The Baptism of the Holy Spirit & The Great Commission (Acts 1:4-11)

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Introduction

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

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.”

The Ascension

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

This week we’re going to continue our look at Luke’s Book of Acts, or as it’s historically been referred to as the Acts of the Apostles, by focusing primarily on verses 4-11. In our last time, we looked at the prologues of both Luke’s Gospel and his Book of Acts, and my goal then was to provide an introduction to the book. We considered it’s author, Luke, who’s often referred to as a physician from Antioch and Paul’s companion, a Gentile convert, likely early on in Paul’s apostolic ministry to the Gentiles. Luke’s Gospel and his Book of Acts serve as a two-volume set and are both addressed to a man named Theophilus, who may have been a patron of Luke’s who had become sympathetic to the Christian faith and funded Luke’s efforts to compile a narrative of the things that had been accomplished among them, beginning with Jesus’ earthly ministry and then later chronicling the acts of the Apostles. As Luke pointed out in the prologue of his Gospel, he compiled these narratives in order that we might have certainty concerning the things we’ve been taught related to the Christian faith. That the Book of Acts is intended to instill within us confidence in the Gospel, that your faith is not in vain or based upon fairytales, myths, or legends, but upon real events in history, corroborated by eyewitnesses.
I also pointed out in our last time the importance of recognizing the literary genre of Luke’s two books, that he’s compiled a narrative of these events, and that it’s important we understand that historical narrative is fundamentally intended to be descriptive, not prescriptive. Not that we won’t be able to make application to our own lives, but that when we do so we’re careful, always keeping in mind that we’re not necessarily intended to emulate everything what’s described in the book. This is the difference between description and prescription. Many have sought to recreate the events of Pentecost and the days of the Apostles, wrongly assuming that all the events recorded in Acts are necessarily normative. For example, many of the events recorded for us in Acts served to build a foundation for the church, and aren’t meant to be repeated. Furthermore, that foundation was laid down by the Apostles who were uniquely commissioned by Christ, and who are no longer with us. In other words, they served a unique role in redemptive history of establishing the church, and we’re not intended to lay again that foundation.

Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Lastly, we considered the vital role of the Holy Spirit in establishing the church through the Apostles. That if it weren’t for the Holy Spirit the church would never have even made it out of the gate in light of their circumstances, that the opposition they faced would have ended their movement before it had even gotten started. This is why many have argued that the Book of Acts could also be aptly called the Acts of the Holy Spirit, given the fundamental role of the Spirit in the establishment of the church. In fact, the role of the Holy Spirit in church history, and particularly here in the Book of Acts, is described as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This doctrine refers to the supernatural empowerment of believers by the Spirit for ministry. Which is why Jesus tells his disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit there in verses 4-5, we read,

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

Now, let’s backup for a minute, earlier in verse three we’re told that Jesus had presented himself alive to his disciples by many proofs over the course of forty days after his resurrection, speaking to them about the kingdom of God, and now he’s about to depart from them and return to heaven. And, if you recall, most of the disciples were from the district of Galilee, so it would have been natural for them to eventually depart Jerusalem and return home, therefore Jesus ordered them “not to depart from Jerusalem,” but instead “to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’”

70 elders

Now, if you’re not familiar with the Holy Spirit’s role in redemptive history, particularly from the OT, this language might seem foreign to you, but what’s interesting is that the events here in Acts had been foreshadowed and anticipated more than a thousand years earlier beginning with Israel’s time in the wilderness, shortly after their exodus from Egypt. As the story goes in Numbers chapter 11, while the Israelites are in the wilderness, after leaving Mt. Sinai, they begin to complain about the manna they’re given to eat everyday in the desert. They want something different, they want meat! And as a result, Moses begins to feel the burden of the their complaints and their ingratitude, so he seeks the Lord for help, and the Lord tells Moses in verse 16,

“Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 And I will come down and talk with you there.

Notice what God intends to do to the 70 elders who are intended to help shoulder Moses’ burden of ruling the people. The Lord says, “I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them.” In other words, these men will be empowered by the Spirit of God to help shoulder the burden of ruling the people.
Then he goes later in verse 24 and says,

24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and

Now, why is it significant that they prophesied? Well, it clearly demonstrated that the Spirit had been given to them, and it served to authenticate the leadership of the elders.
But then listen to what happens next in verse 26,

26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

Now, here’s what I want you to see, apparently two of the 70 elders who were supposed to report to the tent of meeting with Moses remained in the camp, and so we might assume that they would have missed out on their commissioning as elders and receiving empowerment by the Spirit, but apparently they started prophesying while still in the camp. Moses’ assistant, Joshua, reports this to him in order to have them stopped, but Moses doesn’t object to their prophesying, but instead points out how great it would be if all of the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on all of them!” In other words, wouldn’t it be great if all of God’s people were filled with the Spirit just like these men!

I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh

Then hundreds of years later, the prophet Joel would described a future time when God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh, not just some of God’s people, but all of them. We read in Joel 2:28-29,

28  “And it shall come to pass afterward,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men shall see visions.

29  Even on the male and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

What’s Joel referring to? He’s referring to a day in the future when the indwelling of the Spirit of God would not be limited a select few, but would be given to every believer. Now, we’ll see this prophecy come to pass in the next chapter when we reach Acts 2 when the disciples begin speaking supernaturally “in other languages as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4), and the Apostle Peter connects their ability to speak in other languages with the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. In other words, the baptism of the Holy Spirit that Jesus speaks of here in Act 1:5 is what had been foretold and anticipated hundreds of years earlier.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit

In fact, throughout the Gospel accounts, the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy is further anticipated. For example, in Luke 3:15-16, when the people are “questioning in their hearts” whether John the Baptist “might be the Christ, John answer[s] them, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of who sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” He will baptize you with what? He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
Then in John’s Gospel, in chapters 14-16, Jesus specifically prepares his disciples for the Spirit’s coming. If you would, turn with me to John chapter 14 and we’ll look at a few of the passages together. We’ll start by reading John 14:16-17,

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Jesus tells his disciples that the Spirit of God will dwell in them and with them, and will be with them forever.
Then jump down to verse 26,

26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

In other words, everything that they’ll need to know for their apostolic mission, everything that Jesus had taught them will be brought to their remembrance by the Holy Spirit. In fact, we see elsewhere in John’s Gospel that it wasn’t until after Jesus’ resurrection that the disciples made many of the theological connections that Jesus intended them to make during his earthly ministry.
Then jump down to chapter 15:26,

26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

and then down to chapter 16:7,

7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Notice how the coming of the Holy Spirit is contingent upon Jesus going away, which is why Jesus ordered his disciples back in Acts 1:5 to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit, because he was about to be taken up into heaven.
Furthermore, notice what the Holy Spirit will do, “he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” Now, this is significant, because without the operation of the Holy Spirit no one would be convicted of their sin in the face of judgment unto repentance were it not for the Holy Spirit. In other words, your proclamation of the Gospel would be completely ineffective without the Spirit’s working. You see, the only reason you or anyone else will be convicted of their sin leading to repentance will be because of the Holy Spirit. The reason the Apostle Peter’s sermon was so effective in Acts chapter 2 was due to the powerful working of the Holy Spirit, not his charisma or his eloquent words, but the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, when we share the Gospel with others we should pray that the Holy Spirit would convict them of their sin in order that they might repent and turn to Christ in faith for the forgiveness of their sin. This is also why our Gospel proclamation should always bring the law to bear upon the person’s conscience. Most of us are content to think that we’re good people, and that if there is a God that hopefully my good deeds will outweigh the bad. However, we know that Scripture teaches that no man will be justified by works of the law, that our righteousness is like filthy rags, therefore we need the righteousness of Christ, we need our sins forgiven, we need a substitute, we need an advocate. And it’s the function of the law that’s intended to help us see our plight, that without forgiveness we are without hope, and to drive us to Christ. And this is precisely what the Apostle Peter did in his sermon later in Acts chapter 2, which is also why the myriad of sermons in Acts serve as wonderful examples for us to follow for our own witness.
So, as we walk through the Book of Acts it’ll be important for us to understand the role of the Holy Spirit in the establishment of the church. That without the baptism of the Holy Spirit, without the Spirit empowering the church to accomplish her mission she would otherwise fail, which is why Jesus tells his disciples to stay in Jerusalem and to wait.

Will you now restore the kingdom to Israel?

Now, as a result of Jesus telling his disciples to wait in Jerusalem, until they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, the disciples immediately wondered if this would be the occasion that would restore the nation of Israel. We read there in verse 6,

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Now, it’s important to understand that the disciples, like every pious Jew in history, looked forward to the day when the glory of Israel would be restored, when, as the prophet Amos (Amos 9) put it, the fallen booth of David would be rebuilt. (RC Sproul) You see, their concept of the kingdom of heaven boiled down to the hope of seeing the restoration of Israel’s national independence, and to this point there had been no restoration of the kingdom of Israel, despite the coming of Jesus and his teaching on the kingdom of heaven, so I imagine they wondered if the occasion of the Holy Spirit would be that moment.
But, you see, the scope of the promise given to Abraham in Genesis was much greater than merely returning Israel to her former glory, much greater than Israel reliving her glory days. In fact, the nation of Israel was intended to be a type of the kingdom to come, a kingdom that incorporated people from every nation, not just ethnic Israel. Furthermore, it would not have been enough to simply restore Israel to her former glory under the old covenant, lest the kingdom fall under a curse all over again for her sin and apostasy. Instead, the people needed a better covenant, they needed their sins forgiven. You see, the promises given to Abraham surpassed the expectations of his disciples, but his disciples didn’t yet understand this. This is why they asked him, what seems like to us, such an uninformed question like, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Looking through a glass darkly

Now, it’s important for us to understand that one of the reasons they had feeble expectations for the kingdom of heaven was because all of the OT prophecies depicted the Messiah and his kingdom using the language of their own contemporary circumstances under the old covenant. In other words, their old covenant circumstances were the only frame of reference the prophets had to describe future promises, and their old covenant circumstances were the only frame of reference they had to comprehend those future promises, therefore their expectations were inevitably limited significantly by their old covenant context.
As a result, they mistakenly assumed that the future would look much like the past, that the future would look like former times when the kingdom was united, or when it was led by David or Solomon, when in fact those prophesies were foreseeing a much better future described using the circumstances of their own time, the temple, the land, a city like Jerusalem, a nation, a kingdom, a king, a throne, and a covenant. Their circumstances were employed by the prophets to describe a future glory that would be much greater, far greater than the Jews had come to assume, and the scope much larger, beyond the lineage of Abraham and the nation of Israel, and stretching to the whole world, to all the nations, to any Gentiles who possessed a faith like Abraham’s, a kingdom who’s king ruled from heaven on his throne, a kingdom that could not be destroyed by bow or sword (Daniel 2:44), a kingdom that was first and fundamentally spiritual, or as Jesus had put it, that “the kingdom of God [had] not [come] in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There!” for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:20-21), it would be a kingdom of people who were no longer under the curse of sin and death. This is what the disciples didn’t understand. You see, the events and circumstances of the OT were typological, in other words, in some small way they were designed to portray realities and circumstances greater than themselves, and they were designed to point them in the right direction.
Now, one day, the kingdom of God will be manifested upon the earth in its fullness, we will see the consummation of the kingdom of God in the future, but not yet, not until Jesus returns just as he left, and until then, Jesus has formally inaugurated his kingdom, and he sits enthroned in heaven, ruling and reigning. And until he returns to consummate his kingdom, the Holy Spirit empowers the church on earth, and the church, by the power of the Holy Spirit, is intended to plunder the kingdom of darkness by saving one soul at a time, saving people from every tribe, tongue, and nation, bringing them out from the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light. A plundering that began on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 when the disciples are baptized with the Holy Spirit, immediately following Jesus’ ascension into heaven here in chapter 1.
So, when Jesus tells his disciples to wait until they receive power from on high in just a few days, and they wonder if this will be the occasion that will restore Israel to its former glory, they still haven’t yet grasped the full extent of the kingdom and it’s scope. And rather than addressing the limited assumptions and understanding of his disciples Jesus rebukes them there in verse 7 reminding them that it’s not their concern to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority, but that their concern should be to wait for the coming of the Spirit and to obey the commission he’s given them. We read there in verse 7-8,

7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

You see, the timing of events isn’t intended to be their concern, only the Father’s. Instead, they’re meant to focus on the mission at hand. For now, their concern must be to bear witness to Jesus’ resurrection, his present reign and rule from heaven, his kingdom, proclaiming repentance and faith for the forgiveness of sin, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded them. And this remains the church’s responsibility, your responsibility, today, not to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
I’ve often wondered how much energy we’ve wasted speculating about the times and seasons that the Father has set for Jesus’ return, when instead we should have our heads down and focused upon the task at hand. Our concern shouldn’t be about when Christ will return, but upon whether or not we’ll be found faithful when he does. This was precisely the point of the two parables given in Matthew 25 concerning the 10 virgins and the talents. That Jesus will come suddenly, when no one expects, and the question will be whether we’re prepared and are found faithful with the task given us.

Great commission

In fact, if there’s a verse in the Book of Acts that encapsulates its scope and theme it’s Acts 1:8, that “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” We will see this theme played out from start to finish. As a matter of fact, you may have already noticed that Acts 1:8 is simply a republishing of the great commission. Listen to Luke’s version in Luke 24:46-49,

“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to

Sounds a lot like what we read in Acts 1:8 isn’t it? You’ll be my witnesses, you’ll proclaim the Gospel beginning in Jerusalem and then to all nations, and to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.

Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, & the end of the earth

Now, I mentioned this briefly in our last time, but it’s important that I mention it again here, because it’s vital to understanding why the Acts of the Apostles unfolds as it does. Notice how Jesus intends Jerusalem to be the epicenter of their witness, then Judea, then Samaria, then the end of the earth, like a concentric circle beginning in Jerusalem. And with each successive circle we’ll see the baptism of the Holy Spirit extended to another group, first Jerusalem in Acts 1-7 (the Jews), then Judea and Samaria in Acts 8 (the Samaritans), and finally the ends of the earth in Acts 10-28 (the uncircumcised Gentiles). Which is why the Apostle Paul could later describe the faith as having been “proclaimed in the all the world” in his letter to the church in Rome. In other words, the commission Jesus gives his disciples at the beginning of the book becomes the book’s structure, and as we’ll see later on it’ll become important to our understanding of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion

Now, as we wrap up, my hope this morning is that this will encourage you to embrace the task we’ve all been given, to continue taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth. And not only that, but remembering that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now dwells in you.
And if you’re not a believer, that you would seriously consider your sinful condition before God, remembering that no one will be justified by works of the law. That no amount of self-righteousness will satisfy the righteous requirement of the law. And that you would also remember that God has not left you in your sin, but that he has sent his Son into the world to be a atonement for sin, that he died the death we deserve for our sin, and yet the grave couldn’t hold him, demonstrating his power over death. Therefore, if you repent of your since and trust in the mercy of God your sins will be forgiven.

Prayer

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