Last time we ended in a bit of a conundrum. We had seen how Jesus had worked with his twelve students using three primary means of learning: lecture, apprenticeship and immersion. We identified that the last two of these required proximity to Jesus. To be his apprentices and find themselves immersed in his life, they obviously had to be able to look over his shoulder, share his table and much of his time. Which is where the problem arose, because if proximity formed the heart of Jesus disciple-making ways, then how could people become disciples without him around? It’s a good question, the answer of which we arrive at, rather obscurely, in the final instruction Jesus gave to his disciples. In the beginning of the book of Acts, Jesus is preparing to return to the Father. He knows that he will soon leave his friends. But before departing he gives them one last command; they were to remain in Jerusalem and wait, for soon they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit.
The Promise of the Spirit
In John 14 and 16, among other places, Jesus had told the disciples that one day “another”, the Comforter, the Spirit of God, would come to them. He promised that this Holy Spirit would:
+ be with them and in them.
+ ensure the disciples were not abandoned as orphans.
+ enable the disciples to remain in and with Jesus.
+ teach them and remind them of everything Jesus had said and taught them.
+ convict the world of both sin and righteousness.
+ take from Jesus and make it known to them.
This promise of the coming Spirit was not new to Jesus. Hundreds of years before him the Hebrew prophets had foresaw that one day God’s Spirit would come to all people. So Jesus mention of the Spirit was not necessarily new, but what was new was the profound detail and intimacy he spoke of.
It’s like Jesus took a vaguely one dimensional idea, and filled it with colour and texture and depth. The Spirit the prophets spoke of was no longer an abstract notion, the Spirit was literally “one like Jesus”, dwelling within them forever.
Remain in Jerusalem
So with this promise and the command of Jesus rattling in their brains, the disciples remained in Jerusalem, just as they had been told. Faithfully they prayed and worshiped together. And then it happened. Acts 2 records the spectacular event. With tongues of fire the Spirit fell and “rested” on each of them. It was a visible sign that the one like Jesus, was now taking up residence in each of these disciples. In a charismatic burst, Jesus had just multiplied himself by everyone that was waiting. In some way, that’s what the three years prior were about. Jesus had been multiplying himself in 12 disciples, living with them and teaching them the ways of the kingdom. But now, the external training had just taken a whole new dynamic. Now the teacher had become an internal resident in each of his students. As Jesus had promised, he was with them, in them, immersed in their very lives. But this wasn’t the end of it, just the beginning actually. When we read on in the story we then watch as these first recipients go out to fulfill Jesus other final command - to make disciples of all nations. And as they do, filled now with his presence, it’s like they take Jesus with them. Everywhere they go, with everyone they share life with, for all they are training as disciples, they are giving a first hand encounter of Jesus. Proximity via the Spirit.
Lemonade! Free Lemonade!
For some the encounter is compelling. They too, just like the first followers, are caught up by Jesus and what he does in people. They see him sparkling in the lives of those with the Spirit. And as they are caught up in him, we watch as they are baptized in water, and then prayed over (which often included those first disciples laying their hands on them) to receive the gift of the Spirit themselves. And as the Spirit takes up residence in this next generation of disciples it’s here where things really start to explode. Soon the Roman Empire is being over-run with Spirit filled disciples, who are making their own Spirit filled disciples, who are making their own Spirit-filled disciples.
In a handful of years, the disciples of Jesus, and in a very real way, Jesus himself, has just multiplied throughout the world. And so we see how the problem of “proximity” was resolved. To be a disciple, you need to be with Jesus. There’s no way around this. But in the coming of the Spirit, Jesus made a way for this to happen, all over the world, in countless generations. Through the Spirit, no longer was proximity to him limited to his physical body. His departure, if anything, blew the lid off the container. His presence, through the Holy Spirit, was expanded, developed, and multiplied in the lives of his new disciples. It’s like Jesus took the bitter lemon of his departure, and made it into a never ending fountain of lemonade. Feel free to put that on your next bumper-sticker.
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Next time: what does this mean for you, for me, for being and making disciples today?
[Ed: The following is part four in a year long series on "discipleship" - our "Big Rock" focus for the year ahead.]