From the Cross to Pentecost

Tonight we continue to speak of the transition that takes place between the NT and the OT. The Holy Spirit is very present and active throughout ALL Scripture, but something spectacular occurs that… opens the door for the Spirit to be poured out on ALL people!

Last week, we looked at the Spirit’s activity in the lives of John the Baptist and His family, and in the Lives of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. We witnessed how the Holy Spirit was very active in both situations and how He carried out God’s plan for His people.

We talked about how the Holy Spirit was with Christ throughout His ministry, how the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and REMAINED upon Him at His water baptism, and how Jesus, in a sense, serves as an example (or prototype) regarding how we can live and operate in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit today.

This evening, we continue to move forward and we will look at a specific period of time in biblical history, the time from Calvary to the day of Pentecost - or as the title of the message states: From the Cross to the Church.

Jesus’ ministry on the earth was coming to an end - did this mean that His influence and ministry was also coming to an end? Absolutely not! For as Christ departed, the Church was empowered.

You hear me say frequently from the pulpit that we, the church, are identified in Scripture as the Body of Christ. The church is the extension of Jesus’ ministry until He returns.

Since this is the case, (Main Point) The Church must strive to operate in ministry as Christ operated in ministry - under the influence, the leading, and in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. To aim for anything less… is a misplacement of trust that will lack in results.

What we are going to look at tonight, in a sense, is a hand off. As Christ departs, the church is empowered. This does not mean that Christ loses a portion of His power, but rather He baptizes His followers through the source of His empowerment - with the Holy Spirit.

As we begin, there are two terms we will be using that I want to make sure we have a proper understanding of. Exaltation and Glorification.

First, The Exaltation of Christ includes His death, resurrection, ascension, and seating at the right hand of the Father. This encompasses all that takes place between His crucifixion and His ascension into Heaven.

Second, The Glorification of Christ specifically includes His death and resurrection. While included within the exaltation of Christ, His glorification focuses on these two events.

Following His exaltation, Jesus poured out the Spirit of God upon His followers as He promised would happen. Recall that after Jesus had described what was about to take place to His disciples, He promised He would not leave them as orphans… He promised that the Spirit, the Advocate, would be given in His absence. We see this in John 14:15-18. Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

This is the target study are of our message tonight: from the cross to Pentecost. This transition is important for us to understand and at the center of it all is Jesus. We will see why this is in a moment.

The Exaltation

What Christ went through on the cross was a terrible thing. the sacrifice He made came with great suffering and even shame.

I want us to understand what the cross is. The cross is a public execution device. In a sense, having the symbol of the cross on the stage or memorialized through jewelry and decoration is similar to having an electric chair, guillotine, gallows, etc on display. Christ, however, brought new meaning to the cross… if you will… and we will explore that in our Easter series coming up in 2021.

My point is what took place at Calvary was no walk in the park! Yet, as Jesus expressed in Luke 12:50, Jesus was eager to accomplish His mission! “But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!”

Now, we know the thought of the cross caused Jesus much grief as we saw in the Garden of Gethsemane. However, the mission at hand was more important - redemption through the blood could only come through Christ. Jesus was ready to do what was necessary to set the sinner free!

There are a few points here that I feel are important to note as to why Christ would be eager to see this through - eager for His glorification.

First, Both His death and resurrection are a part of His glorification.

Second, The death of Jesus led to His being seated at the right hand of the Father AND His bestowal of the Spirit. John 7:38-39 “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 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.

Third, even though Jesus laid down His life on behalf of all sinners, He was assisted by the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 9:14 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

Fourth, when Christ died, the new covenant became effective. The moment Jesus said “It is Finished” the price had been paid, the law had been fulfilled, and the sins of those who call upon His name were atoned for.

Moses was the mediator of the old covenant. Hebrews 9:15-20 shows us that Christ is the mediator of the new covenant. Just as the old covenant was not initiated without blood, so was the new covenant not initiated without blood. Jesus’ blood closed the old and ushered in the new!

His blood cleanses anyone who will receive Him from ALL sin. An individual living in the new covenant must have a new heart cleansed by the blood of the Lamb!

These points help us understand what took place regarding Jesus’ death. But what of His resurrection?

First, the resurrection is connected with His glorification and exaltation. The Jewish leaders crucified the Son of God… but God glorified Him by raising Him up!

Second, We must understand that God raised Jesus from the dead.

Third, God’s Spirit was also a part of the resurrection of Jesus. Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

So what do we see taking place here? Christ was eager to fulfill the will of the Father. The Holy Spirit was with Christ in His ministry, was promised by Christ in His ministry, assisted Christ in the laying down of His life, was a part of the resurrecting act at the tomb… and now, because of His ascension and being exalted to the right hand of the Father… Christ pours out His Spirit on His Church to empower the body to be His witnesses!

The Power of Christ Extends to the Church, His Body.

Christ has promised that He will build His church, and it will NEVER be defeated!

Why can we take that promise to the bank tonight? First, because Jesus said it was so! Secondly, because not even death or the grave could hold Jesus Christ down! Church, we must recognize that within Christ is a power that this world simply cannot overcome!

God did not intend for His Church to be powerless… but rather POWERFUL or full of His power! Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension opened the door that we might be forgiven of sin and empowered by His Spirit for the mission at hand!

BECAUSE Jesus’ blood has covered all sin… God’s power can now move in!

The power of Christ extends to the Church, His body. As the Church is the extension of His ministry until He returns, Christ has extended power to the church because of His glorification and exaltation! There are a couple of things I want us to understand regarding the relationship of Christ and the Church.

First, at the resurrection and the seating of Christ, He became (Ephesians 1:22-23) “head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” The Church is body and Christ is the head. Christ becomes the ruling head of the church and the giver of the Spirit at His exaltation.

Secondly, Jesus is the giver of the gifts to the church. Ephesians 4:7-13 Verse 7 reads, “to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.” Move to Verse 11, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

It is critically important that we understand that the advance of the CHURCH will not happen without the EMPOWERMENT of the Spirit.

Jesus, now exalted, is positioned to send not only the promised Spirit and power, but also the needed gifts for the church to fulfill her mission. The end goal was clear: The gifts are given to equip, serve, build, unify, mature, as we strive to become more like Jesus!

The Church was born at His ascension, and the Church is inaugurated at Pentecost. And immediately we begin to see a difference regarding the relationship between the people of God in the old covenant versus the people of God in the new.

The power of the Spirit was evident in the OT. National leaders were filled with the Spirit in their vocations and ministries. The built the tabernacle and the the nation and taught the people to follow God. NOW, the focus of ministry has changed. Believers are building the kingdom of God and the church. This takes place through the empowerment of the Spirit!

In the OT, We see the Spirit come upon special people in the sense of empowerment. Many of the prophets and kings were empowered and validated by the Spirit. NOW, through Christ, that privilege is extended to all who believe! The Spirit distributes various gifts according to His will - gifts for the believer for the cause of Jesus Christ.

Here’s my point: The entry of Christ into history made a BIG difference! Some advance was made before Jesus’ death and resurrection, but the great transition came at the resurrection.

Again, as far as the Church goes, it was born on that day - the day Christ was exalted. Then, on the Day of Pentecost, it was initiated - inaugurated and empowered for the mission bestowed upon her.

God did not intend for His Church to be powerless… but rather POWERFUL or full of His power!

The Holy Spirit was very evident in not only the life and ministry of Christ, but also in His glorification and exaltation. Now, through the shedding of His blood and in His seating at His Father’s right hand, we can be forgiven of sin and filled with the Spirit of God.

God’s power, God’s Spirit is the same yesterday, today and forever. His Spirit is given for His purpose that we might be His witnesses. “Church” is not something we do… CHURCH is who we are - the now empowered and commissioned body of Christ.

Jesus instructed His followers in Acts 1, not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the coming Spirit. Before the church was sent out, it was filled up with God’s power! The Church has faced many challenges in its existence and I believe there are many more to come. But so long as we live and operate in the Spirit given to us… we will not fail! Why? Because God’s POWER WILL NEVER FAIL! Because Jesus is building a church that the gates of hell WILL NOT prevail against it!

Jesus’ death on the cross was not a victory for the enemy. it was, in fact, a turning point in history where sin lost its grip on God’s creation. Jesus CRUSHED the enemy at Calvary and opened the door for God’s Spirit to be poured out on all people.

This evening, in reflection, I want us to do two things:

One: Thank God for the giving of His Son who made all the difference. Jesus IS the difference we have all been looking for!

Two: Thank God for the outpouring of His Spirit upon His Church. WE ARE NOT IN THIS ALONE! The enemy now stands powerless against the empowered church as she advances the gospel truth to the four corners of this world! Let’s position ourselves through praise to receive what God wants to pour into us!