“And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.” (Acts 2:33)
Pouring. It’s an action that makes me think of something that is on its way out of the bottle, can’t be stopped while it’s in motion, and it could make a mess if it’s not captured in an appropriate container.
My father-in-law just poured a very large slab of concrete. The truck backs up, the technician pulls the switch, and down the chute it comes. In all its sloppy glory the cement fills in the forms that have been laid out. The pour completely covers the designated area. There’s no putting it back in the truck! And the effect of the poured concrete is to do the job it was meant to do.
Preacher Peter continues to make his case for the one-of-a-kind special-ness of Jesus of Nazareth. He emphasizes that he was raised from the dead, even after the torture of crucifixion. All of them were witnesses of this resurrection. He ascended into heaven, and was now seated at the right hand of the Father (sort of sounding like the Apostle’s Creed? Well, one of the apostles was in fact declaring this information publicly!).
Then Peter announces (v 33) that the Father did what he had promised: gave to Jesus “the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us.” This pouring-out is what they are seeing and hearing. The wind, fire, and miracle of language are evidences of this pouring.
Interestingly, it is Jesus who does the pouring. That is his Trinity job. The Father initiated it by giving the Son that job to do. But in order for the Son to pour out the Holy-Spirit-member-of-the-Trinity, he had to be alive to perform this. Peter announces without hesitation or any lack of clarity that He is alive; the resurrection is undeniable. But Jesus is not just alive, idly enjoying heavenly glory and repose. He is definitely still at work; He is pouring out in a dramatic, public way, the Holy Spirit.
The evidences around them speak of a liberal, lavish pouring out. It’s not a trickle of Holy Spirit presence. There is nothing that speaks of a timid, or hesitant, or held-back presentation of the Holy Spirit profile. You may need to excuse the analogy, but with the undeniable and overwhelming presence of the Spirit, it seems that the truck has backed up and the pouring out just keeps coming.
There is no stopping or reversing this pouring. The pouring out is taking place! This sets up the preacher to engage with his audience on the question: now that this Resurrected Messiah is pouring out the Holy Spirit, what is your response to Him?
“Father, thank you for the pouring out of your Spirit on this special Day, and we humbly ask for you to continue pouring, for the benefit of untold millions!”
Freddy Boswell 