Commissioned to Witness Everywhere
January 2, 2021
Commentary
Luke starts by connecting Luke and Acts (vv. 1-2). At the close of Luke’s Gospel, the believers were in the temple praising God. Acts is the story of what came next. Luke tells what Jesus did and said in His human body; Acts tells what He did and said through His spiritual body, the church. We don’t know much about Theophilus. He may have been an important Roman official. It seems he was a seeker of truth who was carefully studying (and considering) the Christian faith. “Witness” is a key word in this book, used 29 times. A witness tells what he has seen and heard. Every Christian is expected to be a witness, telling the lost about the Savior.
After His resurrection, Jesus appeared (and disappeared) to His disciples and the other believers over a forty-day period. He gave them “many infallible proofs” of His resurrection (v. 3). Christ’s death scattered and disillusioned the disciples, but His resurrected made them fearless, ready to risked everything for the spread of the Gospel around the world. Jesus cautioned them to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit before they started serving Him (vv. 4-5).
Still thinking in physical terms, the disciples wanted to know when the kingdom would be restored to Israel (v. 6). Jesus would not answer their question (v. 7). Instead, He gave them his final Great Commission. They would receive power once the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they would be Christ’s witnesses starting in Jerusalem, spreading to Judea and Samaria, and reaching to the end of the earth (v. 8). Jesus is focused on is a spiritual kingdom. Jesus then ascended to heaven (v. 9), and the disciples watched until He was out of view. God sent two witnesses who assured the disciples that Jesus would come back in the same way that they had seen him go (vv. 10-11).
Application
Am I using the power that is available to me in my witnessing? I pass up so many opportunities, and I am sure it is because I am trying to work in my own strength, not let God work through me.
Acts 1:1– 11 (NET)
1 I wrote the former account, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after he had given orders by the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 To the same apostles also, after his suffering, he presented himself alive with many convincing proofs. He was seen by them over a forty-day period and spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God. 4 While he was with them, he declared, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait there for what my Father promised, which you heard about from me. 5 For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had gathered together, they began to ask him, “Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He told them, “You are not permitted to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.” 9 After he had said this, while they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 As they were still staring into the sky while he was going, suddenly two men in white clothing stood near them 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.”
Illustration: Doubling grains of wheat on a checkerboard
A few years ago, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago had a fascinating display. It showed a checkerboard with 1 grain of wheat on the first square, 2 on the second, 4 on the third, then 8, 16, 32, 64, and so on until they could no longer fit the seeds on the square. Then it asked the question, “At this rate of doubling each successive square, how much would you have on the checkerboard by the 64th square?” You could punch a button at the bottom of the display to find out. The answer? “Nine sextillion—enough grain to cover the entire subcontinent of India 50 feet deep.” Incredible! (Our Daily Bread, September 14, 1998).