It is Finished BUT not Finished!!
Yesterday I suggested that Pentecost is the culmination of God's drama of redemption. That is a strong statement I know but seems to me to be the reason Jesus told his followers to wait in Jerusalem.
Pentecost is to be waited for because God has not finished the work of redemption. Christmas (as stated before) is God WITH us. Easter (as stated before) is God FOR us. But now the follower's of Jesus must wait for Pentecost....God IN us.
This waiting for the followers of Jesus in Acts 1 is because of the 2-fold ministry of Jesus as 1st declared by John the baptizer. John declared that Jesus 2-fold ministry was as the 'Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29) and in a few verses later (vs 33) states that Jesus also 'baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'
Easter had surely brought about the "finish" of the sacrifice for sin for the world and Jesus' ministry as Lamb of God. However, the ministry of Jesus was yet to be fulfilled his baptizing of his follower's with the Spirit.
It is Finished BUT not Finished!!
REFLECT: How much attention have you give to the 2-fold ministry of Jesus? What