In the Episcopal Church in this country, in the Church of England, and in some other branches of the Church of Christ, this Whit-Suntide festival is still kept with great interest. The scriptures read on this day refer to the coming of the Spirit and to the importance of his work; and the sermons preached at this season generally have reference to the same subject. And when we remember how the success of the great work in which the Church of Christ is engaged depends upon the help which the Holy Spirit gives, we see how important it is that we should be constantly reminded of the necessity of having his presence and power with us in all our efforts to do good to the souls of men. And so, when we think of the time of the Spirit’s coming, we may bear in mind that it was on the day of Pentecost, or on the fiftieth day after the death of Christ.
And now, we may go on to speak of—the manner of the Spirit’s coming.
It was an expected coming. Jesus had told his disciples about the coming of the Spirit and had given them a promise that he should come. He said to them on one occasion: “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” St. John xvi: 7.
And then, just before his ascension into heaven, he repeated this promise, commanding them “not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father:” again he said, “ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence;” and again, “ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” Acts i: 4, 5, 8.
And, according to these promises, we find that the apostles were waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit and expecting it when the day of Pentecost arrived. They had not been told how long they were to wait. All that had been said about the time of his coming was that it would be “not many days hence.” After Jesus left them and went to heaven, they seem to have met together every day, engaging in prayer and praise. No doubt they read the scriptures on these occasions, and talked together about their ascended Lord and the fulfilment of the promise he had left them. Day after day, they had met for this purpose, waiting for the Holy Spirit. But one day passed by after another and the Spirit did not come. Still they felt sure that he would come. They were waiting for his coming: and when at last he came, we may well say of it, that it was an expected coming.
It was a sudden coming. We know how often it happens that something we have been expecting for a long time comes suddenly at last. And it was so with the disciples on this occasion. They had met once more for their daily worship. As they came together, on the day of Pentecost, there was no more sign of the coming of the Spirit on that day than there had been on any of the previous days; but he came at last. We are not told whether it was at the beginning, or the middle, or the close of their meeting, that he came. The Holy Spirit did not send a messenger before him, to tell of his coming, as kings and great men in the East were in the habit of doing. No trumpet was sounded. No signal was given. But, all at once, the promise of the Father was fulfilled; the expectation of the disciples was met—the Holy Ghost came down from heaven. But it was a sudden coming. Acts i: 2.
In the next place it was—a startling coming. The sound connected with it made it such for one thing. We read that “there came a sound as of a rushing, mighty wind.” We are not told that there was a wind on this occasion; but only that the sound which attended the coming of the Spirit was like that of a mighty wind. The Spirit might have come to the disciples on this occasion as “the still, small voice” of God came to the prophet Elijah, on Mount Horeb. But it was not so. On the contrary, he chose that his coming should be attended with a loud noise. We read that “it,” that is the sound, “filled all the house where they were sitting.” We are not told what this sounding noise was for. It may have been to arouse the attention of the disciples and make them fully awake to the important event that was then taking place. And, no doubt, another reason why this rushing sound attended the Spirit’s coming was to indicate to them what great power would attend the Spirit in the work he was to carry on in the church and in the world. The wind, when it goes rushing on, in the form of a tempest, is one of the most powerful agents that we know of. It can lash the ocean into foam and fury. It can dash to pieces the noblest works of men, whether on the land, or on the sea. It can tear up the giant oak by its roots and lay it prostrate on the ground. And the sound of that “rushing, mighty wind” with which the Spirit came was intended, it may be, to make the disciples feel how great was the power he was able to give them in the important work they had to do. “The sound, as of a rushing, mighty wind,” seemed to tell of this.
But again, we are always startled by that which is unusual. And there were several things about this coming of the Holy Spirit which were unusual, and so calculated to startle the waiting disciples. There was, for instance, the direction of this sound. It came “down from heaven.” The winds, with whose sound we are familiar, never act in this direction. From whatever point of the compass they come, they always blow around, or over the earth. A wind blowing “down from heaven,” directly towards the earth, as was the case with that sound which the disciples heard, was something unusual, and so calculated to startle them.
Another unusual thing about this sound was, that it was a sound like that of a wind, but yet without any wind at all. They heard that sound. It reminded them of the wind. But there was no motion there, such as the wind produces when it blows. Nothing stirred in that upper chamber. A feather would not have been moved. So far as motion was concerned—all was calm, and still there. And yet there was that mighty sound. How startling this must have been!
And then, what accompanied this sound was startling, as well as the sound itself. There were those “cloven tongues, like as of fire.” Little long pieces of flame were seen in the air of that chamber. There were about a hundred and twenty persons present there. And a hundred and twenty of these fiery tongues were seen. How strange it must have been to look on such a number of these marvellous appearances, and to see one of them come down and rest on the head of each person present! But, the Holy Spirit was come; and these things must have made it a startling coming.