Why did the apostles have to wait for the Holy Spirit?

Answer 1

In John 20:22 Jesus breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit, on the evening of the day of his resurrection..

In a separate tradition in Acts 2:4, the apostles did not receive the Holy Spirit until after forty days, on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended as tongues of fire.

Answer 2

The apostles had to wait for the Holy Spirit because Jesus had promised to send the Holy Spirit to empower them for their ministry. The Holy Spirit would equip them with the gifts and guidance needed to spread the message of Jesus effectively. This waiting period was also a time of preparation and anticipation for the significant role the Holy Spirit would play in their ministry.

Answer 3

A:This is one of the puzzling aspects of Luke/Acts, since there seems to be no good reason for the disciples to be cooling their heels for such a long time.

In Matthew's Gospel, written independently of Luke, the risen Jesus met the apostles at a mountain in Galilee and sent them immediately to go abroad and teach all nations (Matthew 28:16-20). There was no waiting and no Holy Spirit. The author of John's Gospel was certainly familiar with Luke's Gospel, but apparently not with Acts of the Apostles, since in this gospel, on the evening of the resurrection, Jesus breathed on the disciples and gave them the Holy Spirit - surely negating the need for the Pentecost event.

In Luke's Gospel, Jesus ascended bodily to heaven on the road to Bethany and on the very evening of his resurrection, having told the disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they received power from on high. Acts of the Apostles, written by the same author but some time later, says that Jesus was still on earth and remained here for forty days until he ascended bodily to heaven near Jerusalem. The disciples received the Holy Spirit on the day of the Pentecost, some ten days later.

What seems likely is that after Luke's Gospel was written, the author read some of Paul's epistles. His response to those epistles was to write Acts of the Apostles. In the epistles, Paul had said that Jesus was seen by Cephas (Peter), then the twelve, then by more than 500, most of whom were still alive, then by James and all the apostles, and finally by himself. The author could, and would, portray Paul's vision as purely spiritual but had to accommodate the others who, according to Paul, saw the risen Jesus. He had to ignore his earlier assertion that Jesus was taken up to heaven on the day of his resurrection and make this event occur after forty days, during which time Jesus showed himself alive to many (Acts 1:3). The Jewish Pentecost was celebrated fifty days after the Passover, so this would be the date on which the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples.

Another Answer:

They simply did not as they received the Holy Spirit directly from Jesus on the evening of the first day of the week after Jesus rose (Sunday):

John 20:19-22New King James Version (NKJV) The Apostles Commissioned19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled,[a] for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

The Apostles had a special mission to carry on Jesus' work which required special 'spiritual' power. All who choose to become disciples (imitators) of Christ will also need this power.

The Day of Pentecost was the beginning of the Church of God Jesus came to build. Here the Holy Spirit would be freely available to all who repent and are baptized (Acts 2:38-39). This would be the first time any/all could receive the gift of the Spirit since the Fall in the Garden. Only a few like the Patriarchs, prophets, Kings, and some artisans had received it in the Old Testament. God, now would expand His gift to all mankind and not just physical Israel - all who would come into the one body/family called 'Spiritual Israel' in the New Testament:

Acts 10:34New King James Version (NKJV) Preaching to Cornelius' Household34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.

Now the 'good news' had reached the Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gentiles (all nations other than Israel). All are now united by the same faith in the same Lord with the same gift of the Holy Spirit:

1 Corinthians 12:13New King James Version (NKJV)

13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

Answer 4

Empowered them to turn the world upside down for Christ

Answer 5

The holy spirit helped the apostle carry out Jesus mission by helping them in tough times

Answer 6

It helped them unite with jesus

Answer 7

cchtd