This morning I am reflecting on Acts 19, which is an interesting chapter that describes happening in Ephesus, in great detail. In fact I was tempted to spend some time on the story of the riot in Ephesus stirred up by Demetrius the silversmith, as so much of what Luke (the author of Acts) described sounds a bit like our present day uproars and rage over everything. However, I felt directed to instead focus my reflection on the first few verses instead. Here are the verses - Acts 19:1-7 NIV:
[1] "While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples [2] and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
[3] So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”
“John's baptism,” they replied.
[4] Paul said, “John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” [5] On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [6] When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. [7] There were about twelve men in all."
I find this account quite interesting, for it tells us that John, and his message of repentance for sins had greater reach than one would think. I always thought of John's ministry really focused just on Jerusalem, Judea and the region around the Jordan river (See Matt 3:5). However, apparently his message was spread wide through the Jewish people scattered beyond Judea. It is interesting that Luke calls these men disciples, although they apparently didn't really know about Jesus, only John's call to repentance for sins. I am reminded that there was no recognized prophet of God for 300+ years, so when John came on the scene, clearly as a messenger from God, people noticed and the word spread! The Jews were hungry for a fresh revelation, and responded accordingly.
As I was reading this, I saw some similarities to a book I recently read by Harold Eberle, titled, "Thy Kingdom Come". He discuses the difference between the Gospel of Salvation and the Gospel of the Kingdom. Here is a quick excerpt from his Book:
"Jesus died for our sins, and if we accept Him as Savior, we will be saved and go to heaven when we die. This is commonly referred to as the “gospel of salvation.
”In coming pages, we will be focusing on the “gospel of the kingdom.” The word gospel simply means “good news.” So we are studying the differences between the good news of salvation and the good news of the kingdom.
Both the good news of salvation and the good news of the kingdom are true. Both are in the Bible. But important differences exist.
One of the differences is their foundation in the work of Jesus. The gospel of salvation is founded in the death of Jesus, while the gospel of the kingdom is founded in the death, resurrection, ascension, and enthronement of Jesus."
It seems to me that the men Paul encountered were even pre-"Gospel of Salvation", having only embraced the repentance for sins, but not understanding there was salvation available as well. Paul, however, was a preacher of the Gospel of the Kingdom (See Acts 28:31), which included salvation, and also empowerment through the Holy Spirit. His first question wasn't about Jesus, but was instead about the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
I don't believe Paul was slighting Jesus here, only responding to what appeared to be good men whose lives reflected a baptism into a new way of life, so he assumed they had heard about Jesus. Once he realized the situation, He immediately proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus, and they were re-baptized in His name, and then were baptized (See Acts 1:5) a third time, this time by the Holy Spirit. Apparently God wasn't just satisfied with their baptism for salvation, but wanted them to be baptized by the power of the Holy Spirit as well. The fact is that we don't know these 12 men's names, nor anything about them, but we know that God wanted them to be full of the power of the Holy Spirit, and that was His plan and purpose.
My reflection, this morning, is that I want the fullness of what God desires for me. I am overjoyed by my salvation, however, I am also desirous of the power to live a changed life, not just go to Heaven. I think that for many of us, we can sometimes forget that our call isn't just heavenward, but rather to be a light to this world, continuing Jesus' ministry, which was ministry full of the power of the Holy Spirit (See Luke 4:14). We are called to be full of the power of the Holy Spirit, and that power working through us is an example of the Kingdom of God present on earth. My desire is to reflect the fullness of the Gospel of the Kingdom in my life.
I am also encouraged this morning that the empowering by Holy Spirit wasn't just a one-time event, but rather occurred over and over again, often to the same people. (See Acts 2:1-4; Acts 4:31; Acts 13:52) Lord, You know our need for Your Holy Spirit, this is Your plan and purpose for Your followers! I ask for a refreshing, an outpouring, a re-baptism that I might be empowered to live my life as a witness to the present Kingdom of God, and salvation through Jesus!
Amen!
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