The Witness

“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Jesus was alive, and the disciples were eager. For forty days He had been showing up to show them that the resurrection was really real. Fully convinced, they felt that now would be a good time for Him to set up His throne and take charge of the earth. They posed their suggestion as a question: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”(Acts 1:6). Let’s not be too quick to criticize their desire. Jesus had earlier sent them to preach that the kingdom of heaven was near(Matt 10:7), He had promised that they would sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel(Matt 19:28), and hadn’t He even taught them to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”(Matt 6:10)? Who wouldn’t have been excited and anxious?

But Jesus dashed their hopes of right-now royalty with a reply which pointed in a different direction. “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority”(Acts 1:7). Jesus reminds them and us that when He’s coming back is not to be our business, but He does have work for us while we’re waiting. “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”(Acts 1:8b).

Grab the megaphone and the mega-Bible! It’s time to hit the streets! Perhaps not so fast. A time and place for street-corner shouting possibly exists, but that’s not all Jesus had in mind. He said that we would “be His witnesses”—not that we would simply witness. “Be” is something that you are, not just something that you do. To “be” is not an occasional or sporadic action but a constant existence. And what are we to continually be? His witness. A witness is one who tells what he has seen, what he has experienced, what he knows to be true—not in feeling but in fact. The duty of a witness in court is not to decide the case, but to declare his part. Our privilege and responsibility as a Christ-follower is to continuously through our words, actions, and attitudes be living evidence and be giving evidence of the love and grace of Jesus. He is the One we have seen. He is the One we have experienced. He is the One of whom we are certain.

Where are we to be His witnesses? Everywhere we go. “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”(Acts 1:8b). Start where you are and share who Jesus is. That’s your Jerusalem. The people you prefer and those you used to put down are your Judea and Samaria. The ends of the earth covers everything else. Across town or across time zones, be His witness.

How are we to do this, for being a witness is a big job, and on our own, we’re not up to the task? Since Jesus knows this is so, when He went up, He sent help down. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you”(Acts 1:8a). The Divine Comforter, Convicter, Counselor, Encourager, and Guide(Jn 16:5-15) stays by our side giving us strength, speaking the truth, and showing us the way—and what to say. By God’s power, we can share the wonder of Jesus everywhere with go, with everyone we meet.

If you are His, you are His witness. The question isn’t, “Are you a witness?” but, “What kind of witness are you?”