Acts 1:4-8

Read Acts 1:4-8

Re verses 4-5)
In John 14:15-18 the Lord promised to send a Helper, and here in verse 4 we see Christ commanding His people to gather in Jerusalem and wait for that Helper of whom He’d previously spoken.
What is more, they are to receive the special baptism of the Holy Spirit…a wholly new thing in the world at this point. It is interesting to note that this baptism of the Holy Spirit is a direct gift from the Father as presented by the Son. Jesus here in verse 5 makes a special reference to John 1:32-33, where we read that it is Jesus Himself who baptizes with the Holy Spirit!

Note now in verse 6 what the disciples ask of Jesus….

Remember throughout the ministry of Jesus…His followers have been expecting Him to establish an earthly kingdom…to revive the glory that was the Israel under King David. His followers never totally understood the specific reason for which He had come. Here we see that this misunderstanding still persists! He has risen from the dead and shown that He is God and they still want the earthly kingdom of Israel to be restored.

Note carefully in verse 7 the rebuke offered by our risen Savior:
It is not for you to know!
Brothers and sisters…many have come, and many will come, who profess to know when our Lord will return! Do NOT listen to them! It is not for us to worry about when He will return! Jesus in verse 8 tells them and He tells us that we are to be His witnesses! The Greek word for “witness” is martus… what modern word do you think derives from this? MARTYR! Jesus says we are to be His martyrs!

Why does He say this?
Brothers and sisters, we are called to bear witness of the work He has done in our lives, we are to tell others the Good News of His atoning work on the cross, and if we do this faithfully…then we shall truly “incur the wrath of the ungodly world.” Just as our Lord was killed for His call to repentance, so shall we be vilified by the world around us when we bear testimony and witness of Jesus. Barnhouse makes the convicting comment that if the world around us is not seeking to kill us it is either because they cannot do so legally or because our witness is not strong enough!
So then…there is nothing wrong with wondering when our Lord shall return. But be prepared for His imminent return…plan for it to come today…and our time will be better spent on witnessing to the world around us than trying to nail down a specific day!
Finally…the witnessing we do is not through our own power…none of our works are! We have been given the power by God Himself…the ability to do that which He commands is ours! Do not waste the power that has been entrusted to you…be a witness!