You Will Be My Witnesses

Forty days had passed since Jesus rose from the dead and walked out of a borrowed tomb into the bright morning sunshine of Jerusalem. Now the time had come for him to return to his Father—a moment we commonly call the Ascension.

As Jesus prepared to depart physically from his disciples, it seems reasonable that his final words would carry unusual weight.

Indeed they do.

Five words in particular stand out:

"You will be my witnesses." (Acts 1:8)

There are at least two observations worth making.

First, the word witness paints a compelling portrait of what it means to be associated with Jesus. The Greek word is martus, from which we derive words like martyr and martyrdom. A witness is one who testifies to what he or she has personally seen, heard, and experienced. A witness does not merely possess information; a witness bears testimony to reality.

There is also an inherent element of risk. We recognize this in a courtroom, where a witness publicly affirms what is true regardless of the consequences. We recognize it even more in the lives of those who have suffered—or died—for their testimony about Christ. Jesus' expectation that those who belong to him are witnesses should never be minimized.

Second, the grammar itself is instructive. Jesus does not command his disciples to become witnesses someday. He simply declares, "You will be my witnesses." The language suggests that one cannot rightly be associated with Jesus without also being his witness. The two belong together. They are inseparable.

That reality raises important questions for every follower of Christ. Does my life bear witness to Jesus? Do my words? My priorities? My relationships?

As significant as these five words are, Jesus immediately makes them even more concrete.

"...in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Witness is no longer an abstract idea. Jesus attaches it to real people and real places—including places that are uncomfortable, unfamiliar, and even dangerous.

Herein lies the challenge.

Jesus has no interest in his followers choosing the safest route or living passive lives. His expectation is that we are on mission—moving toward people, engaging our communities, and extending the reach of the gospel beyond the boundaries most comfortable to us.

His earlier command to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:34–40) suddenly takes on even greater weight. The obvious question becomes, You mean even if my neighbor lives across the tracks...or across an ocean? Even if he is Muslim, atheist, or of a completely different culture than mine?

One can almost imagine the disciples wrestling with those very thoughts.

Jerusalem was familiar. Judea was home territory. Even Samaria, though marked by centuries of hostility, was at least known to them.

But the ends of the earth?

Now Jesus was talking about Gentiles. About people unlike themselves.

Surely he couldn't mean that.

But of course he did.

And he still does.

Thankfully, Jesus never gives this commission apart from the resource necessary to fulfill it. We cannot read the second half of Acts 1:8 without first hearing the opening promise:

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you..."

The commission is demanding, but it is never unsupported.

Jesus has not called us to witness in our own strength. Rather, as Zechariah reminds us, it is "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD Almighty" (Zechariah 4:6).

Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, then, is not optional. It is essential.

"Father, make me sensitive to the voice of your Spirit. Keep my heart tender toward his work in my life. Grant me the courage to obey his promptings and follow wherever he leads."

That is a prayer every disciple should pray.

Without such surrender, becoming the witness Jesus intends is impossible. Left to ourselves, we instinctively soften the gospel, avoid discomfort, and protect ourselves. The Spirit empowers us to do otherwise.

It is no accident that Jesus front-loaded Acts 1:8 with a promise concerning the Holy Spirit. Everything that follows depends upon everything that comes first.

The witness Jesus calls us to be is possible only because of the Spirit Jesus so generously gives.