In Luke's view of the coming of the Spirit, we see it arriving in broad daylight with a crowd of people looking on. The Spirit enables miraculous gifts to be used to evangelize these crowds who are from different locations of the Mediterranean. The power of the Spirit is shown as Peter preaches and the crowd is convicted, and 3000 are added to the Christian community in a day. The ushering in of a new era is accompanied by the sound of a rushing wind, tongues of fire, and the Spirit comes down as they are all together praying. This coming of the Spirit is seen to pass on the Messianic empowering onto the believing community.
In John, we see a different event altogether when he breathes on the disciples and says, "Receive the Spirit". John's Gospel seems to be speaking of an indwelling sense of the Spirit purchased by Christ's death. Jesus may breathe on the disciples paralleling God breathing the first breath of life into Adam. It may emphasize us being in union with Christ in life now through faith rather than in union with the world.
Luke emphasizes a functional and ministerial aspect of the Spirit's coming, John focuses on the inner and relational function of the Spirit. Luke can be seen as the horizontal, and radical effect of the Holy Spirit on ministry as John gives us the vertical view of access and union with Christ through the Spirit that leads to this ministry.
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