The Mission, the Promise, and the Power After the Resurrection
"...wait for the gift my Father promised..." Acts 1:4a
After the resurrection Jesus told the disciples to go and make more disciples. They must have been wondering how they would do that? Even after spending a few years being discipled by Jesus, everyday was still filled with adventure and incidents that left them full of wonder and amazement. The events of Holy Week turned their religious and personal lives upside down in ways that none of the other experiences with Jesus had done. They experienced wide emotional swings:
The high of the triumphal entry
The wonderment of Jesus aggressively clearing the temple
Misunderstanding about why a fig tree had to die out of season for lack of figs
The joy of a Passover meal
The bad news of a betrayer revealed
Hiding in fear because Jesus had been arrested
Absolute despair because of the crucifixion
The unbelief, euphoria and amazement after the resurrection
Now they were given an assignment with a promise that they would not have to do it alone. Undoubtedly they had more questions than answers for what lay ahead. Fortunately, Jesus had another directive for them:
"Wait"
In Acts 1:4 - 8 Jesus tells them several key things that will enable them to make disciples as He has commissioned them.
A promised gift from the Father is forthcoming
It is a gift Jesus had previously told them about
It is a gift not unlike water baptism
In a few days a new type of baptism will be initiated
It is baptism with the Holy Spirit
With this news, the disciples excitedly gathered around Jesus and asked: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
In response to this question Jesus essentially said this is none of your business. Your job is to do what I have assigned you to do and leave the results to me. Furthermore, here is what you need to know for the upcoming assignment:
When you are baptized with the Holy Spirit
You will have power
You will start a movement of telling my story here in Jerusalem and, through you, the story is going to spread to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.
Nothing has changed. The mandate for those of us who are disciples of Jesus is to go and make more disciples. Secondly, the job is too big for us to do on our own so we need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. When we are baptized (filled) with the Holy Spirt we have the presence of Jesus with us and we have the power to do what He has asked us to do. Let's join the parade of people going forth making more and more disciples.
