Waiting It Out

Cleopas here.

Remember I told you that Jesus had appeared to us and said, "...stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven?"

So we waited.

And waited.

Seven weeks we waited.

Can I tell you something?

We were confused.

Several of the other believers had started to doubt that Jesus was going to send this Holy Spirit person. Some thought He had already come and we missed Him.

It was the day of Pentecost and we had planned this big committee meeting, with a feast and all, to figure out what to do next.

I mean, if this was it, we might as well all go back to what we were doing before Jesus got our attention.

So there we were. People from all over.

It was tough. We didn't speak the same language. We couldn't communicate well.

How would we ever be able to decide what to do?

What happened next is beyond description, but I'll try.

There was this noise like a thousand tornados in the sky over us.

No, not a thousand...a hundred thousand.

It was ear piercing! We could not hear ourselves think, let alone talk to one another.

Then what looked like sparks or flame or something...no it wasn't really fire, but that's the closest I know how to describe it to you.

It's not like it was hot or anything, just all flickering and bright and red and orange and yellow. Not fire but like fire.

I guess.

The firey stuff came right down and settled on our heads.

That was tense.

Suddenly there was a presence in each of us that we could not understand. We all knew that everyone else there was having the same experience!

As soon as this presence entered us, we began to be able to communicate with people from far away lands whose language we had never heard before, let alone spoken.

The commotion attracted others from all around, more foreigners.

There were people from Greece, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Turkey, Phrygia, Pamphilia, Egypt, Libia, and even Rome.

We met Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Jews, Cretans and Arabians.

It would have been a real mess, except that by some miracle we could all understand one another.

Here's what was happening. When someone started telling about the mighty miracles of God, we could understand him as though he was speaking in our own language!

Some non-believers in the crowd thought we were drunk.

Then Peter, one of the original men who had walked with Jesus, stepped up and started a speach.

He spoke Aramaic, but everybody understood him.

"People of Jerusalem and visitors, too! Listen up!

"Some of you think we are drunk, but we're not.

"What is happening is what was predicted by the prophet, Joel centuries ago.

"Remember he wrote, 'In the last days,' God said, 'I will pour out my Holy Spirit on all mankind, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men dream dreams. Yes, the Holy Spirit shall come upon all my servants, men and women alike, and they shall prophesy. And I will cause strange demonstrations in the heavens and on the earth - blood and fire and clouds of smoke; the sun shall turn black and the moon blood red before that awesome Day of the Lord arrives. But anyone who asks for mercy from the Lord shall have it and shall be saved.'

Peter went on to tell us all about the prophesies of Jesus in the Scriptures, His life, His death and His resurrection.

He closed by saying, "Therefore I clearly tell you all that God had made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be the Lord, the Messiah!"

I was totally impressed.

I shouted out, "What should we do?"

Peter heard me and answered, "Each one of you should demonstrate your willingness to follow Jesus by and act of repentance. Then you should give testimony to your identification with His death, burial and resurrection by being baptized.

"But take heed!" This came in a tone of warning, "Do not submit to baptism unless you have been called to repentance. When you have done this, you will understand that the Holy Spirit has come to live in you!"

Some people there did not think Peter was in his right mind. They just left, shaking their heads.

But you know what?

Three thousand people believed him and were baptized that very day!

I even helped baptize twenty or so. I actually lost count.

That was a long time ago, but I though you might be interested in my story.

I'm still filled with the Holy Spirit and still love Jesus.

I'm very old, now. I don't think I have much longer in this old body.

But don't you worry about me. I know that when I breathe my last breath here, I'll breathe my first in front of my wonderful Jesus, face-to-face once more.

He'll say to me, "Well done, my friend Cleopas! Enter into the joy of My Kingdom!"

And I will.