John 14:25-27 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Day of Pentecost Sunday, May 23, 2021 “Connected by the Counselor”
I wonder what it would have been like to see it. I find myself saying that about a lot of different accounts in the Bible, and that certainly includes the one we heard earlier about what happened on that unique Pentecost. There in Jerusalem, crowded with pilgrims and celebrations, were the twelve disciples of Jesus. They had done what he told them and remained in Jerusalem after he had ascended into heaven. They were probably still unsure about how long they would need to wait. They were probably a little uneasy about things. And suddenly it all happened. There was a sound like a rushing wind. There were tongues of fire that came upon them. And it wasn’t just inside the house. There was a commotion. There were people all over Jerusalem who heard and noticed and wondered and looked into what was going on. And when they saw and heard exactly what was going on, they were even more surprised. What was going on was that ordinary men from Galilee were speaking the languages of those people from all over the world. People were amazed. People were perplexed. People made up strange excuses, like drunkenness, to explain away what they were hearing and seeing. And then Peter told them exactly what was happening. God had poured out his Holy Spirit on his people in a unique and special way. And it was a sight to behold. It was a sound to hear. It was an event to experience. I can try, but I am not sure that I can really even imagine what it would have been like. And when many people think of the work of the Holy Spirit, that’s the picture that comes to mind. It’s winds and flames of fire and speaking in tongues. It’s unusual and exciting and obvious. But that’s not always how the Holy Spirit operates. He always has exciting things to accomplish, but he doesn’t always accomplish them in such exciting ways. His work is often much less obvious. There was only one Pentecost that was quite like this, and very few other times when we know the Holy Spirit’s coming was connected to obvious outward signs. We don’t have an expectation that our worship service today will end up like that Pentecost, but we do have an expectation that the Holy Spirit is here and he is working and he is active. We don’t expect rushing winds or flames of fire or speaking in tongues, but we do expect the blessings of the Holy Spirit. We do expect him to be at work making connections in us. And we expect it because Jesus promised it, not just to those twelve, but to all whom he has chosen. And so we go back even further than that Pentecost celebration. We find the day, depending on how exactly you count it, about 53 days earlier when Jesus was with his disciples in the upper room. It was a much calmer evening at that point. They celebrated the Passover. They listened to Jesus teach, and they heard his warnings and his promises. They heard the words of Jesus from John 14 that are in front of us now, the special promise of a Counselor. They heard how they would be connected by the Counselor to everything that Jesus taught. Counselor is a unique name or title for the Holy Spirit. The Greek word is “Paraclete,” which you may have come across in some translations. It refers to an encourager or comforter or helper. And the Holy Spirit certainly does all those things. As Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit would be sent out by the Father in Christ’s name. His job would be to teach and to remind. He would teach these men to truly understand what Jesus had been teaching them and to remind them of everything he said. And they needed it. Remember that when Jesus was about to ascend into heaven, the disciples asked him about restoring an earthly kingdom to the Jewish people. They needed help putting it all together.