Being His Witnesses
by David Wright
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8
What a scene that must have been. Jesus provided still more teaching and guidance and left his disciples with the promise of a coming gift, the Holy Spirit. And that promise extends to all who choose to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, who died for the sins of the world and rose on the third day. After he rose, he spent another 40 days with his disciples, perhaps making sure every “t” was crossed and each “i” dotted. He appeared to many and assured them that he indeed was alive and would continue to be, though he would no longer be physically with them. He would be at the Father’s right hand interceding for his disciples.
Before ascending he promised a gift, a gift that would not be opened for a short while. Our children, and maybe even we adults, anticipate the opening of a special gift at Christmas or a birthday. So, with anticipation they waited. They remained in Jerusalem and prepared for the Feast of Pentecost. Jews from every nation of that time gathered in Jerusalem.
Jews gathered fifty days after Passover to celebrate the Feast of the First Fruits (Pentecost). Being active members of the community of Jerusalem, Jesus’s disciples celebrated Pentecost as well. But a most unique gift was about to arrive!
Acts 2 tells us “They were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (vv. 1-4). We are told further that there were God fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. Each one heard their own language being spoken!
Those doing the speaking were Galileans, yet Jews from every nation understood what was being said and were amazed and perplexed. Some joked that “they have had too much wine!”
Then Peter, a recently recommissioned apostle of Jesus, delivered a powerful Spirit filled sermon. He cleared up any concerns about anyone being drunk from wine. He quoted the prophesy of Joel (Joel 2:28-32) and then proceeded to preach about Jesus of Nazaeth to unsuspecting Israelites. He preached of Jesus’s mission, his miracles, his crucifixion and his resurrection. He assured them that Jesus was indeed Lord and the awaited Messiah, and that Jesus was indeed now alive and at the Father’s right hand.
Guided, inspired, and filled with the Gift of the Holy Spirit, Peter’s first sermon resulted in about three thousand being baptized! Peter was an eyewitness and provided an exceptionally accurate testimony as to what Jesus did, why he did it, and who exactly Jesus is.
Peter was an excellent witness for Jesus. That had not been the case the evening that Jesus was arrested and Peter denied knowing him or being with him three times, just as Jesus told him he would. But then came the resurrection followed a few days later by a morning on the beach of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had a loving conversation with his distraught disciple and plainly asked three times, “Peter, do you love me, more than these?” Each time Peter replied in the affirmative.
Jesus instructed his disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they received the gift of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus would send to comfort, guide, advocate, love, discern, and strengthen them. The Holy Spirit would reside within each of his disciples and through him The Bride of Christ, his Church, would grow.
Jesus spoke of the coming Holy Spirit multiple times. Even before his crucifixion he shared with his disciples of the coming of an advocate. “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:15-17). Jesus went on to say in John 14:26, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
The Advocate whom Jesus promised to his disciples is in his disciples today! He is our companion, our counselor, our comforter, our guide, and more, God in us. We must listen to and for him as we go about our days. As we read the Word of God, which we are told is alive and active, let him increase our understanding of His Word.
I have been asked on multiple occasions and I have asked it of others as well; if it were illegal to believe, trust, and speak of Jesus, would my witness get me arrested? Would I cower in fear, or would I trust in Jesus, strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit?
Speaking only for me, I am certain there have been times where I have been more like Peter when he denied Jesus. However, I pray daily that no matter what challenges come my way, that I would look and sound more like Peter after Jesus recommissioned him and trust that the Holy Spirit would give me the Christ-like words to say and actions to take. “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say” (Luke12:11-12).
