My eyes and ears were opened to the Word of God I am now a disciple of Jesus, a witness able to give testimony about who Jesus is and what He does.
The same thing happened with Jesus’ disciples. He told them over and over again that He was going to die yet they didn’t understand it or couldn’t grasp it.
Luke 18:31-34 Jesus took the twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.” The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them and they did not know what he was talking about.
In reading the gospels we’re confronted many times with the disciples not understanding what Christ had told them or was showing them. They constantly questioned him even when he laid things out in front of them.
Matthew 26:23-25 Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born." Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you
Even after hearing Jesus say that Judas was going to betray him and He told Judas to go and do what he needed to do the disciples thought he was going to get what they needed for the feast.
How could seemingly intelligent men not understand what was being told to them or what they were seeing with their own eyes? The answer is the same as why the bible doesn’t make much sense to us until after we accept Christ. They didn’t have the Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit that God sent in Jesus’ place after His death, resurrection and ascension into heaven that opens our eyes and ears and makes everything clear. He’s the interpreter of God’s Word.
This is further explained in Luke.
Luke 9:43-45 While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you. The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.” But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
Luke 24:45-46 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written, The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
John goes on to explain that the Holy Spirit hadn’t been sent yet. He tells us that the Holy Spirit won’t come until Jesus has been glorified. He further explains who the Holy Spirit will be sent to and what the role of the Holy Spirit is.
John 7:37-39 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
As Don and I were reading this last night we started discussing why the disciples were being blocked from understanding what Jesus was telling and showing them. It was the God’s plan all along. If they’d have understood that Jesus was going to die, when and how would they have tried to stop it? They loved Jesus and didn’t want to loose Him. By being shown this and later having their eyes opened they were living witnesses and could give testimony about Jesus, who he is and what He does.
If you’re like me, when I accepted Christ I felt a fullness in me like I’ve never felt before. I was walking on air and wanted to tell everyone about Christ and what He did for me. I wanted everyone to know what I now knew and feel the way I felt. That was the Holy Spirit. My eyes and ears were opened to the Word of God I am now a disciple of Jesus, a witness able to give testimony about who Jesus is and what He does.
