Pentecost

A CAREFUL Study of “the day of Pentecost” will properly introduce an examination of the apostohc doctrine of the Holy Ghost. It will be remembered that our Lord delivered a farewell message to the disciples in these words: “And behold I send the promise of My Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high.” It appears that almost immediately upon this injunction, the apostles put to their Master a question which was meant to develop His plan, or to elicit some notion of His purpose as the national Saviour: “Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? “This would seem to be the orreatest question which they had to ask, — a question which shows how far they were from understanding the relation of the particular to the universal. So at the very last, when human strength usually breaks down, our Lord had to speak an apparently ungracious word; at the very moment of supreme tenderness, when He would not have withheld anythine from them that could have comforted the few hearts that had trusted Him, He felt it to be right to speak a word lyhich must have fallen coldly on their expectant patriotism: “It is not

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for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.” That was indeed a cruel repulse. In one moment more He healed the wound: in effect He said, “You have asked for little, you shall have much; you have been living within the narrow circle of your curiosity, you shall live in a larger sphere; I say No to this inquiry, but hear what a promise I give you, — ‘Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’” This is the law which seems to govern the divine answer to prayer, — a great, holy, beneficent law which disregards the keen prying of mere curiosity, and sends down upon the whole life baptisms which renew the energy and bloom of its youth. It was not the Jeiu but the man that was to be satisfied: the politician belongs to the state, the man belonos to the universe. This is no new turn in the method of our Lord. He never dwarfed Himself within the limits of local questions, — He was never less than the Son of man.

It will be convenient to make some parts of the narrative of the events which took place on the day of Pentecost very prominent. The narrative is given in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles: —

**And zvJien the day of Pentecost was fully come, they zvere all zvith o).e accord in one placed That place was (according to the most careful authorities) neither the temple nor any room belonging to the holy edifice. The time of distinct se jaration had come. Yet with a beautifulness of consistency, divine in its delicacy, the event took place at the time of one of the great Jewish festivals; it touched the historic line of Jewish worship, yet escaped the glittering point which would have localised and debased its significance. Already the shadow of doom lay across the temple roof; hence it was better that the living and indestructible church should not be identified with a building marked for destruction, and yet that It should touch, though by mere coincidence rather than by sympathy, a hallowed feast which preserved the most gracious and pathetic memories of Israel. God does thus curiously interweave human recollections, and run on Into massive completeness the scattered paragraphs of human experience.

The apostles were all with one accord in one place. This was the period of silence and expectation, in which no man had aught to say to his brother, the period of suspense and wonder known to every man who lives a deeply spiritual life. Life has its hours of exhaustion wherein one of two events must happen, — death, or renewal of youth. Every line of the old commission has been worked out, and the soul sickens at the thought of repetitions for which it has neither desire nor strength. The soul prefers death to repetition. When there is no more juice in the grapes, why tarry at the press? Again and again this question has been put In various forms by men who have outlived the dispensations Into which they were born. Devout men who had “waited for the consolation of Israel,” had waited so long that their expectation had sharpened Itself Into a pain: they went into the temple wearily; Zacharlas had grown old in the priestly office; Simeon wondered why he was kept so long out of heaven; and Anna the daughter of Phanuel was groping for the gates which opened upon the city of her desire. A strange lull has always gone before the greatest shocks in personal and imperial history. What man is there, who has any knowledge of the holy mysteries of the Inner life, who has not passed throuoh these hours of waltlnQf and troubled wonder, as if an expected angel had been delayed and his soul would die of weariness? We must remember the quietness of the particular time marked In the narrative, if we would appreciate the contrast which is instantly developed.

‘■^ And suddenly there came a sotind from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind.” From heaven! Every wind comes from heaven, and so, primarily, does every sound, yet some winds travel along the dust and come with much earthliness, whilst others seem to come down from the way of the stars and the paths of light. The j,uddenness of divine appearances is expressly noted in the Scriptures. Thus: “The Lord spake suddenly unto Moses and Aaron;”

the Lord is to come suddenly to His temple; suddenly there was with the angel of the annunciation a multitude of the heavenly host; and in this case, the rushing mighty wind came suddenly from heaven. All great events appear to come with suddenness, even when long-expected and wearily waited for. When did death come other than suddenly, though the watchers thought themselves prepared for the solemn presence? In every line there is a climacteric point. Intellectual illumination is sudden, but intellectual education is always slow. In a moment the mind sees the vision, and is consequently tempted to describe the disclosure as sudden, how laborious soever the process of study and self-preparation. Even Archimedes felt that the wind came suddenly from heaven, and he shouted Etireka like a slave bounding from constraint into liberty. From the divine side there can be nothing sudden. This pentecostal baptism had actually been foretold by one of the prophets of Judah; the fact was declared, the hour was concealed. Soldiers advancing to battle know that the word of command will be spoken, yet so sudden will be its utterance that it will come upon them like a shock; they know the fact, they do not know the time. God proceeds by this method. He gives the great promise, but keeps back the knowledge of the precise hour of its fulfilment; thus: “the kingdom shall be restored to Israel, but it is not for you to know the times and the seasons of the restoration: I will come to the world in judgment, but it will be as a thief in the night; of that day and that hour knoweth no man, not even the Son, the Father alone knoweth: the Son of man will come at an hour when He is not expected.” So in this case: far back in time, even when Azariah was king in Judah, the prophet had said — “It shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy,” and Peter claimed the scene at Pentecost as the fulfilment of words so old. In this way men are trained to live by faith, and in this way is reserved for them the keen joy that comes of suddenness and surprise.

“And there appeared unto them cloven tongnes like as of fire, amd it sat upon each of them.” A fulfilment of the word of John the Baptist: “He shall baptize you with fire.” Consider the beautifulness of the consistency which combines a sensation of arduur with a gospel of love. Fire indicates the point at which love reaches enthusiasm. A church without fire is a church without enthusiasm, and consequently without adequate credentials and authority. Not only, however, was there fire in the general sense in which there was a rushing mighty wind, the fire resembled cloven tongues, and it sat upon each of the apostles, so that there was something more than a Mow of hallowed delicfht and thankfulness in the heart — an ecstasy deep but mute, which proved its presence by a rapt and glistening expression of countenance — there was that outgoing power which is called iLtterance, showing that what every man in the apostolate had of divine fire and unction he held for the benefit of others as well as for the profit and comfort of his- own soul. Consider, too, how impossible it would be to mistake an apostle for a common man, when the fire of God was burning upon him, as it burned in the bush on Horeb! Does not fire distinguish genius from mere ability? Is not fire the great distinction of all men of supreme power? When a speaker makes men’s hearts burn within them, he has known the sanctification and joy of the higher baptism. Were it our business now to preach we could utter many words which would affright the empirics who have taken the name of apostles, but whose incantations are unanswered by the fire of heaven.

“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak zvith other tongnes, as the Spirit gave them utterance’’ An effect instantly followed which was peculiarly suited to the circumstances:” There were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another. Behold are not all these which speak, Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein ■AC were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God,” It should be pointed out that the observers of this pentecostal spectacle are distinctly characterized as “devout men;” men of sober and religious judgment, who would look upon the scene without any disposition to fanaticism. These men, then, testified that they heard the apostles speak “every man in his own tongue, wherein he was born;” and the testimony is specially valuable as going to the point that thel. speech was rational and religious; not a mere mouth- ’ inof, orroaninof, siohino-, or ravino, but a declaration of “the wonderful works of God.” So that though the tumult was uproarious as viewed from an unsympathetic point, yet in reality it was controlled by the very spirit of order and directed to the highest edification of the church. Looking at St. Paul’s discussion of the doctrine of tongues, it has been suggested that this pentecostal utterance was not the utterance of foreiofn lansfuaQ^es, but a strange and mysterious mingling of sounds of whose meaning the speakers themselves were ignorant. We cannot agree with this criticism, which is undoubtedly just as directed to the “tonorues “referred to in the epistle to the Corinthians, but (in our opinion) as undoubtedly without point as bearing- upon this case. First of all, this was a fulfilment of prophecy; secondly, the speech was understood without the aid of an interpreter; thirdly, some preparation would certainly have been given in the prospect of such scenes as St. Paul describes, otherwise the apostles must have been regarded as the subjects of lunacy; and fourthly, whilst a distinctly valuable object might be secured by the intelligible utterance of foreign languages, it is difficult to .^ee what could be gained by exposing the apostles to the suspicion of insanity. The scenes described by St. Paul would, if they have any connection with Pentecost “(which may be doubted) rather suggest the decay of this power than give any idea of its original dignity and use, or sanction any attempt to recover a gift which the Lord designed to be but temporary. Very wonderful in its suggestiveness is the fact that this miracle should have operated in the direction of language. What separates nation from nation so completely as ignorance of each other’s speech? Even where sympathies might be supposed to be identical, as between painters, poets, astronomers, and the like, reciprocal joy is almost impossible where there is no medium of common speech. A gospel intended to be universal should have the mastery of all language. This was a sign, a beneficent token of the sublime future. It seems to us that a continuance of this power would have facilitated the conversion of the world by making the universal publication of Christian truth comparatively easy. Where a case appears to be so vividly evident, the probability is that human reasoning omits some element which if known would

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determine a contrary conclusion. God mercifully shows, now and again, some startling glimpse of the fulness of His power, and thus points out at once the way that is to be taken and the fountain of sufficiency upon which His servants have to rely. This was done on the day of Pentecost. In giving this manifestation of the Spirit, Jesus Christ said in effect to His apostles — “I have told you to teach all nations; to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature; the commission is wide; you may indeed be confounded by its scope, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high; I will show you that all language as well as all truth is at My disposal -; for a moment only will I keep the vision at the miraculous point, but that momentary glimpse will do two things for you: it will show you a sublime possibility, and assure you that ower equal to the occasion is lodged in the right hand of our Lord.” Men must sometimes be taken out of themselves in order to know both their power and their weakness. In moments of exaltation they may propose to build on the quiet heights and remain there for ever, but they will learn from the Lord to go down hill again, and help those whose life is a daily distress. We have been on the mount of Pentecost, and now we are in the valley, speaking the word of redemption and hope,- — n“ot “we” individually, but the church. That is enough, if we seize its meaning aright; we not only divide the inheritance but utterly fritter away the spiritual lineage and the holy estate if we fail to connect ourselve.i with the earliest experiences of the church and to call them our own. In this high sense we were present at Pentecost, and have known the mystery of speaking all tongues.

Mark the great significance of this mastery of speech. As a matter of fact, Christianity is the universal language. This pentecostal sign was symbolical of that gracious reality. By addressing the heart in the name of purity, love, and peace, it speaks to man in all places through all time. It speaks to the trained intellect and the untutored mind, to the old man and the little child, to every hope and every fear, it is the one speech which is self-interpreting the world over. Here, then, is the inward and spiritual grace, of which the miracle on the day of Pentecost was but the outward and visible sign. Why cry for the sign to reappear when the holy grace is manifest to our hearts? Why go in quest of the burning bush when the Holy Ghost is present in the very springs and outgoings of our life? Every departure from the spiritual line is a movement towards elements that are “beggarly” and useless.

In explaining the events of the day, the apostle Peter took care to make three things very distinct: —

I. That the prophetic word spoken by Joel had been fulfilled, and that therefore the Christian doctrine claimed to have exhausted ancient prophecy. It is clear that prophecy cannot have two separate and contrary fulfilments. If Christianity is the fruition of the prophecies, no party of theologians can build itself upon the Old Testament as in contradistinction to the New, With very noticeable consistency the evangelists point out how Jesus Christ claimed to have fulfilled the prophecies, and one of them expressly records how immediately upon the resurrection. He begah at “Moses and all the prophets, and expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself” These challenges in respect of prophetic fulfilments are remarkable as having been addressed to people who had charge of the oracles of God; they addressed themselves immediately to this grave issue — Christianity must be a true revelation because it completes and glorifies the word of prophecy, and therefore he who rejects Jesus Christ rejects also the prophets of the Lord. A bold demand, yet not too bold if the facts can be shown to justify it. Demands of this kind are most perilous because they must encounter the slow but terrible hostility of time if unjust or irrational. Prophecy will be fulfilled, and if fulfilled contrary to the claim of its interpreters they must be covered with confusion and shame. In no case did the evangelists or apostles hesitate when they claimed the realization of a prophecy, and it is but just to say that two thousand years have not impaired their integrity or their wisdom.

2. That the gift of the Holy Ghost proceeded from Jesus Christ, and was therefore to be regarded as the seal of His testimony and service. Peter’s words. are very emphatic: “Jesus of Nazareth whom ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, being now by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, hath shed forth this which -f now see and hear.” Explanation of circumstances so remarkable was needed, and all the more so that there does not appear, on the face of the evidence, to be anything distinctively Christian in this marvellous display of divine power. Look at it. There ws a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind; there were cloven tongues like as of fire; there was such an utterance as led some hearers to exclaim, “These men are full of new wine.” For a time there miijht have been reasonable hesitation on the part of devout observers as to the meanino- of the event, and it is not inconceivable, especially if the apostles w’cre uttering words of which they themselves did not know the sense, that some of these observers might have felt that the Christian cause had been condemned by a special token from heaven. The rushing mighty wind, the flaming tongues, the confusion and tumult of utterance, were rather out of keeping with the kind of life which Jesus Christ and the apostles customarily led as amongst themselves, than consistent with it. How to treat the occasion, then .-* Peter would have been put hors de combat if he could not have seized the ancient prophecy, and connected it with the promise and mediation of his Master; but being able to do this, he showed by his own sobriety and complete self-control that the spirit of order was supreme. Had Peter been unequal to the exigency, an acute and determined enemy of the Christian cause might have said, — See the confusion to which these unsuspecting dupes have been reduced. The very winds fight against them, and the stars in their courses mock their imbecility; time has answered them, and events have confounded their hopes! But the enemy was anticipated. Instantly the man whom they all knew to have denied his Lord stood forth and claimed the event as a proof of His divine truthfulness and sufficiency. And he did more than this: he showed —

3. That the gift which had been shed upon the apostles was offered to all men, upon conditions easy of comprehension: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; for the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” How different would have been the case had Peter said — We alone are involved in this matter; it is not for you, — a special class has thus been created, and endowed with privileges which can neither be explained nor communicated; henceforward we stand apart in a citizenship which no other men can attain.

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Instead of a speech so self-congratulatory and monastic, he said — •” Men and brethren, this great gift is ready to come upon you also; there is nothing arbitrary in its distribution; it follows conditions which you can all observe; save yourselves from this untoward generation.” The univer’sality of the Christian appeal will always be, as it has ever been, an argument impossible to refute. A religion without money stipulations, without invidious social distinctions, speaking to the sinful, the weary, and the despairing, words of infinite hope and pathos, is presumably such a religion as would be propounded by a God of righteousness and mercy. Peter’s exposition was not, as to the effects of his doctrine, limited in time. It holds good to-day. Men may test it for themselves, seeing that the residue of the Spirit is with God, and that the Father will crive it “unto them that ask Him.”

In making these three points clear, Peter set himself in a new and impressive light. The speech actually glorified the speaker. As an exposition it is remarkable as well for intellectual grasp as for spiritual unction. As it proceeded it was felt that the taunt, “these men are full of new wine,” was a poor sneer. The exposition goes back to the solemn days of ancient prophecy, it gathers the events of current activity and thought around the Cross, and it penetrates into scenes afar off and ages yet to come. It was a speech in every respect equal to the occasion, and in no particular more so than in the intensity of its ardour. Every word of it might have been uttered with a tongue of fire. We shall know now the standard by which apostles and apostolic doctrine are to be measured: there must be no falling below this original type; no man must be less ardent, less liberal, less hopeful; every man must of course retain his own stature and his own accent, but if he abate aught of enthusiasm and nobleness the validity of his spiritual baptism may be denied. Strange, yet beautiful, is the arrangement by which Peter thus becomes the typical man of the apostolate. Contrast this speech with the statement made by this same Peter before the fire fell upon him. At an early meeting of the church it was proposed to fill up a vacancy in the office from which Judas by transgression fell. Peter laid before the “men and brethren” an explanation of the case, and the election was determined by the giving forth of lots. Lame and impotent conclusion! Had Peter waited a little longer he would have looked with contempt and shame upon this miserable shift. Matthias was elected to the apostleship, and to obsctcrity: he was never heard of more; a rebuke which properly finished an old and poor way of doing things, without utterly disregarding the prayerfulness and religious impatience of honest men who were anxious to keep forms and numbers in perfect order. After the descent of the Holy Ghost, no lot-drawing was needed to enable this same Peter to see in Cornelius the Gentile an elect saint, and to detect in Simon the sorcerer a child of the devil. So much for a true spiritual instinct. We hear no more of lotcasting, or of the formal tests which many Old Testament men delighted to set up in times of perplexity. A new and higher order has been established; they who live in the Spirit know what is right by a sympathy sensitive and unerring, and when they come into practical difficulties, instead of resortinof to siens and tokens which are not far removed from jugglery, they quietly wait for the salvation of God.