It’s amazing when you look at the people God entrusted with the task of telling the entire world about the incredible thing He had done to bring mankind back into a relationship with Him. These men and women, Jesus’ frightened and confused followers, were just ordinary people. They each had strengths but they also had some significant weaknesses. Yet God chose to give them the responsibility to tell the world about what Jesus had done.
But He didn’t leave them alone with that task. He knew on their own they would fail, just like men had been failing in their attempts to follow God since Adam & Eve. But because of Jesus’ death on the cross, the Holy Spirit could now come and live permanently inside every person who believed. He would make it possible for His followers to fulfill the job Jesus had given them. And after waiting for ten days, the Holy Spirit came upon those 120 people and they went out and changed the world. The book of Acts tells us about their part in God’s story and about the things they accomplished with the help of the Holy Spirit within them.
Today, the good news about Jesus and what He did on the cross for us has spread throughout the world. And it’s because of those 120 frightened and confused followers of Jesus who, through the power of the Holy Spirit, stepped out in faith and spread the word. And it’s continued to spread through His followers for 2,000 years, so that now we too can hear and believe the truth about what Jesus did for us. And as we accept God’s gift of forgiveness and life through Jesus, the Holy Spirit also comes into us and works through us to spread the news and change the world.
1 Corinthians 2:3-4
I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.