what were the disciples afraid of before pentecost

Suddenly, Jesus appeared in the middle … We want to have tangible assurance of safety when we are in fear, but Jesus gives us assurance of peace in our minds rather than tangible safety. Deuteronomy 16:16 enjoins all men of Israel to present themselves before the LORD (at the Temple) on the day of Shavuot. Archives But we must get rid of this idea that the Apostles were blue-collar morons if we really want to understand 1st century rabbinical Judaism. They were following the second greatest prophet to walk the earth, St. John the Baptist, before they were instructed on the beach by Yahweh Himself for three years, long before Pentecost. But the Apostles would have know the Jewish faith, salvation history and the Hebrew Scriptures through and through and through, long before they met the Son of God face-to-face. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. The Disciples' Sprititual Strength. Before the day of Pentecost, those few people who had the spirit of God upon them, were not the temple of God for the simple reason that the spirit of God wasn’t in them but upon them 3 . Not that we want this to lead to presumption on God’s mercy, but St. Therese said:  “It doesn’t matter how many times you fall. Jesus came and stood among them and showed his wounds. Beginning with Easter Sunday (e.g., Luke 24:32,45) and most likely throughout the forty days before ascending, the Lord instructed and formed the Apostles in the Gospel. In fact, even their leadership as bishops and Pope of the early Church remains untouched despite all their personality flaws (impetuous, hungry, sleepy, dull, angry, etc) much like what you encounter in priests today, even in the confessional! John the Baptist is he of whom Jesus said “No man born of woman is greater than him.”—Matthew 11:11. Cloudflare Ray ID: 63bd55a129f64e61 No other explanation suffices. The hated Samaritans and the occupying Romans were both shown to be within the reach of the grace of God. The priests and rulers were greatly enraged at this wonderful manifestation, but they dared not give way to their malice, for fear of exposing themselves to the violence of the people. What Transformed Them? Did they experience fear, doubt, and disbelief as we sometimes do? I believe that the greatest proof of the Resurrection is that 11 fearful men, literally hiding from the authorities on the first Holy Saturday, are the same men that traverse the globe and are now responsible for the fact that there are 2 billion Christians on the earth. 23:5–11), but always held in Jesus’ day on the second day of Passover week. Really. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer,” (Acts 2:41-42). Your IP: 79.143.182.159 How do we know this? What miracle would come next? Acts 2 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. The very next verse makes this clear: “But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him” (Mark 9:32). The idea that someone might die and then come back to life again was so fantastic that they just couldn’t grasp it. When the women who visited the tomb told the apostles what they had seen, the men did not believe them—it sounded like an “idle tale” (Luke 24:11). For example, after Jesus miraculously fed thousands of people, he and the disciples got into a boat, and Jesus warned them, Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod (Mark 8:14). Only how many times you get back up.”  In fact, this is truly exemplified in the many stupid decisions of the Apostles before Pentecost, and how Jesus does not only refrain from retracting His love, but He doesn’t retract His friendship, either. If you are at an office or shared network, you can ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network looking for misconfigured or infected devices. For most of the last chapter of Luke, the disciples were not exactly full of faith. According to Paul in this passage, not all parts of His plan were revealed at the same time. Acts 1:15 notes that there were approximately 120 people present in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost. – Acts 2:1 . When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. Acts 1:8 is the vital point about Pentecost. But they had failed only compared to the real brainiacs of the day. But we also have to put together the facts to see that the Apostles were not buffoons before Pentecost. or consider how obtuse they are later on the boat: And [Jesus] cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread.—Mark 8:14. Let's learn not too hastily pronounce someone saved. Before the Apostles were huddled together, timid, frightened, unsure of themselves. - Bible Story and Verses; Why Did Judas Betray Jesus? So, yes, the Apostles made some stupid comments in the Gospels and even some serious sins, but they were the most highly-educated fishermen that you ever did meet. As long as they kept the true faith and transmitted it as Christ gave it, falls among the first bishops and pope could be endured. Since the events surrounding the day of Pentecost in 31 A.D. are of the greatest significance, it is a matter of much interest to determine just where, in the city of Jerusalem, Yeshua’s disciples were assembled when the holy spirit of YEHOVAH God descended upon them. First, Mother Angelica points out that they never seemed to catch anything on their own even as fishermen! They were following the second greatest prophet to walk the earth, St. John the Baptist, before they were instructed on the beach by Yahweh Himself for three years, long before Pentecost. What was Andrew doing before he brought Peter to Jesus? Because of this, we can be encouraged by the many falls of the personalities of the Bible when we consider how faithful God is to us, even when we are not faithful. He boasted of his victory over Israel, and we read, The king of Israel replied, “Tell him the one who puts on his battle gear should not boast like one who is taking it off” (1 Kings 20:11).2 The point is that one should not boast before his victory, but should wait until after. We live in a time when most priests can not even name the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, so we tend to project our poor catechesis on the Apostles. First, and most basic, the OT believers were conscious of … His executors agreed, and turned him upside down. The Disciples Before. http://www.goingtojesus.com/ When were the disciples born again? Therefore, they were hiding in the upper room, away from the suspicions of people. In fact, it happened in chapter one! Before Pentecost. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. INTRODUCTION. Can you imagine those three years of walking next to Jesus under a tree and eleven annoying-but-beloved friends? Prior to Pentecost, the Apostles, though often zealous and willing to make sacrifices to follow Jesus, were also slow to understand and often confused. 23:15–16), a celebration properly held the next day after the Sabbath in Passover week (Lev. Let it 'overwinter' and see what becomes of the initial moves in some one's life. He greeted them and showed them his hands and his side. In both Greek and Hebrew the word for spirit means also ‘breath’ or ‘wind.’ This is the sense of today’s Gospel reading. They thought that Jesus Himself didn’t actually know that asleep people wake up? Fear and doubt turned to courage and strong faith. 7:50; 19:9). The Apostles were fishermen by trade. Perhaps even the personalities of the Apostles after the Resurrection and Pentecost are a bit changed. Notice that this happens just before what I described two paragraphs above: The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.—John 1:35-37. Since the disciples were in Jerusalem, they could not fail to go up to the Temple. No longer did they flee like sheep without a shepherd. Apparently not. Peter is embarrassed that he can’t honestly answer that he had any form of unconditional love for his friend who just died for him. -- Jesus, (John 14:26-27) Pentecost was first a Jewish feast celebrating the harvest and the giving of the … Ben Hadad, the king of Syria, was threatening war against Israel and its King, Ahab. This should show any Protestant why it was wrong to take Maccabees out of the Bible, and that first century Jews surely considered it canonical if half of the parents of the Apostles would name their kids after names found. They were truly transformed. What did Jesus Christ focus on after His resurrection, and what did His disciples preach? It sounded like a very strong wind, and it looked like tongues of fire. Please enable Cookies and reload the page. 20:22), which also tends to disrupt the theology of some! They recalled all that Christ had taught them; their conviction became deep and abiding. So, yes, I do believe that there was a transformation in the lives and hearts at the Resurrection and even more at Pentecost. First of all, of all Ancient Near-East nations, very few tribes were as literate as the Jews in the first century. The First Reading is, finally, the account of Pentecost itself, from Acts 2:1-11: Reading 1 Acts 2:1-11. Suddenly, Jesus appeared in the middle of the group. Because half of the Apostles reflect the names found only in the family of Judas Maccabeus, the last family and book of the Old Testament. We have Christ’s disciples’ obvious sins, like Peter’s threefold denial of Jesus. The apostles were celebrating this festival when the Holy Spirit descended on them. Here is the great difference between having the spirit upon you (before the day of Pentecost) and having the spirit in you (from the day of Pentecost). Life would have been pure adventure. The Jews under the OT had a part of the plan, but not all of it. The man with the epileptic son initially brought his son to the disciples to be cured. Notice that half of the Apostles come from Maccabees in the Old Testament (Simon x 2, Judas x 2, John x 1.) Either way, grace perfects nature without destroying it. How else could Galilean fishermen have gone from as far West as Spain (St. James) and as far East as India (St. Thomas) if they had not stuck their fingers into the nails of the Risen Jesus or the fist into His side? Pentecost comes from a Jewish harvest festival called Shavuot. This happens by being chosen at the age of 12 or so by a rabbi to be one who learns from him for years. In fact, only the latter is found anywhere besides Maccabees in the whole Old Testament! Similarly, it was Andrew who first introduced his brother Peter to Jesus Christ: One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. Our Lord simply says: “Tend my sheep” and “Feed my sheep.”  He knows that Peter will live up to the task. Just ask any well-read Israeli about first century life out there. Then they became bold, confident, assured witnesses of all that Jesus had taught them. by John D. Keyser. Performance & security by Cloudflare. But after they experience the Risen Christ, everything changes. After Pentecost, they were different people. They have perfect knowledge of Christ at the resurrection, but the perfection of charity comes at Pentecost with Mary at their side, giving them all boldness and miracles to begin the full transformation of the world! This is a historical reality, not a pious hope. Peter had trusted in himself and fallen hard. God has had a plan for man’s salvation since before time (Ephesians 3:1-7). They came from arguably the most literate culture ever on the fact of the globe (the Jews, even under occupation) and had memorized more books of the Bible by the age of 12 than most American Catholics will even read in the Bible their whole life. Because just a few verses before that, Andrew follows Jesus at the very referral and command of John the Baptist (Andrew’s first own master and rabbi) to do so. The events that took place in Acts Chapter 2, where God poured out His spirit and empowered His small band of followers is the pivotal event in New Testament Christianity. The disciples were afraid of the Jewish leaders, and on the evening of that same Sunday they locked themselves in a room. Without any blasphemy to the saints (and yes, the saints can be blasphemed) the evangelists made it clear that the Apostles occasionally answered as buffoons: Jesus said:  “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. The Readings for the Mass of the Pentecost pick up, as it were, where the Readings for the Vigil left off. What should we be focusing on today? And yet, and yet…after the crucifixion, they are left with little faith. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died.—John 4:11-14. Completing the CAPTCHA proves you are a human and gives you temporary access to the web property. All these weaknesses were foretold by Christ, especially on the day before His arrest. This is the power of the Holy Spirit at work. I must admit that there is something attractive and even accurate to the thesis that the Apostles were buffoons before they had the full transformation that happened at Pentecost. And yet, after the Resurrection, Jesus does not say “Peter, about denying me three nights ago…You can still remain my disciple, but I’m going to have to pass-along this whole first-Pope thing.”   No. Instead he blessed them with peace. On the Day OF Pentecost the disciples were all with one accord at one place (Jerusalem), waiting for the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus and his disciples accounted for a dozen with the rest being believers. Who were the "Sons of Thunder" in the Bible? All that changed with Pentecost. Which Pharisee would He anger today? Answer: In Luke 10:17, when the seventy came back from visiting the towns in Israel, they said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." 1 This should show any Protestant why it was wrong to take Maccabees out of the Bible, and that first century Jews surely considered it canonical if half of the parents of the Apostles would name their kids after names found only in Maccabees. Jesus sees Peter’s humility and is not worried. Many years earlier, the Apostles had probably tried out but failed. The disciples concluded that Jesus meant that, since they hadnt brought any bread and would have to buy some on the other shore, they shouldnt buy any bread from a Pharisee or Herodian because something was incorrect about the yeast th… On that day of Pentecost, people who had been doubtful were moved to speak powerfully, to repentance, to belief, and to action. And as the disciples rejoiced he said twice “Peace be with you!” How do we know that St. Andrew was already following St. John the Baptist before meeting Jesus? The Spirit as Creator and Sustainer of Life. But what an abrupt change came over the Apostles and disciples on this day of Pentecost. He brought him to Jesus.—John 1:40-42b. But now I want to consider some evidence that the Apostles were not buffoons. The Christians under the NT got the … After the threefold denial, Jesus gives Peter on that Sunday beach of the resurrection a full three attempts to move from simply liking Him (φιλεῖς με)  to actually loving him (ἀγαπᾷς με.) Another reason, I suspect, is because they were overwhelmed with disappointment by Jesus’ arrest. Was it before or on the Day of Pentecost when they were baptized with the Holy Spirit? In fact, they had a large part of the Hebrew Scriptures memorized by the time they were 12 years old. There is a great difference between “before” and “after.” One of the popular themes in contemporary advertising is that of “before” and “after.” There are the weight lo… Although Andrew may not have gone to sit from a rabbi in one of the main yeshivas (schools,  ישיבה, literally meaning “sitting,” as  you sit at the foot of a rabbi) we often forget that he was already following the greatest prophet of the old and new Testaments:  John the Baptist. Those Apostles are hiding out for fear that they will be the next crucified Galileans, after their master and rabbi was mercilessly tortured and laid in the earth. In fact, the parents of the Apostles expected them to be religious warriors to liberate Israel from Rome! 3 The feast was so named because it fell on the fiftieth day after the Feast of Firstfruits (Lev. Notice two paragraphs above that Andrew introduces Peter to Jesus very very early in John’s Gospel. Children began memorizing the torah with honey on the letters at very tender ages. • The apostles then found themselves speaking in foreign languages, inspired by the Holy Spirit. You may need to download version 2.0 now from the Chrome Web Store. But it wasn’t just their bad fishing skills or their sins that made the Apostles look like buffoons. The disciples were afraid of the Jewish leaders, and on the evening of that same Sunday they locked themselves in a room. They now believe. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. They were able to do the things Jesus gave them authority to do and they found it amazing. What was possibly on the disciples’ mind the morning of Pentecost? Christians who celebrate the biblical holy days are eagerly preparing for the Feast of Pentecost, which will be June 12 this year.. Have you ever thought about what the disciples were doing during the 50 days between Jesus Christ’s resurrection and Pentecost? I can hear Homer Simpson saying to Chief Wiggum “I understaaaaand.”   Yes, they were apparently thinking about food when Jesus said something as spiritual as “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.”  This paints a picture of men astoundingly obtuse to the spiritual sense of things. The disciples met every day in the Temple where they worshipped God continuously (Luke 24:52-53). This means that the Apostles would have had a large chunk of the entire Old Testament memorized long before they took their consolation prize of fishing (irony of ironies, considering which rabbi ended up choosing them as adults.). (Oh, and some say that Thomas made it all the way to China, but I won’t weigh in on that here.). But now let’s fast forward to some grown Apostles:  Peter’s brother is Andrew, and today is the feast of St. Andrew (30 November). The disciples remained in the Upper Room until the Feast of Pentecost, which means "fiftieth." People were forgiven, saved and received everlasting life before the cross and before Pentecost (Lk. The second obvious change in the lives of the disciples was in their spiritual strength. The disciples had seen Jesus reach out across ethnic and religious divides birth in His parables and in real life. “Jesus chose a bunch of stinky fishermen” she reminds us as to why God chose someone like her to be a cloistered-evangelist to the nations in founding EWTN. Where would He lead them? Pentecost is a term meaning fiftieth, which was applied to the fiftieth day after the Passover. On Easter afternoon, the disciples were huddled behind closed doors for fear of the authorities. The disciples of Jesus were afraid of the Jews, because they were accused of spreading false news. But originally they had “tried out”(like all 12 year old Hebrew boys at one point) to become a rabbi. Furthermore the disciples were not anti-God but believers and thus either saved before they were called to be disciples or when they were called to be disciples, save Judas Iscariot. The disciples were in fear of death, but Jesus didn’t tell them or give them any assurance of their safety. When the … All that changed when they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Yet until the spirit was poured out at Pentecost, the disciples were a homogenous bunch. Who Was the Apostle Philip? Instead, they turned the world upside down. But now, Peter is humbled enough to lead the Church…and Peter himself would be led to a cross where he would one day die, believing he was not worthy to die in the same shape as the Son of God. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). John the Baptist was not Jesus’ schizophrenic cousin in the forest like some movies portray him to be. Finally, please know the disciples did receive the Spirit when Jesus breathed on them BEFORE Pentecost (Jn. They must have wondered:  What would Jesus say next? John 20:19-29 CEV. Why Did Jesus Ask Three Times if Peter Loved Him? Before His resurrection and also before Pentecost there were many aspects of their Master dark and confusing. Who Was Doubting Thomas? Another way to prevent getting this page in the future is to use Privacy Pass. Come on. God’s Word and Spirit give us power to overcome and to change to accomplish the work of God. • 2. Some messiah to liberate Israel from Rome! According to the Bible, some of the female followers of Jesus and his mother were also present. And suddenly there came from the sky The above picture is him instructing one of his early disciples, assumedly in modern-day Turkey. As to what happened that night, i have already stated my opinion that it was one of two things [see post 7], neither being salvation of the disciples. If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware. More in Disciples. His disciples preach picture is him instructing one of his early disciples, assumedly in modern-day Turkey before. How do we know that asleep people wake up on after his resurrection and Pentecost are a human and you... They could not fail to go up to the disciples to be religious warriors to liberate from! Andrew doing before he brought Peter to Jesus very very early in john ’ Gospel..., “ we have Christ ’ s Word and Spirit give us power to and. Christ, especially on the day of Pentecost, what were the disciples afraid of before pentecost was applied to the Bible, some the. Held the what were the disciples afraid of before pentecost day after the Passover fire that separated and came to on! For man ’ s disciples ’ obvious sins, like Peter ’ s threefold of! 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