Pentecost

[chinie19]

Why the Holy Spirit cames 50 days after the resurrection and not 40? (as many things on the Bible did)

 

[Joe_Kelley]

The Ascension was 40 days after the Resurrection. They then had a 9 day novena to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit. [Unfortunately the new style of celebrating Ascension Thursday on Sunday messes this up. ]

 

[Neofight]

Why the Holy Spirit cames 50 days after the resurrection and not 40? (as many things on the Bible did)

It was all part of the divine plan!

In Acts 1:8, we see Christ’s command before he ascended:

"…But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”

Since Jerusalem would be the starting point for witnessing Christ, the timing was perfect.

Three times a year, Jewish males aged 13 or older were required to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; and one of those times was the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost.

So by making the Holy Spirit making His appearance where and when he did gave the Apostles a large target audience to witness to and to convert. And as we see in Acts, thousands were converted right there, right then, in Jerusalem.

From there the Apostles would further witness “in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”, just as Christ had commanded.

Peace and all good!

 

[SJacob7]

I find it a bit puzzling when the Holy Spirit came to the disciples. As Neofight mentioned:

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

I thought the Holy Spirit came at baptism? There is no indication that the disciples were baptized when the Holy Spirit came. Why?

 

[Neofight]

I find it a bit puzzling when the Holy Spirit came to the disciples. As Neofight mentioned:

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

I thought the Holy Spirit came at baptism? There is no indication that the disciples were baptized when the Holy Spirit came. Why?

The Spirit was present in the Baptism of the Disciples, just as the Spirit was present from the dawn of creation (moving over the face of the waters - Genesis 1:2).

What was different was on Pentecost, the Spirit was coming with a specific mission. Just as the Word always existed, but did not come with a specific mission until the incarnation.

Peace and all good!

 

[SJacob7]

The Spirit was present in the Baptism of the Disciples, just as the Spirit was present from the dawn of creation (moving over the face of the waters - Genesis 1:2).

What was different was on Pentecost, the Spirit was coming with a specific mission. Just as the Word always existed, but did not come with a specific mission until the incarnation.

Peace and all good!

Ok, you say that the Spirit was present in the baptism of the disciples. When did they get baptized?

 

[Cathoholic]

SJacob7. You asked:

I find it a bit puzzling when the Holy Spirit came to the disciples. As Neofight mentioned:

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

I thought the Holy Spirit came at baptism? There is no indication that the disciples were baptized when the Holy Spirit came. Why?

We DO get the Holy Spirit at Baptism. We DO receive God almighty. We receive the gifts.

Yet in another sense we are still yet to receive certain gifts after Baptism (i.e. gifts that we receive in Confirmation for example).

Think of Baptism as a sort of “personal Pentecost” as we look at the following example.

**Maybe this hypothetical example will help… . . **

When “Uncle Ed and Aunt Lorraine” came by the house on December 22nd (when I was a kid) to leave me several Christmas presents, I got . . . well “several Christmas presents”.

I received “all the gifts”. They gave me a candy bar and two presents which were gift-wrapped.

So I was allowed to eat the candy bar but the gift wrapped presents went under the tree until I was Confirmed, er, I mean until Pentecost, no I mean until Christmas Day (December 25th)!

Did I receive ALL the gifts on December 22nd? Yes in a certain sense I did. But also “no” in another sense I did not.

There under the tree (still giftwrapped), two of these gifts went with me joyfully awaiting Christmas morning while another one of the gifts (the Candy bar) was given and available to me immediately (which I promptly ate).

In a sense we get “all the gifts” at Baptism. But in another sense we do not.

Some of our Baptismal gifts are “unfolded” or given at Confirmation for example.

Likewise the Baptized Apostles were given gifts at Pentecost which were beforehand yet to be unfolded.

(Remember the Blessed Virgin Mary was so “filled with the Holy Spirit”, that Mary “conceived and bore” Jesus Christ True God and True Man. Yet the Blessed Virgin Mary was there on that first New-Covenant era Pentecost and "received the gift of the Holy Spirit along with the Apostles etc. So being “filled with the Holy Spirit” multiple times is certainly not contradictory).

Baptism and the “Completion of Baptism” (Confirmation) are not contradictory gifts but harmonious ones. Likewise the Apostles receiving the Holy Spirit when they were Baptized* and again when they were at Pentecost . . . “received the Holy Spirit”.

Hope this helps.

God bless.

Cathoholic

*The Bible does not explicitly tell us when they were Baptized, but they undoubtedly were.

 

[Neofight]

Ok, you say that the Spirit was present in the baptism of the disciples. When did they get baptized?

I couldn’t tell you when. I can assume, with great confidence they did, based on the fact that in Acts, the Apostles baptized others in the name of Jesus, who had been baptized in the baptism of John.

If you are proposing because there is no recollection of the baptism of the apostles in scripture, that is a weak contention. There are plenty of things that are not told in the bible that can be assumed to have happened.

But, to even give you the benefit of the doubt, and grant credence to your presumption that they were not baptized, they still received the Holy Spirit prior to Pentecost when the resurrected Jesus breathed on them and gave them the power to forgive sins (see John 20).

Peace and all good!

 

[TimothyH]

I find it a bit puzzling when the Holy Spirit came to the disciples. As Neofight mentioned:

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

I thought the Holy Spirit came at baptism? There is no indication that the disciples were baptized when the Holy Spirit came. Why?

Before Pentecost the disciples were locked in the upper room out of fear. After Pentecost they went into the streets and preached boldly. That’s the whole idea of Pentecost.

They cowered in fear before Pentecost and Peter converted 3000 in one day after Pentecost. Stephen was not even afraid to die. The Holy Spirit strengthened the Church.

Your confirmation is your personal participation in Pentecost.

The word witness in Greek means martyr.

-Tim-

 

[Cathoholic]

TimothyH said in post 9:

Your confirmation is your personal participation in Pentecost.

Typo alert.

I said (in post 7):

Think of Baptism as a sort of “personal Pentecost” as we look at the following example.

I meant:

Think of Confirmation as a sort of “personal Pentecost” as we look at the following example.

Thank you TimothyH.