Many have argued that Jesus took a risk by leaving this great work
in the hands of ordinary men. What do
you think? Did He? It appears as if He did because He gives
them this assignment in Acts 1:8 and then leaves in Acts 1:9. But as you carefully study this text, what you find is that Jesus’ confidence is not solely in these
men and women, but in the person and work of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:8, Jesus lets His followers know
that they are going to be successful and are going to be His witnesses
throughout the world because they are going to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
He makes this clear in Acts 1:4 when he tells His disciples to wait on
the promise of the Father. It is very
interesting that Jesus tells His followers to wait here because throughout the
gospels He is either telling them to to “Come...follow Him” or “Go and make
disciples.” They are told to “come” and
they are told to “go,” but here they are told to “Wait.” Why?
Because Jesus knew that they were in need of divine power to be able to do the work that He calls for them to do. He knew that for them to be His witnesses and
make Him known where He is not known, they were going to need divine strength--they were going to need power from His Holy Spirit.
Scripture is clear that if it were left to us alone, God’s
mission would be in jeopardy. We are in
need of divine power and we have that in His Holy Spirit. Without this power, none of us would be worth anything in ministry. It’s His work in and
through us that makes all the difference.
