Growing up I enjoyed reading comic books. I especially enjoyed reading about the super heroes and their super powers! I often would pretend that I was one of those super heroes. I would dress up in my camouflage shirt and pants, my black baseball cap and my "top secret" backpack. I filled my backpack with all sorts of special "top secret" tools, like rope, a tape measure, a phillips head screwdriver, etc. I would even go on "top secret" missions! The only problem was that when I finished my mission and changed out of my "super hero" clothes I was still just a normal little boy.
The event at Pentecost, recorded in Acts 2:1-21, describes the permanent empowerment of the followers of Jesus, transforming them from a group of individuals into the body of Christ. Whereas before they would try to be like their leader, and masquerade as those having true power, after Pentecost they were like him and they did have that power. Peter who had before denied knowing Jesus (Matthew 26:69-76) is now found bravely proclaiming Jesus as the son of God and savior of all humanity. James and John who had previously tried making themselves lords over the others (Mark 10:35-45) are now found to be proclaiming alongside the others the good news of Jesus. No longer can Jesus' followers be described as pretending to be like Jesus or masquerading as those with power and authority. Now they truly are like their leader and they truly do have power and authority from God.
The arrival of the Holy Spirit changes everything. God's Spirit comes bestowing the gift of tongues upon the disciples at Pentecost in order to equip them to proclaim the good news of the gospel to people from the many nations who had gathered at Jerusalem for the Pentecost feast. Later it's made clear that God's Spirit doesn't just bring the gift of tongues to believers but a whole host of other gifts that enable those gifted, to further build up the growing church (1 Corinthians 12:4-12).
The question then for you is, are you still dressing up as a super hero, masquerading as a person with power and authority or have you encountered the living Spirit of God and been permanently transformed into a person with power and authority?
