The Sign Motif
The Holy Spirit is at work, and we can see it and hear it!
700 Words | 4 Minute Read Time
Luke 3
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Acts 2
2 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ... 11 we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
Luke makes a clear connection between Jesus's reception of the Holy Spirit in Luke 3 and the Apostles’s reception of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. That connection is clearly found in the signs that accompany both accounts of Luke.
Both Jesus and the Apostles experience the signs of seeing and hearing! For Jesus, the people see the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus physically—in bodily form—in the form of a dove. The Holy Spirit descends from heaven to fall on Jesus. Likewise in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit descends on the Apostles and people visibly see the Holy Spirit resting upon the heads of the Apostles as fire.
Both accounts include people visibly seeing the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit resting upon the recipients in a physical manifestation—a bird and fire.
Complementary to the vision, both groups of recipients and their audiences hear a supernatural occurrence of God's praise being proclaimed.
For Jesus, we hear the Father himself proclaim praise to Jesus. The Father affirms his approval and the authority of Jesus. The Father affirms and approves the ministry and missionary work of Jesus to begin—a vocation that Jesus eventually will pass on to the disciples along with the Holy Spirit and his vocational power and authority.
When the disciples are passed on this power, calling, and vocation, an audible manifestation of God's praise is heard again. Luke records in Acts 2 that the disciples spoke in unlearned languages the glories of God. The reception of the Holy Spirit in Acts becomes the universal sign that the Holy Spirit is now available to all the people of God empowering them for the divine vocation of accomplishing the mission of God—the Great Commission.
The collective signs of the reception of the Holy Spirit—the visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit and the audible proclamation of God—clearly announce and reveal that the Last Days and the missional work of the Holy Spirit and God's people are upon us. The visible and audible signs are confirmation of God's plan at work in our lives and story.
We can read with confidence the story of Jesus knowing that we are partners with Christ in the work of God's Kingdom!
The Spirit we have today is the same Spirit that Jesus was filled with and empowered for ministry with. He is the same Spirit that in his power brought Jesus back to life with resurrection power!
You may not have fire come upon your head or hear a voice from heaven, but we can know with confidence that the Holy Spirit is at work in our midst. When we pray and praise God... when we see miracles... when we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ as good news to those in need... when we see dead things come back to life... we know that the same Holy Spirit is still visible and speaking!
The Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus to those who seek.
The same Spirit will reveal both visibly and audibly that God is good and at work in your life today!