Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:45-49 ESV)
In the time with His disciples between His resurrection from the dead and His ascension into heaven, Jesus commissioned them to proclaim His name to all nations. He tells them in these verses that it was written and fulfilled that the Christ - the anointed One of God - had to suffer and rise from the dead. This Suffering Servant view of what Israel's Messiah would be and do was there in their scriptures all along, but their minds did not perceive it because of the overarching viewpoint that Messiah would be the King of kings who ruled forever on David's throne. His Kingship came after His sacrifice.
The commission of the Church is to proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus Christ. That repentance and forgiveness is rooted and grounded in the mercy and grace of our loving Father who, out of deep love, refused to leave us in our sin. From the time Adam and Eve fell into disobedience and brought sin into our world, God has been on a mission of redemption. And His mission will succeed.
In the end, His perfect Kingdom of love and grace will be established - first in the hearts and lives of followers of Jesus, and eventually, when Jesus returns, in the creation of a new heaven and new earth and the consummation of all God intended when He created us in the first place.
It's pretty easy for us to read these amazing promises, believe them with our whole heart, and sit and say, "Yay, Jesus!" But if thanksgiving and praise and worship for the One who redeemed us is all we do, we miss His commissioning.
You are witnesses of these things.
You have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. You have experienced His grace, His forgiveness, His sanctifying work that changes your heart and life to keep the drumbeat of His love in thought, word and deed. You know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord. You are witnesses of these things.
Notice Jesus does not say, "You are witnesses of these things on the days you feel good about yourself and your faith." He does not say, "You might become witnesses of these things some day after you have gone to Bible college and seminary and received professional training in how to preach." He does not say, "You cheer on the preacher when they witness to these things." Nope. He does not let any of us off the hook like that.
You are witnesses of these things.
Whether you are intentional about it or not, you are a witness. People watch the lives of people who follow Jesus. They watch to see if we have hope when there should be despair because of the storms of our circumstances. They watch to see if our lives are marked by the Fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) The question is not whether I am a witness or not. The question is what kind of witness will I be?
Will I hide my faith and blend in with the world, becoming a reluctant, secret witness? Will I continue to live my life without transformation, making a negative witness? Or will I live to honor Jesus in everything, becoming a positive, intentional, Godly witness?
Jesus told us the secret to being witnesses of these things when He said, "And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Operating in our own human strength, we will fall and fail to be the Godly witnesses the world needs. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, our witness for Jesus will flow from our lives naturally as He sanctifies us in holy love and changes our very hearts to beat with His love.
The Holy Spirit can prompt the right act of kindness at the right moment to serve as a witness to the grace of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will give us the right word at the right moment to encourage another heart or to give hope that forgiveness is real and possibly by that grace. The Holy Spirit will direct us to the right decision in the heat of the moment to make a positive witness for Jesus. Our task as witnesses is to follow the nudges of the Spirit and both show the love of Jesus to others and tell them what Jesus has done in our lives and what He can do in theirs.
You are witnesses of these things.
Allow the Holy Spirit to grow His fruit into your character. Serve others sacrificially like Jesus. Simple kindness matters. Holy character matters. You have a story to tell - the story of a crucified, risen Savior and what He has done for your life. The old chorus is correct:
Everybody ought to know.
Everybody ought to know.
Everybody ought to know who Jesus is.
Clothed with power from on high, let your life serve as a bold witness for Jesus Christ. A fallen, broken world needs to know Him like you know Him.
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