“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'” Acts 1:4-5

Here they are again, eating. Even in His resurrected, glorified state, Jesus enjoyed a good meal with friends. That’s good news! We can look forward to wonderful times around the table in New Jerusalem.

Jesus had one command for His beloved disciples:
wait.

Although He did give them a time frame of “a few days”, the disciples weren’t exactly sure how long to wait or what they were waiting for. They didn’t want to miss out on this “gift”, so they obediently waited.

God’s timing is always perfect, even down to the minute.

Jesus’ death coincided with the Feast of Passover.
Christ died at 3:00 p.m. —
the exact time that the lambs
were sacrificed on the altar in the Temple.

His resurrection occurred on the Feast of First Fruits.

And the Holy Spirit was scheduled for the Feast of Pentecost.

All those Old Testament high and holy days
that had been celebrated for hundreds of years —
they all were fulfilled in Christ.

So the disciples waited until the appointed time for a new kind of baptism.