4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard 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 come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed 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 end of the earth.”
Acts 1:4-8, ESV
Some of the hardest words to utter are parting words. Have you ever seen the difficulty that military couples have saying “goodbye” when one has to leave the other, as well as their kids, for a stint in Iraq? Parting words are tough words. It’s hard to hold back the tears.
Jesus’ final words before His ascension must have been tough. Three years work and an unfolding kingdom are being left into the hands of 120 people. Eleven of those twelve were particularly close with the Messiah. He was their Mentor, their Rabbi, their Friend. His mother who watched Him die agonizingly, who saw Him alive majestically, was to now have to say “Goodbye” once more.
But it really wasn’t “Goodbye” you know. It was really “See ya later.” Through the Spirit He would be with them always (Matthew 28:20). He even lets His apostles know that the work that would be done in and through them would be His work by the Spirit (Acts 1:5; 2 Cor. 3:18).
Ironically, their concern was oriented around restoring the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6). How typical! God’s promises rarely seem good enough don’t they? His promises, which were his immediate concern, weren’t good enough. They had to know more. They couldn’t just get wrapped up in what He was going to do in and through them. They had push and prod to find out more. Is this it? Is the kingdom coming back to Israel? It seems to me, they were more concerned about “Israel” than they were the breaking in of His kingdom.
You’ve got to love Jesus’ response though. He doesn’t bite. He doesn’t play their game. “It is not for you to know…” Some things we need not know.
Why do we insist on knowing every thing? Why can’t we simply rest in God’s promises, clinging to them with all we have? The insatiable curiosity to explain every single thing can literally consume us. I know. Most think we have to know everything, so that we can give our apologetic (1 Pet. 3:15). 1 Peter 3:15 isn’t a commission for finite beings to the infinite. It’s wrong that people make 1 Peter 3:15 something it isn’t. Our “apologetic” or “answer” is for the hope we have, not for the particulars of the triune nature of God or some other facet of theology that we aren’t wired to totally understand anyhow. Christians need to quit laying undue burdens on others! Sorry about getting sidetracked there, but this has been on my mind for a while now and I just had to get it out.
What was important was not the issue of their question. What was important was that they “would receive power” so that they could be His “witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (v. 8). They were called to witness to the life giving power of Jesus through the gospel. They weren’t called to explain the creation of the universe. They weren’t called to plant 501C3 non-profit corporations (i.e. Churches) all over the world. They were called to “witness,” to testify to God’s grace in their lives (Acts 20:24) because they had experienced it for themselves. You cannot witness to someone or something that you haven’t experienced. You cannot witness “about” someone or something you haven’t experienced. They would testify to life, death, resurrection, and the transforming message of Jesus. They would because these were things that were truly real to them, things about which they could testify.
Now let’s bring this home to us. If we have experienced the transformation of the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus for ourselves (Rom. 6:3-5), then we become fit to become “witnesses” as well. Our immersion into His death brings us to Him, His blood, and the redemption that only His blood affords. Our resurrection from His death affords us with resurrection life. Therefore, as witnesses ourselves we attest to the life-changing Christ and His gospel.
What kind of “witness” are you?
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