Read: Acts 1:6-11
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 end of the earth. (v. 8)
When Christians gather together to worship the living God, they claim staggering things about Jesus. One of those claims is that after his death and resurrection, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, and according to another biblical author, “he always lives to make intercession” (Heb. 7:25). How wonderful is that? Jesus Christ is praying for you, and all whom you love right now!
In today’s passage, the writer Luke is challenging us with another aspect of Jesus’s ascension: we must become his witnesses throughout the entire world. Jesus Christ is coming again, and though we do not know the day or the hour of his return, we do know that he has given us an enormous responsibility in the meantime. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,” Jesus explains, “and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (v. 8).
If you know Jesus, you are his witness. This means you have a responsibility with eternal consequences to all whom you meet today to testify to life in Jesus. In the congregation where I worship, our pastors regularly precede the closing benediction with these words of challenge: “You are about to enter every sector of public life to claim it for Christ.” If we don’t, who will?
As you pray, ask God for courage to be his witness today.
About the Author
Dr. Timothy Brown is the Henry Bast Professor of Preaching and President Emeritus at Western Theological Seminary where he served from 1995-2021. Tim continues to actively coach and encourage former students and pastors who seek help in their preaching life and he has become a certified public school substitute teacher so that he can continue investing in the lives of young people. He is married to Nancy and together they have three children and ten grandchildren.
