By John A. Huffman Jr.
We see the Holy Spirit predicting through the prophetic writings the coming of the Messiah.
And we observe the record of Luke, who described Jesus in the earliest days of His public ministry, " . . . filled with the power of the Spirit . . ." (Luke 4:14), returning to Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and then going into the synagogue at Nazareth on the Sabbath day, standing up and reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, those words from Isaiah 61. Luke records how Jesus, " . . . unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing'" (Luke 4:17-21)
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Paul Little, in our study book Know What You Believe, succinctly describes the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the earthly life of Jesus in these words:
The gift of the Holy Spirit was increasingly unfolded in Jesus' lifetime on earth. He had a particularly intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of Him (Luke 1:35). Jesus was led by the Spirit (Matt. 4:1). He was anointed for His ministry by the Spirit in a special way at His baptism (Matt. 3:13-17). He offered Himself as a sacrifice through the Spirit (Heb. 9:14), and He was raised from the dead by the power of the Spirit (Rom. 1:4). He gave commandments to the apostles, and through them to the church, by the Spirit (Acts 1:2).
Finally, following His death and resurrection, Jesus gave His disciples His last instructions: "Wait for the gift my Father promised . . . You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:4-5).
Fifty days after the Sabbath of the Passover Week He had celebrated with them, the "Gift" came. This feast, called "Pentecost," meaning fifty, was the day of the Jewish Feast of Harvest to give thanks for the grain harvest (Ex. 23:15-16).
