Monday, April 20: Acts 1- Jesus' last words.

If someone walked up to you and asked, “What were Jesus’ last words while he was on earth?” How would you respond?

I’m pretty sure that before today I would have responded with the great commission at the end of Matthew’s gospel. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Mt 28:18-20).

However, I realized during my reading this morning that I was wrong. The last words spoken by Jesus, before he left us and returned to heaven, are found in Acts 1:7-8: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The Matthew and Acts statements are not unrelated but they are different. Jesus’ last words in Matthew’s Gospel focus on the task Jesus leaves for His followers. But Jesus’ actual last words focus on the power necessary for us to complete the task! Both are important. But Jesus’ last words tells us about the power we will need to do what He has left us to do.

We cannot complete the task of telling the world about Jesus without the power of the Holy Spirit upon us, within us and working through us! Luke uses the rest of Acts to show us how essential the Spirit is in the lives of believers.

Understanding God, the Holy Spirit, is not merely a ‘theological’ pursuit. Understanding God, the Holy Spirit, and how He works in the lives of believers is essential to completing the task Jesus has given His church. The Spirit was given so we can be Jesus’ witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Do you know God the Holy Spirit? Are you listening for His leading as you participate in God’s commission to reach the world with the message and saving grace of Jesus?

Think about it…

O, God, the Holy Spirit, open my eyes more clearly to how You work… how You work in me so that I may be more attuned and more obedient to You… so that the world will know Jesus is Lord. Amen.