The day of Pentecost was essentially the day religion died. The advent of the Spirit was the final step in the dismantling of formal religion, and it signaled the opening of “the highway of holiness” prophesied by Isaiah (Is. 35:8). Access to God was now and forever open and free to every man because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
God had personally desecrated the Holy of Holies as ‘the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom,’ putting ceremonial Judaism in disarray. Besides such a confounding event, devout Jews were dealing with darkness, earthquakes, and the bodies of dead saints seen walking the streets of Jerusalem. (Matthew 27: 51-54) From the High Priest downward, Judaism was scrambling to explain what was happening, especially to their cherished rituals.
And to make matters worse, rumors of a resurrected Jesus of Nazareth were flying about the city, as He appeared to individuals, small groups, and even to 500 men at one time. (1 Cor. 15:6) It was a tumultuous time, giving further depth and meaning to the words of Jesus; “from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and men are eagerly pressing into it.”
Finally, forty days after Passover, Jesus ascended into heaven, leaving a simple but emphatic instruction for His disciples. “Wait in Jerusalem until you are filled with power from on high.” While Religion was reeling, trying to get back on its feet, 120 of Jesus’ disciples ‘waited,’ praying and expecting something Jesus had called “the promise of the Father.”
” . . .Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, like a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:2-4 mg.) With this mighty demonstration of God’s love and grace, the “highway of holiness” had opened to the world, and religion was rendered obsolete.
God did not dismantle Judaism because He didn’t value Moses, or the law and the prophets. No, the law and prophets pointed all men clearly to their need of a Savior, One who could redeem them from the demands of a law they could not keep! (Gal. 3:10-14) Religion had to die to make room for a new kind of relation to God; the Spirit-filled life!
Religion dies grudgingly however; it took another 40 years, and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, to finally put to rest ceremonial Judaism, and the rituals that God Himself had instituted through Moses. “When He says, (I am making) ‘a new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” – Hebrews 8:13
The old is discarded so that this cosmic truth could be unveiled; ‘the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations . . . . which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach . . .” Colossians 1:26-28.
Keep something in mind about the early ‘pioneers’ of The Way, as the new faith was sometimes called. These folks who “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) didn’t have a Bible to frame their beliefs and practice. Devout Jewish believers no doubt knew fragments of Moses and the prophets by memory, but had no copy of the law. Gentile Christians had a mix of Greek or Roman religion/philosophy, with a bit of Judaism and mysticism thrown in. The writings of the Apostles were decades from being in any accessible form.
Two things motivated and shaped the early believers. First, faith in Christ; a response to the preaching of the cross and resurrection, and second, an inner transformation through the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Conversion and the Spirit baptism were synonymous in the early church. The central dynamic of these Christians was the revolutionary act of God at Pentecost; the throwing open of full access to the presence and power of God through faith in Jesus Christ and by the Spirit He had poured out upon them. (Acts 3:13-16)
Tradition has now yielded to transformation, as God’s Spirit energized men and women to enjoy and proclaim the “good tidings which shall be to all people.” (Luke 2:10) Symbolic rituals have been replaced with “walking in the Spirit.” (Gal. 5:16; Romans 8:14) God is making believers into “a kingdom of priests unto God,” (Rev. 1:6) who may interact daily with the unseen realm. Our joy and privilege is a personal, unique, and un-prescribed relationship with Jesus. Each engagement with God is different, each response to Him is free, open, and creative under the Spirit’s loving leadership.
Faith is the way we access the Highway. A simple belief and trust in Jesus secures for us ‘the blessing of Abraham’ which is the promise of the Spirit. (Gen. 15:6; Gal. 3:14),
Prayer is what fuels us on The Highway. In our praying, do we always ‘get it right?’ Of course not, but God does! Outcomes belong to God; our part is to do the praying! Jesus gave us a good one we can borrow anytime! (Matthew 6:9-13)
Tongues are the language of The Highway. Interacting with the unseen realm is challenging to our natural faculties, and “we do not know what we should pray for as we ought.” (Romans 8:26) God has given us the languages of the Spirit for edification and for intimate communication with our Father. (1 Cor. 14:2, 4) Things private and exclusive often require a password; tongues open all gates on the highway.
Praise and Celebration are the rest areas on The Highway. Every traveler needs a rest stop. Isaiah 28:11, 12 suggests that prayer, praise, and worship in the Spirit is “the refreshing,” the “rest with which you may cause the weary to rest.” It’s not magic, but regularly taking ‘a pause for God alone’ reorients us to our priorities and reenergizes us for the journey.
Community is discovering kindred souls on The Highway. This is a part of the journey that requires both risk and effort on our part. Suffice to say, Community is not experienced in a crowd. A crowd can enjoy a dynamic unity for a short season, and great things often happen when it does. Community, on the other hand, is something organic, taking time, the right climate, and the sharing of those experiences and truths that we value most. Community is a gift that is often rare and elusive, but can best be found among those sharing the Highway with us.
And travelling The Highway inevitably includes ‘returning’ to Zion (Is. 35:10). What does that mean? Well, for me, this means coming back, again and again, to the ‘tabernacle of David’ (1 Chron. 15, 16), and a condition of heart and soul like his. For 33 years, David’s creative expressions of devotion to God unified a nation, and captured God’s heart. It is our great privilege to vigorously celebrate God as he did!
Another Life, also lasting just 33 years, caused God’s heart to overflow, and brought to life the prophecy of Amos 9:11; “I will raise up again the tabernacle of David which is fallen . . . . and rebuild it as in the days of old.” (Acts 15:16) Yes, wherever our Lord Jesus pours out the Spirit on a people, the sights and sounds of Zion invariably appear. There’s always something really good to anticipate on The Highway!