The Bible was written by the Holy Spirit. Through people of course, because that’s how the Holy Spirit acts. Who received the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ earthly ministry? The thirty three years of his human incarnation? How many would you guess? Let’s have a look. We first hear of the Holy Spirit by name in the New Testament, although the Old Testament prophets have certainly received the Holy Spirit and are thus able to prophesy. In the New Testament the first person to receive the Holy Spirit is Mary, Mother of Jesus. She was visited by Gabriel and told she would give birth to a Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” Luke 1:35 The second and third people to receive the Holy Spirit were Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, and simultaneously the unborn John still in the womb. This was some six months after the conception of John, and happened when the pregnant Elizabeth was visited by the then newly and miraculously pregnant Mary. “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” Luke 1:41 The fourth person to receive the Holy Spirit is Zecharia, the father of John the Baptist, at the time of John’s circumcision and naming at 8 days after his birth. “His father Zecharia was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:” Luke 1:67 The fifth person to receive the Holy Spirit is Simeon, either before or at the time of Jesus’ naming and circumcision, at 8 days after his birth. “Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” Luke 25:26 Five people received the Holy Spirit during this time. Just five. All of them related to the conception and birth of Jesus. And that was five more than had received the Holy Spirit than in the previous four hundred years. Mary. To conceive Jesus. Elizabeth and the unborn John upon meeting Mary and the unborn Jesus. Zecharia at the naming of the infant John Simeon at the naming of the infant Jesus There is a strong relationship between Jesus and the activity of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works with Jesus, to prepare people for him. To enable the conception of him within. To confirm his divinity. They work together. Always. Spirit and Truth. The sixth person to receive the Holy Spirit is Jesus himself, at the time of his water baptism by John the baptiser, some 30 years later. He received the Holy Spirit even though he was the incarnated Holy Spirit. And Son. And Father. And therefore God. “When all the people were being baptised, Jesus was baptised too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased”. Luke 3:21 This baptism of the Holy Spirit initiates the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, aged about 30 years old. ‘Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.’ Luke 4 Here’s an extraordinary thing. Just five people, plus Jesus himself, received the Holy Spirit during Jesus’ incarnated time on Earth. Just five. All of them related to the conception and birth of Jesus. Jesus went on to teach about the Holy Spirit, and to explain the process of receiving the Holy Spirit, which transforms people from disconnected individuals to Christ connected reborn children of God. He taught, and prepared. For no more people were to receive the Holy Spirit yet. But soon they would. In their thousands. And tens of thousands. And hundreds of thousands. And millions. It’s extraordinary that this is happening and the world has no idea of it. There’s millions of people, right now, in 2023, who have received the Holy Spirit and know the experiential truth of these words. Many millions. It’s time to stop denying God is real and instead start asking intelligent questions that lead to the truth. God is real. It’s a fact of life. Start asking who God is. Start being interested in the truth rather than beliefs you may already have. Be open. The truth in words is right here but if you want it in Spirit you’ll have to ask for that yourself. Back to scripture. Jesus returned from the desert some 40 days after his receiving of the Holy Spirit, and began teaching in the synagogues. He is at this time in the power of the Spirit, and will have been able to recognise the writings in the scriptures that were made by the Holy Spirit, through the prophets of old. Try to understand this, because it’s fascinating. The Holy Spirit, through people, is able to act. Those acts include speaking and writing. There are many prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the coming of a Saviour, the Messiah. The prophecies were spoken by people under the influence of the Holy Spirit. They were few and far between, on average perhaps just one every hundred years, and there was a four hundred year period before the coming of Jesus where there were none at all. On a timeline, a graph, showing the number of people who had received the Spirit and were acting accordingly as part of a major plan, the graph would be almost flat since recorded history, with the rare blip of single individuals, such as those named and chaptered in the Old Testament. However, as we have already begun to see, something is happening with the