The religious leaders rushed through the trial of Jesus with the sole purpose of finishing before the Passover Festival. The Sanhedrin disregarded the laws of parliamentary protocol. It was imperative that Jesus is tried, convicted, and sentenced to death as quickly as possible. The facts were muted in favor of emotional hearsay. Through secret meetings under the canopy of darkness, they played the system to their satisfaction. The quicker they could get rid of Jesus and His plan of physical and spiritual prosperity, the sooner they could protect their self-serving agendas. Little did the religious hypocrites realize that they were helping to fulfill God’s purpose of deliverance for His chosen people. (Acts 2:23)
After Jesus’ resurrection, He spent 40 days expounding the principles of the Kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3) His last day was with His Disciples as he commissioned them to present the Gospel throughout the world. (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-18, Acts 1:7, 8) The final act of Jesus’ earthly ministry was His ascension into the Heavenlies in full view of His Disciples. (Acts 1:9) During the next ten days, a new congregation of about one hundred and twenty Believers was formed that dedicated themselves to prayer. (Acts 1: 14) There was also a business meeting in which a replacement for Judas was elected.
As the Jews from all over the Mediterranean gathered to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost a “sound like a rushing mighty wind” swept into Jerusalem. In a house not far from the Temple, twelve men experienced the fulfillment of Jesus’ words that they will “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” (Acts 1: 8) They immediately began to speak of the wonderful “works of God.” (Acts 2:11) The amazing thing was that they spoke in the languages of many of the Jewish pilgrims that were in attendance at the Feast which caused the hearers to be confounded. (Acts 2:6) (I believe that the Disciples immediately left the house after the Holy Spirit came upon them and went to the Temple. To think that people from about fifteen geographical areas were gathered outside the Disciples “church” would be a stretch.) The supernatural phenomena caused concern among the assembled and even more so when the Disciples began speaking in their native languages. (Acts 2:6) Peter would stand, along with the other Disciples and preach a sermon that resulted in three thousand conversions. (Acts 2:41) The Temple was in disarray. The Truth, for which Jesus was crucified, became a message of redemption to all that would hear.
Peter continued to use the Temple as his pulpit. In fact, just a few days after the conversion of three thousand souls, he would return to the Temple and present the Gospel again. This time five thousand men surrendered their lives to Jesus who they had once rejected. (Acts 4:4) What would have happened if the twelve Disciples had stayed in their house of “worship” and not gone to the Temple? I wonder today how many “assemblies” are nothing more than self-serving edifices? The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not to be a personal edifying experience, but an empowering to take what you have been taught and to share it with the “whosoever’s “of our communities.
Many of our churches have turned into social gatherings with the intent to lift up feelings instead of Truth. Let us ask ourselves, when is the last time we reached outside our buildings and led someone to Jesus? Instead of gathering in a closed environment to experience the reality of the Gospel, let us enter the open environment and show the reality of the Gospel. I believe that the Truth needs to be reintroduced in our churches so that it can be introduced to those outside our buildings.