Kuja kwa Roho: Kristo na PentekosteThe Coming of the Spirit: Christ and Pentecost
Roho katika maisha ya Kristo, ahadi ya Msaidizi, na siku ya Pentekoste Roho alipomwagwa juu ya wote wenye mwiliThe Spirit in the life of Christ, the promise of the Helper, and the day of Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out on all flesh
1. Roho na Kuzaliwa kwa Kristo1. The Spirit and the Birth of Christ
Siku iliyoahidiwa ilipokaribia hatimaye, Roho yule aliyetulia juu ya uumbaji alikuja kutenda kazi kuu kuliko zote. Malaika alimwambia Mariamu, "Roho Mtakatifu atakujilia juu yako, na nguvu zake Aliye juu zitakufunika kama kivuli; kwa sababu hiyo hicho kitakachozaliwa kitaitwa kitakatifu, Mwana wa Mungu" (Luka 1:35). Naye Yusufu alihakikishiwa kwamba "mimba yake ni kwa uweza wa Roho Mtakatifu" (Mathayo 1:20). Mwana wa milele alitwaa mwili wetu kwa kazi ya Roho. Basi, tangu kuchukuliwa kwake mimba, maisha ya Yesu na kazi ya Roho yamefungamana pamoja, yasitengane kamwe katika siku zote za maisha yake duniani. Angalia kwamba malaika anaiunganisha kazi ya Roho na utakatifu wa mtoto: kwa kuwa mimba ilikuwa kwa Roho, yeye atakayezaliwa angeitwa “Mtakatifu.” Agano la Kale lilikuwa limeahidi kwamba Roho angekaa juu ya Yeye Ajaye; sasa Yeye huyo alikuwa amekuja, na Roho alikuwa juu yake tangu tumboni.When the promised day at last drew near, the Spirit who had hovered over creation came to do the greatest work of all. The angel told Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). And Joseph was assured that "that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:20). The eternal Son took our flesh by the working of the Spirit. From His very conception, then, the life of Jesus and the work of the Spirit are bound together, the two never to be separated through all His earthly days. Notice that the angel ties the Spirit’s work to the holiness of the child: because the conception was by the Spirit, the One born would be called “that Holy One.” The Old Testament had promised that the Spirit would rest upon the Coming One; now that One had come, and the Spirit was upon Him from the womb.
2. Roho Kule Yordani2. The Spirit at the Jordan
Yesu alipokuja kubatizwa, mbingu zilifunguka, naye "akamwona Roho wa Mungu akishuka kama hua, akija juu yake" (Mathayo 3:16). Huku kulikuwa kutiwa mafuta kwake kwa ajili ya huduma ya hadharani. Baadaye Petro alilifupisha jambo hili kwa sentensi moja: Mungu "alimtia mafuta Yesu wa Nazareti kwa Roho Mtakatifu na nguvu; naye akazunguka huko na huko, akitenda kazi njema na kuwaponya wote walioonewa na Ibilisi" (Matendo 10:38). Jina lenyewe Kristo lina maana ya Aliyetiwa Mafuta, na mafuta hayo ya kumtia yalikuwa Roho Mtakatifu. Akiwa amesimama katika sinagogi la Nazareti, Yesu alikifungua kitabu cha Isaya, akasoma, "Roho wa BWANA yu juu yangu, kwa sababu amenitia mafuta kuwahubiri maskini habari njema" (Luka 4:18), kisha akatangaza kwamba ahadi ile ya kale ilikuwa imetimia siku ile ile masikioni mwao. Wafalme na makuhani wa zamani walitiwa mafuta kama ishara ya kutengwa kwa ajili ya Mungu; Bwana wetu hakutiwa mafuta ya kawaida bali Roho Mwenyewe, tena bila kipimo. Roho aliyetabiriwa katika Agano la Kale sasa alikaa kwa ukamilifu juu ya Kristo.When Jesus came to be baptized, the heavens opened, and "He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him" (Matthew 3:16). This was His anointing for public ministry. Peter later summed it up in a single sentence: God "anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil" (Acts 10:38). The very name Christ means the Anointed One, and the anointing oil was the Holy Spirit. Standing in the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus opened the scroll of Isaiah and read, "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor" (Luke 4:18), and then declared that the ancient promise was fulfilled that very day in their hearing. Kings and priests of old were anointed with oil as a sign of being set apart for God; our Lord was anointed not with oil but with the Spirit Himself, and without measure. The Spirit foretold in the Old Testament now rested in fullness upon Christ.
3. Akiongozwa na Roho, Akifanya Kazi kwa Roho3. Led by the Spirit, Working by the Spirit
Injili zinatuonyesha Mwokozi aliyeishi maisha yake yote ya duniani katika nguvu za Roho. Baada ya kubatizwa, Yesu, "hali amejaa Roho Mtakatifu," "akaongozwa na Roho huko jangwani" ili ajaribiwe (Luka 4:1), naye akarudi "kwa nguvu za Roho" mpaka Galilaya kuanza kuhubiri kwake (Luka 4:14). Alipokuwa akitoa pepo alisema, "ikiwa mimi natoa pepo kwa Roho wa Mungu, basi ufalme wa Mungu umewajilia" (Mathayo 12:28). Tunapaswa kulielewa jambo hili sawasawa. Yesu hakuacha kuwa Mungu; yeye ni Mungu kamili na mwanadamu kamili. Lakini kama Mwanadamu wa kweli, Adamu wa mwisho, alichagua kuishi na kuhudumu akimtegemea Roho, ili awe kielelezo chetu na mwakilishi wetu. Ikiwa Mwana wa Mungu asiye na dhambi aliifanya kazi yake kwa nguvu za Roho, je, si zaidi sana sisi tunapaswa kumtegemea Roho yule yule? Hata msalabani alitenda katika Roho, kwa maana Maandiko yanasema kwamba yeye “kwa Roho wa milele alijitoa nafsi yake kwa Mungu kuwa sadaka isiyo na waa” (Waebrania 9:14). Tangu horini hadi msalabani, maisha ya Kristo yaliishiwa katika nguvu za Roho Mtakatifu.The Gospels show us a Savior who lived His whole earthly life in the power of the Spirit. After His baptism Jesus, "being filled with the Holy Spirit," was "led by the Spirit into the wilderness" to be tempted (Luke 4:1), and He returned "in the power of the Spirit" into Galilee to begin His preaching (Luke 4:14). When He cast out demons He said, "if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Matthew 12:28). We must understand this rightly. Jesus did not cease to be God; He is fully God and fully man. But as the true Man, the last Adam, He chose to live and minister in dependence upon the Spirit, that He might be our example and our representative. If the sinless Son of God carried out His work in the Spirit's power, how much more must we depend on that same Spirit. Even at the cross He acted in the Spirit, for the Scripture says He “through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God” (Hebrews 9:14). From the manger to the cross, the life of Christ was lived in the power of the Holy Spirit.
4. Ahadi ya Msaidizi Mwingine4. The Promise of Another Helper
Usiku ule kabla ya msalaba, akijua kwamba hivi karibuni angewaacha wanafunzi wake, Yesu aliwafariji kwa ahadi ya Roho. "Nami nitamwomba Baba, naye atawapa Msaidizi mwingine, ili akae nanyi hata milele; ndiye Roho wa kweli" (Yohana 14:16-17). Aliahidi kwamba Msaidizi huyo "atawafundisha yote, na kuwakumbusha yote niliyowaambia" (Yohana 14:26), na kwamba "atanishuhudia" (Yohana 15:26). Yale ambayo wanafunzi walikuwa wameyajua katika uwepo wa Yesu kimwili, sasa wangeyajua kwa namna ya ndani zaidi na ya moyoni kwa Roho, kwa maana Yesu alisema kwamba Roho "anakaa kwenu, naye atakuwa ndani yenu" (Yohana 14:17). Angalia badiliko kutoka pamoja nanyi hadi ndani yenu: Roho alikuwa pamoja nao katika nafsi ya Yesu aliyekuwa kando yao, lakini hivi karibuni angekuwa ndani yao, akifanya makao katika mioyo yao kabisa. Ahadi ya Agano la Kale ilikuwa karibu kuwa milki ya kanisa. Jioni ya siku ya ufufuo wake aliwapa onjo la kwanza, akawavuvia na kusema, “Pokeeni Roho Mtakatifu” (Yohana 20:22), rehani ya kumwagwa kukamilifu zaidi kulikokuwa karibu kuja.On the night before the cross, knowing He would soon leave His disciples, Jesus comforted them with the promise of the Spirit. "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth" (John 14:16-17). He promised that this Helper would "teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you" (John 14:26), and that He would "testify of Me" (John 15:26). What the disciples had known in the bodily presence of Jesus, they would now know in a deeper and more inward way by the Spirit, for Jesus said the Spirit "dwells with you and will be in you" (John 14:17). Mark the change from with to in: the Spirit had been with them in the person of Jesus at their side, but soon He would be in them, taking up residence in their very hearts. The promise of the Old Testament was about to become the possession of the church. On the evening of His resurrection He gave them a foretaste, breathing on them and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22), a pledge of the fuller outpouring soon to come.
5. Yawafaa Ninyi Mimi Niondoke5. It Is to Your Advantage That I Go Away
Wanafunzi walihuzunika kwa sababu Bwana wao alikuwa akiwaacha, lakini Yesu aliwaambia jambo la kushangaza: "Yawafaa ninyi mimi niondoke; kwa maana nisipoondoka, huyo Msaidizi hatawajia; bali mimi nikienda zangu, nitampeleka kwenu" (Yohana 16:7). Ingewezekanaje iwe heri kwao kukosa uwepo wa kimwili wa Yeye waliyempenda sana? Kwa sababu Kristo aliyetembea kando yao angeweza kuwa mahali pamoja tu kwa wakati mmoja, lakini Roho ambaye angemtuma angeweza kukaa ndani ya kila mwamini katika kila mahali kwa wakati mmoja. Tena Roho angeendeleza kazi ya Kristo, kwa maana Yesu alisema kwamba "atauhakikisha ulimwengu juu ya dhambi, na juu ya haki, na juu ya hukumu" (Yohana 16:8), na kwamba "atawaongoza awatie kwenye kweli yote" na "atanitukuza" (Yohana 16:13-14). Kuondoka kwa Mwana ndiko kulikokuwa mlango wa kuja kwa Roho.The disciples were grieved that their Lord was leaving them, but Jesus told them something astonishing: "It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you" (John 16:7). How could it possibly be better for them to lose the bodily presence of the One they loved so dearly? Because the Christ who walked beside them could be in only one place at a time, but the Spirit He would send could dwell within every believer in every place at once. And the Spirit would carry on the work of Christ, for Jesus said He would "convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8), and would "guide you into all truth" and "glorify Me" (John 16:13-14). The departure of the Son was the doorway to the coming of the Spirit.
6. Ahadi ya Baba6. The Promise of the Father
Baada ya kufufuka kwake, Bwana hakuwatuma wanafunzi wake mara moja. Aliwaambia wangoje. "Na tazama, mimi nawaletea ahadi ya Baba yangu juu yenu; lakini kaeni ninyi katika mji wa Yerusalemu mpaka mvikwe uwezo utokao juu" (Luka 24:49). Aliwaambia waziwazi, "ninyi mtabatizwa katika Roho Mtakatifu baada ya siku hizi chache" (Matendo 1:5), ubatizo ule ule ambao Yohana Mbatizaji alikuwa ameutabiri, kisha akawapa ahadi kuu ambayo ingeunda kipindi kizima cha kanisa: "mtapokea nguvu, akiisha kuwajilia juu yenu Roho Mtakatifu; nanyi mtakuwa mashahidi wangu" (Matendo 1:8). Hawakupaswa kujaribu kuifanya kazi ya Mungu kwa nguvu za wanadamu, hata kama walikuwa tayari au wenye vipawa kiasi gani. Walipaswa kumngoja Roho, kwa maana bila yeye wasingeweza kufanya neno lolote, na pamoja naye wangeupindua ulimwengu.After His resurrection, the Lord did not send His disciples out at once. He told them to wait. "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49). He told them plainly, "you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:5), the very baptism John the Baptist had foretold, and gave them the great promise that would shape the whole age of the church: "you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me" (Acts 1:8). They were not to attempt the work of God in the strength of men, however willing or gifted they might be. They were to wait for the Spirit, for without Him they could do nothing, and with Him they would turn the world upside down.
7. Siku ya Pentekoste7. The Day of Pentecost
Ilipotimia siku ya Pentekoste, ahadi ilitimizwa. "Ghafula ikaja sauti kutoka mbinguni kama uvumi wa upepo wa nguvu ukienda kasi," na zikawatokea "ndimi zilizogawanyika, kama ndimi za moto," na "wote wakajazwa Roho Mtakatifu, wakaanza kusema kwa lugha nyingine, kama Roho alivyowajalia kutamka" (Matendo 2:2-4). Pentekoste ilikuwa siku ya sikukuu, siku hamsini baada ya Pasaka, na Yerusalemu ulikuwa umejaa mahujaji kutoka kila taifa chini ya mbingu. Kila mmoja aliwasikia waamini wakitangaza matendo makuu ya Mungu kwa lugha yake mwenyewe. "Wakashangaa wote," kwa kuwa "tunawasikia hawa wakinena kwa lugha zetu matendo makuu ya Mungu" (Matendo 2:11). Roho ambaye katika Agano la Kale alikuwa akiwajilia watu mmoja mmoja sasa alimwagwa juu ya jamii nzima ya watu wa Mungu. Upepo na moto zilikuwa ishara zinazofaa: upepo, pumzi ile ile ya Mungu iliyotulia juu ya maji wakati wa uumbaji, na moto, alama ya uwepo wa Mungu unaotakasa. Kule Babeli Mungu aliwahi kuyatawanya mataifa kwa kuchafua lugha yao; sasa, kwa Roho, watu wa kila lugha walisikia ujumbe mmoja wa wokovu, nao wakatoka kumtangaza Kristo kwa mataifa.When the day of Pentecost had fully come, the promise was kept. "Suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind," and there appeared "divided tongues, as of fire," 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). Pentecost was a feast day, fifty days after the Passover, and Jerusalem was crowded with pilgrims from every nation under heaven. Each one heard the believers declaring the wonderful works of God in his own language. "And they were all amazed," for "we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God" (Acts 2:11). The Spirit who had come upon individuals in the Old Testament was now poured out upon the whole company of God's people. The wind and the fire were fitting signs: the wind, that same breath of God that moved over the waters at creation, and the fire, the mark of God's purifying presence. At Babel God had once scattered the nations by confusing their speech; now, by the Spirit, men of every language heard one message of salvation, and they went out to proclaim Christ to the nations.
8. Hili Ndilo Lililonenwa na Yoeli8. This Is What Was Spoken by Joel
Si wote walioelewa. Wengine walidhihaki, wakisema kwamba waamini "wamelewa kwa mvinyo mpya" (Matendo 2:13). Lakini Petro alisimama akasema kwamba hawakuwa wamelewa, na kwamba hili ndilo jambo lile lile ambalo Mungu aliliahidi zamani: "Jambo hili ni lile lililonenwa na nabii Yoeli: 'Itakuwa siku za mwisho, asema Mungu, nitawamwagia watu wote Roho yangu'" (Matendo 2:16-17). Ahadi ya Yoeli, tuliyoisoma katika sehemu iliyopita, ilitimizwa mbele ya macho yao. Ahadi hiyo, Petro alieleza, ilikuwa kwamba “wana wenu wa kiume na wa kike watatabiri” na kwamba Mungu angemwaga Roho yake hata juu ya watumishi wake wanaume na wanawake (Matendo 2:17-18), juu ya wakubwa na wadogo vivyo hivyo. Petro alimhubiri Kristo aliyesulibiwa na kufufuka, na watu wapata elfu tatu waliokolewa siku ile. Aliwaambia, "ahadi hii ni kwenu na kwa watoto wenu, na kwa wote walio mbali, wo wote atakaowaita Bwana Mungu wetu" (Matendo 2:39). Wale "walio mbali" ni pamoja na sisi, kwa maana kipawa kile kile cha Roho hutolewa kwa kila mtu ambaye Bwana humwita kwake katika Kristo, katika kila nchi na kila kizazi. Kipindi cha Roho kilikuwa kimeanza hatimaye, Roho aliyeahidiwa tangu zamani akimwagwa juu ya wote wenye mwili, si tena juu ya wateule wachache tu, bali akitolewa bure kwa kila mtu anayemgeukia Kristo kwa imani. Kipawa hicho kinafanya nini ndani ya yule anayekipokea ndilo somo la sehemu inayofuata.Not everyone understood. Some mocked, saying the believers were "full of new wine" (Acts 2:13). But Peter stood up and said they were not drunk, and that this was the very thing God had promised long ago: "This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh'" (Acts 2:16-17). The promise of Joel, which we studied in the last unit, was fulfilled before their eyes. The promise, Peter explained, was that “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” and that God would pour out His Spirit even on His menservants and maidservants (Acts 2:17-18), upon great and small alike. Peter preached Christ crucified and risen, and about three thousand were saved that day. He told them, "the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:39). Those who were "afar off" include us, for the same gift of the Spirit is given to everyone the Lord calls to Himself in Christ, in every land and every age. The age of the Spirit had begun at last, the long-promised Spirit poured out on all flesh, no longer upon a chosen few only but given freely to everyone who turns to Christ in faith. What that gift does in the one who receives it is the subject of the unit that follows.