The Power of the Holy Spirit
“When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:6-8
All throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, the disciples had listened to His words about the coming kingdom of God, but they were mostly thinking of a time not too far away when Israel would be freed from Roman domination and become the God-blessed chosen nation that would have prominence in the known world. The disciples were no different that us. We tend to focus on what we are going to do tomorrow or next week or perhaps next year and usually do not think any further into the future of eternity than that. We are a people of instant gratification: we want what we want, and we want it now. We hate to wait for anything. Patience as a virtue is sorely lacking in today’s society.
As the disciples met with Christ after His resurrection, their minds were still geared toward a liberated Israel. Most of the writings of the Old Testament prophets dealt to some degree about the future coming kingdom of God. Isaiah wrote that “Zion (Jerusalem) shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness” (1:27). Joel wrote in 2:32 that “…in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance”. Jesus had promised His disciples that they would sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28). They apparently took this to mean that the Romans would be gone, and they would be in charge of Israel. The disciples had previously disputed who among them was the greatest (Mark 34). They were all guilty, like us, of “what’s in it for me?” The disciples were still focused on life on earth, but they did not have the full measure of the Holy Spirit to teach them that their purpose was to spread the good news of Christ to a lost and dying world. It was not all about them, or us; it is all about Jesus and eternity. It wouldn’t be long, though, before they would understand what Jesus had been preparing them for all along.
While there will come a time when Christ will rule the earth, it was not for that time and neither were the disciples to dwell on an earthly kingdom where they would be prominent. It is God’s prerogative as to when Christ will return and set up His earthly kingdom. Jesus was not rebuking them for their curiosity, but He was emphasizing the need to be about the mission of which He was about to send them out shortly. His statement is also for present day Christians to not waste time trying to set dates or try to figure out from where the anti-christ will come. We should spend our energy in witnessing of and serving the Lord Jesus Christ just as the disciples were to do.
The disciples needed not to worry about how they were going to be able to carry out their mission. Jesus indicated to them that all the power they would need would be supplied by the Holy Ghost. According to C. S. Lovett in his Personal New Testament Commentary on Acts, he wrote that the King James Version of scripture used the word “Ghost” because the Holy Spirit is viewed by some as Christ’s Ghost. After Jesus was resurrected and ascended back to His Father in heaven, He left His Spirit or Ghost on earth to continue His work through all those who believe on Him. Therefore, it is by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ Ghost, that enables all who trust in Christ to obey His commands and to live righteously. The ability to witness to the saving grace of Christ comes by the Holy Spirit. It’s almost like Jesus is saying that we can witness for Him because He is the One who is witnessing about Himself through our words and actions as we make ourselves available for His use and purpose. If we diligently study God’s word, then God will give us the words to speak in any situation, eliminating the excuse of not being able to answer questions asked by “enquiring minds”.
Jesus had a specific itinerary for His disciples. They weren’t to scatter from “here to yon” without a definite plan. The beginning point for their evangelical ministry was Jerusalem The Apostle Paul emphasized in his letter to the church at Rome that the gospel was to the Jew first, then the Greeks, that is, Gentiles (Romans 1:16). The gospel was never meant to be limited to the Jews at Jerusalem. Prior to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus instructed His disciples at that time to only minister among “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” and not to the Gentiles or the Samaritans (Matthew 10:5-6). They were to preach that the “kingdom of heaven is at hand” in preparing the people for the coming gospel message of grace. After Jesus ascended back to His Father in heaven, the disciples would have a new and distinct message to preach which would be for all people, beginning in Jerusalem and spreading from there. God destined the gospel to all people of all time, knowing that some would receive it and many would reject it, nevertheless, the opportunity to be saved was made available to all (I Timothy 2:4).