Son of Man: Retelling the Stories of Jesus by Charles MartinSample

# The Helper Comes Waiting in the upper room, the disciples know they are waiting on Someone. They do know He will come from the Father, He will teach them, bear witness about Jesus, and help them remember what Jesus told them while He was with them. They also know He will be a Spirit, He will help them and empower them (but in what way they’re not sure), and He will convict the world, but that’s about all they know. And given their experience with Jesus, they have no idea what’s about to happen. So they wait. For about a week they wait. They keep the door shut due to a healthy fear of Roman soldiers doing to them what the soldiers did to Jesus. Finally, the day of Pentecost arrives. Now let’s turn our attention to the kingdom of heaven. All of heaven, hundreds of millions in attendance, wait at the door with bated breath. They are giddy with expectation. God the Father sits on His throne tapping His fingers. The angels drive the chariot homeward, through the first heaven, through the second, and into the third— the throne room of God. The epicenter of this universe and every other. Before all of heaven, God the Father welcomes home the obedient, righteous, spotless, victorious, conquering Son. Heaven erupts. The roar is deafening. The elation inescapable. Jesus lifts chins, hugs friends, kisses children, laughs, sings. The Son is home! He did it. Jesus won. He defeated . . . everything. One thing remains. The Father grants His kingdom to His Son and gives Him the seat to His right. And then He gives Him the name at which every knee will bow and every tongue confess. Jesus is not just the ruler of a kingdom. He is the ruler of the kingdom. He is all-powerful, all- knowing, and everywhere—both inside of time and outside of it. There is no power that can contend with His. And on His throne, His enemies have been made His footstool. He is the only King, and there is no other. A week passes, and as the celebration continues, the Father turns to the Spirit. “You ready?” The Spirit looks to and fro across the earth beneath. Scanning all of mankind. Throughout the ages. There is much work yet to be done. He nods. “Been ready.” The Father laughs, opens His lungs, fills them to capacity, and exhales. The roar of heaven. A hurricane absent the carnage. The sound shakes the foundations of the mountains and the oceans on earth beneath. The Spirit smiles. He’s been waiting eagerly for this moment. He exits the throne room with a swan dive, careening to earth like a lightning bolt, bathed in the shouts, cheers, and cries of victory. At the speed of both light and sound, He roars His way earthward. To His new home. The new temple that is man. And there in Jerusalem, oblivious as to what, or rather who, is coming, the roof starts to shake. And it sounds like a freight train is about to split the room down the middle. “They were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:1-2 ESV) Respond Describe your relationship with the Holy Spirit. How do you recognize His leading in your life? Prayer Father, thank You for the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life.