Holy Spirit: The Gift - Mark 1:1-8

        To see the full message, scroll to the bottom. 

Holy spirit, come. 

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The Old Testament ends with a cliffhanger.  

[The Lord says,] “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.” Malachi 4:5-6 

That prophetic message is followed by years—generations—of history in which we hear nothing directly from God.  

The Old Testament ends with “to be continued.”

The New Testament begins with a flashback in each of the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  

  • Matthew begins his Gospel with a flashback to Abraham, way back in Genesis chapter 12.  
  • John begins his Gospel by going even further, back to Genesis 1. 
  • Mark flashes back to those prophet voices, quoting Isaiah and Malachi.  
  • Luke takes a different approach.  

He doesn't just flash back; he puts us right in the middle of an ordinary Old Testament. day. It's like we're strapping on our VR headsets, tightening up the straps, and pushing the button. The lights flicker and Luke transports us to... the Temple. 

The Old Testament Temple of Yahweh God. As Jewish readers in that day, we would have been like, “Look, I know those gates! I remember those pillars. I remember that tapestry. This is the Temple of Yahweh God.” 

Wearing our headsets we would step out of the way to let pass a couple of priests coming through in a hurry, their white linen robes flapping, as they stride away to do their duty. Everywhere in the Temple (these are really good VR headsets) we smell the fragrance of incense, the smell of charcoal. Over there we can see the entry to the Holy of Holies where we are not allowed to go.  

If this is a movie, we are background extras. If this is a game we are NPC's. We are part of the great shifting crowd that fills the Temple courts, one generation after another. Blending in among all the faces and the voices and the footsteps and the crowd. Among the generations who knew these songs and these prayers. This music. The sounds of lambs bleating. Doves cooing. Flames crackling.  

But then director Luke shifts our focus, zooming in on just one of those hundreds of white robed priests. A good man named Zechariah. Like the rest he's busy. He's got somewhere he needs to go. He's got something he needs to do, and it's important. So he does not notice us at all.  

We might not have noticed him.  

He was an ordinary man with an ordinary wife and an ordinary life, who on one ordinary Old Testament day (almost literally) rolled the dice... and was met by an angel.  

A messenger from God appeared to Zechariah and said, “Zechariah, you and Elizabeth are going to have a son. You are going to name him John. And hey, Zechariah—remember Malachi? Remember his cliffhanger prophecy? Well your son will go before the Lord in the spirit and the power of the prophet Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children. Your son is going to make a people ready for their Lord.” 

And after 400 years of silence... Boom!!  

Luke chapter 1 is all-holy-spirit-all-the-time.  

Holy Spirit leans close to Zechariah's unborn son.  

...For he will be great in the sight of the lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the holy spirit even from before his birth. Luke 1:15 

Holy Spirit leans close to Mary.  

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the son of God.” Luke 1:35 

Holy Spirit leans close to Zechariah's wife, Elizabeth.  

Elizabeth’s child leapt within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she prophesied. Luke 1:41 

Holy Spirit leans close to Zechariah himself.  

Zechariah [after John's birth] was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. Luke 1:67ff 

After 400 years of hovering, Holy Spirit was on the move.  

______

In chapter 2, Luke’s story kind of tones down a little bit. You know, there's stuff about Bethlehem, manger, shepherds, angels.  

But then Luke brings us back to the Temple!  

Holy Spirit leans close to Simeon.  

Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Led by the Spirit, he went into the Temple courts... Luke 2:25-27 

Holy Spirit leans close to the prophet, Anna. 

Coming forward at that moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke 2:38 

Then there were a few more quiet years while Jesus and Zechariah’s son John were growing into adulthood. 

______

In chapter 3, Luke shows us again how Holy Spirit is moving. 

Luke 3:2 - A message from God came to [Holy-Spirit-filled] John son of Zechariah. There and then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized. 

Luke 3:21 - One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. And as he was praying, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son. You bring me such joy!” 

______

By the time we read to chapter 4, the Spirit is fully at work in and through Jesus.  

The Spirit has clothed Jesus has filled Jesus, has lifted him up, and sent him on his way of ministry.  

He is “full of the Spirit,” “led by the Spirit” (4:1), “filled with the Holy Spirit’s power” (4:14), “anointed by the Spirit to preach good news to the poor... to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (4:18-19) 


The Spirit was moving in and through Jesus. But the thing is...  

Throughout the Gospels we see Holy Spirit still moving very much in an Old Testament mode. The ways in which He interacts with people in the Gospels is very similar to the way He interacted with people throughout the Old Testament: selectively, in specific individuals. Sparking life here. Providing insight and speech there. Giving this one strength. Demanding a response through that one, pointing people towards God. 

This is the New Testament, but throughout the Gospels, the way we see Holy Spirit moving is the same pattern of activity that we see in the Old Testament. Not hovering, not waiting with spread wings, but acting selectively in moments and in individuals.  

Until the book of Acts.  

______

You might remember back in Luke 1 when the angel comes to Mary: 

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will over shadow you. So the baby to be born will be called the son of God. Luke 1:35 

Jesus’ words to his disciples in Acts 1 are almost identical. 

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, so you will be my witnesses. Acts 1:8 

The same author records, from decades apart, almost identical sentences.  

He uses the same phrase: Holy Spirit. Same word: power. Same word: come upon. Same idea: then... this is what will happen next. 

The big difference, the defining difference between those two very similar statements is this word: you.  

When the angel was talking to Mary, it's a singular “you.” You, Mary. The Holy Spirit is going to come upon (points a finger) you.  

In Acts, when Jesus speaks to His followers, “you” is plural. That “you” is everybody, including Mary, but not just her this time.  

The first time Mary encountered Holy Spirit face to face, He changed her life. He turned her around and He empowered her for the work that He was giving her to do.  

The next time we see Mary (among the apostles) encountering Holy Spirit... He redefined our reality. He confirmed our identity. He sealed our relationship with God and with each other.  

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place and suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting, and they were all filled with the holy spirit. Acts 2:1 

In the aftermath Peter stomps outside and he preaches, oh my goodness, he preaches! The first great, good news announcement to the whole wide world. 

Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day. Acts 1:41 

3000 people encountered holy spirit that day. Possibly more than in the entire Old Testament?   

Holy Spirit’s presence and life is available to everyone. Everyone who believes in Christ. Everyone who opens the door and prays, “Holy Spirit, come!” 

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