Pentecost 2021

John 14:25-27 (NIV) 25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

I saw a question on social media on Wednesday that asked you to name a subject that you could speak on for thirty minutes without preparation. It was looking for responses which indicated just how knowledgeable a person could be that the information they shared would just come naturally and not have to be researched. How would you respond to that question?

It can be a challenge to give a speech or to teach a lesson for 30 minutes and to do it “off the cuff” or to “shake a sermon out of my sleeve” as the old saying goes. For this reason it has been suggested that a pastor should spend one hour in preparation for every minute he preaches. I wonder how accurate such a statement is or how practical or necessary. I would imagine that when a seminary student is writing his first sermons, he needs to devote an extraordinary amount of time in researching, outlining, drafting, reviewing, writing, memorizing, and even rehearsing a sermon. But after a while you would think that he has stored up a certain amount of knowledge in his brain and can draw from experience that such lengthy preparation is no longer necessary.

Some people may think that much time is needed to prepare in order to speak on a topic long enough. In the case of a pastor (or others who teach and instruct), preparation is needed so that they can focus on the main theme of the subject so they don’t wander off aimlessly, give false information, or exaggerate.

I know what is involved in our educational system in the training of pastors to write sermons and to teach classes and to provide counseling. It takes years of dedicated study and practice so that we can correctly divide the word of truth. And even though a pastor graduates and is ordained, he will continue to not only review what he has learned but also to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Many pastors will dedicate themselves to continuing education even though once in a while a member will tell me, “Well, if you don’t know it by now, why study more?” This was in response to an appeal by our synodical schools to have congregations provide tuition assistance for ongoing education of their pastor. I do think we have some of the most prepared and biblically educated pastors in the world and am always pleased when I listen to pastors young enough to be my sons who so intelligently and compassionately teach and preach the word of God. But it does take a lot of study, note taking, testing, practice preaching and teaching, and evaluation to be skilled in this important endeavor.

So it amazes me (but does not surprise me) that Jesus’ disciples did so well even though their formal education was not as professional. Of course, they had the master teacher, Jesus. He taught them day after day for three years and did send them out on some training missions. But we aren’t told that they took notes, wrote out their sermons ahead of time, or fact checked their sources but relied on what they had memorized from the Scriptures. And when Matthew and John wrote their gospels from experience and Mark and Luke (not originally of the twelve) wrote their gospels based on researching what disciples had said decades after Jesus left, how can we be sure that what they wrote was accurate?

This is a question that is highly disputed by modern critics, by the way.

Jesus’ promise given on Maundy Thursday helps us to answer this question from a biblical point of view as . . .

Jesus Promises to Send the Holy Spirit.

The circumstances are familiar. Jesus is teaching in the Upper Room on Maundy Thursday. He had just reminded his disciples that the source of his teaching was God the Father.

John 14:23–24 (NIV)

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

One purpose of the Bible is that it is the revealed knowledge of God. Although everyone has a certain degree of the natural knowledge of God from nature and conscience, to really know God we need to have him speak to us. One of the most extensive revelations is recorded by Moses in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Moses would go up to meet God on Mt Sinai and write down everything God commanded him and then share it with the Israelites. We also have this testimony.

Hebrews 1:1–3 NIV

1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

But the days of Jesus teaching person were about to end with his Ascension into heaven. And yet, he commanded his disciples to teach everything he had commanded them. Unlike Moses and other prophets, we aren’t told that the disciples were taking notes. Not to worry. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit who would remind them of everything he had said. He repeats this in John 16:12–15 (NIV)

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

This was in keeping with the prophecy of Joel which Peter quoted on Pentecost and which John the Baptist had alluded to when he said that he baptized with water but one would come after him who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Acts 1:4–5 NIV

4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

On Pentecost we celebrate that Jesus kept his promise. This is well known to us. The disciples waited in Jerusalem and ten days after Jesus’ ascension during the already existing festival of Pentecost, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit with outward manifestations such as the sound of mighty wind, what appeared to be tongues of flame, and the miraculous ability to speak in other known languages. [Aside: One of the requirements for pastoral training in our synod is the learning of other languages not to be able to speak them but to research what was written in them. Many is the time that a college or seminary student may have wished for the miraculous ability to know another language without having to learn it. Or when we sen missionaries to foreign countries, they spend great time and effort to learn the native language to share the Gospel with it.]

On Pentecost the arrival of the Holy Spirit caused quite a stir as the disciples emerged from their quarters and began to publicly proclaim what Jesus had taught them. We are not told that Peter, the spokesman of the disciples, had spent the last ten days carefully crafting his sermon. We believe that the Holy Spirit gave him what to say as he testified to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Years later Luke would write down a summary of that sermon and record the events in the book of Acts so we today know what happened.

Here we see God working through a combination of recalling what a person had been taught, what they had memorized (Peter quotes from the prophet Joel), current events, the interpretation of what does this mean, and an appeal to action . . repent so that you may be forgiven. God empowered Peter and the others with the Holy Spirit to believe what they had been taught and to boldly and without error teach what Jesus had taught them.

We are no longer able to hear firsthand what Jesus taught. Nor are we able to interact directly with the early leaders of the church. We can listen to those who have been trained to preach and to teach but even that is limited in some ways. We can read and hear what they taught and are encouraged to do that and pray that we might hear, mark, learn, and inwardly digest Gods’ Word. And we can be confident that as we encounter the living and enduring Word of God, God still sends his Holy Spirit into our hearts as Joel had promised and Peter had confirmed.

Acts 2:17–21 (NIV)

17 “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Conclusion

On Pentecost we celebrate how God poured out his Holy Spirit on the disciples in a miraculous way and empowered them to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ boldly. Jesus teaches us that receiving the Holy Spirit was not limited to his disciples but that God gives his Holy Spirit to all who ask.

Luke 11:9–13 NIV

9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

But we don’t expect it to happen in the same way through a miracle. Rather, God gives his Spirit to us through the Gospel in the Word and Sacrament. We can trust these means of grace and be strengthened in our faith as He continues to come to us and work in our lives. Amen.