Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Have you ever gone to a reunion, reconnecting with people you haven’t seen in many years? It’s fascinating to see how our physical appearance has changed in 25 or 50 years isn’t it? But even more exciting is to hear the life stories of the people we haven’t seen in so long.
Would ‘transformation’ be a fair word to use as we contemplate how much we’ve changed in several decades? Did you know that by God’s design “Spiritual transformation” is far more powerful and dramatic than physical or social or emotional or professional transformation? And did you know God’s powerful “Spiritual transformation” can change a person almost instantly?
Join me again in Jerusalem about 2000 years ago during the festival of Pentecost. The dramatic events are recorded in the Bible in Acts 2.
We’ve seen that first, about 120 followers of Jesus Christ were suddenly and powerfully ‘spiritually transformed’ by the Holy Spirit of God when the Spirit came, as Jesus had promised, in the power of wind, fire and a ‘linguistic miracle’. (Acts 2:1-12)
As you follow their story in the rest of the book of Acts, this was not a temporary ‘spiritual transformation’! Over the past several days we’ve discussed these miracles at length.
Then secondly, the disciple Peter gave a Holy Spirit inspired, powerful, penetrating explanation to a large crowd of Jews who had gathered. (Acts 2:13-36) As you follow the rest of the life of the apostle Peter, he did such powerful, Holy Spirit led teaching many times!
And then third, in response to the disciple Peter’s explanation and challenge, about 3000 people experienced a ‘spiritual transformation‘ as the Holy Spirit convicted them, they repented of their sinful rebellion against God, and they were publicly baptized! (Acts 2:37-41)
Now my friends, in our “Walking with Jesus” journey I will often help us wrestle with the skeptic perspective which might find the Bible hard to believe, and let’s do that right now with this Acts 2 report of something that seems outrageous. This took place in the city of Jerusalem, and both then and now 2000 years later, there is no large body of water, no river or stream in Jerusalem which could accommodate the baptism of 3000 people easily. So is this a Biblical exaggeration or numerical error?
Luke, who wrote the book of Acts, was a Greek physician and to physicians details are important, aren’t they? While Luke was not an eyewitness to this event, he carefully had investigated it through interviews with Peter, other disciples, and other followers of Jesus who were there that day. (Luke 1:1-4) We know there were several large pools of water in Jerusalem… the pool of Siloam (John 9:7) and the pools of Bethesda (John 5:2) were among them.
We presume the disciples, and many others of these 120 Holy Spirit transformed followers of Jesus, were the ones doing the baptizing. So while it likely took quite some time, it is not at all impossible for 3000 people to respond to Peter, trusting in the Gospel truth about Jesus, repent of their sinful rebellion against God, pray requesting God to save them from their sin, and then be baptized by immersion in water.
(Modern picture of the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem)
I’m so glad Luke’s account of this event does not stop there, for we are hungry to know if there was any evidence of true “Spiritual transformation” in these people? Do you notice what is reported next? “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42) “They” is the word Luke uses to describe these 3000 people who have experienced this powerful, ‘spiritual transformation’ in their mind, heart and spirit. They immediately engaged in four specific actions which would have NOT been normal for them, even though they were ‘God fearing Jews’ (Acts 2:5) who had come to Jerusalem for Pentecost. Do you see those four actions?
First, they devoted themselves to the spiritual teaching of the disciples who had been with Jesus, called the ‘apostles’.
We can presume Jerusalem was intent on quieting the voices of the followers of Jesus, especially the disciples. A few days later those disciples were actually arrested and imprisoned by the same religious leaders who had condemned Jesus to death. (Acts 5:17,18) But here Luke tells us these 3000 Jews had an appetite for hearing the teaching of those disciples who had known Jesus personally.
An unquenchable spiritual appetite for God’s truth is an undeniable evidence of the ‘spiritual transformation’ work of the Holy Spirit of God because we humans do NOT naturally have a spiritual hunger for God! In fact spiritual truth is foolishness to us unless the Holy Spirit of God opens our minds and hearts to understand God’s truth. (1 Cor. 2:14 & 2 Cor. 4:4)
Secondly, these 3000 new believers in Jesus longed to spend as much time together in fellowship with the disciples and each other as possible!
Again this is a work of the Holy Spirit, for prior to this transformation the Jewish leaders and many Jews of Jerusalem wanted nothing to do with these Jesus or these His followers. (Luke 4:28,29; Matt.27:20-26; John 11:54-57)
Third, Luke tells us these 3000 new believers in Jesus devoted themselves to ‘the breaking of bread”.
This phrase the ‘breaking of bread’ may well refer to what Jesus did with His disciples in the upper room that Thursday evening as He broke the bread and initiated what we call ‘Communion’ or ‘the Lord’s supper’, as Jesus gave them the broken bread symbolizing what would be done to His body on the cross, (Luke 22:19) and then the wine which symbolized His blood, shed for our atonement sacrifice and which Jesus called “the new covenant in My blood”. (Luke 22:20)
“Spiritually transformed” followers of Jesus have a very high respect for and deep desire to participate in this memorial often, as Jesus had commanded. (Luke 22:19) For non-believers in Jesus, this is a meaningless ceremony.
And fourth, do you see these 3000 had a deep desire for prayer?
Now of course prayer was important for all Jews, but this is now prayer offered to God in the Name of Jesus the Messiah! Years later the writer to the Hebrews would write: “We have the confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus…” (Heb. 10:19-22)
These ‘spiritually transformed’ Jews were overwhelmed that the throne room of God was opened to them by Jesus through His atonement death and resurrection, and they loved to pray, talking with God, in the name of Jesus the Messiah, their Savior!
Now friends, the question is obvious for all of us isn’t it? Have you and I experienced the “spiritual transformation” of the Holy Spirit through our repentance of our sin and our full trust in Jesus Christ as our Redeemer?
Has the Holy Spirit accomplished His regeneration work in you and me, transforming us, freeing us of our sin and awakening in us the four spiritual hungers these 3000 people suddenly had? If not, what do you think that means? If Yes, what are you and I doing in response to those spiritual appetites the Holy Spirit is nurturing in us?
Don’t rush past those questions. Take some time to talk with Jesus about them right now! Here’s a worship song to guide our reflection:
Today’s Scripture: Acts 2:38-42.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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