But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. 

Acts 1: 8 

Christ takes us out of our comfort zone. When He was ministering, He told His disciples on one particular occasion that He ‘had to go through Samaria.’ The Jews hated the Samaritans because of their heritage which had involved an intermingling of Jews and Gentiles. Thus, the Jews viewed them as half-breeds, and despised them. Christ went out of His way to engage a specific woman at the well of Sychar. He talk with her and she became His disciple. She went into the city and told the men about Jesus, asking, ‘Is not this the Christ?’ The disciples, who were not there for the exchange, were out of their comfort zone when they returned and found out what had occurred. Many Samaritans believed on Christ at that time. In our text, Christ tells His disciples that they would become witnesses to Him, among other places, in Samaria. He was sending them to these people who were very different in culture and outlook to the disciples. Once again, He was taking them out of their comfort zone. He may do the same with us.  

Our Wise and Holy God, 
we rejoice that Your Gospel is for a great multitude,  
which no man could number. 
We praise You that they will come 
from every culture upon the earth. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection. 

Acts 1:21-22 

The death of Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Christ, left a vacancy in the ranks of the disciples. Judas had hanged himself in a fit of remorse over his betrayal. The disciples felt they must fill this vacancy with someone who would be part of the work Christ had given them to do. Peter took the initiative to find someone from among the hundred and twenty disciples gathered in Jerusalem. Our text identifies the qualifications this person must possess.  He must have been a witness of all the things which Christ had done from His baptism by John the Baptist until He ascended from the Mount of Olives. Ultimately, having arrived at the choice of two candidates, they cast lots and the lot fell on Matthias. He then began to occupy the office of Apostle with the other eleven. What is perhaps more important than any other single thought here is that Matthias could speak with authority as the result of his personal experience of Christ. This is true for us in this respect; it is important that we be able to speak of Christ from personal experience. Nothing supersedes a personal knowledge of Him. We can then speak with authority of the things which we have seen and heard. 

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You have manifest Yourself unto many. 
We praise You that of Your wonderous works, 
they can give personal witness. 

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven. 

Acts 1:9-11 

Christ ascended from the Mount of Olives into heaven while the disciples watched Him. Two angels stood beside them as commentators on the event. The most significant part of their communication was that Jesus ‘will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into Heaven.’ There are several thoughts here worthy of our consideration. The first is that these words were in complete harmony with Christ’s words to His disciples at the Last Supper when He said, ‘I will come again….’ The second is that the return of Christ will be physical and visible as was His ascension. Another thought is His return will be to the Mount of Olives as the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy from Zechariah 14 that says, ‘And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.’ Thus, the authors of Scripture speak as one on this subject. Christ will return as He went. We look forward to the day and hour when the faith shall be sight. Our hope is not in this world, in its’ leaders or agenda. We testify of the Living Christ, Who rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and ‘will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.’ Even so, come, Lord Jesus.  

Our Glorious, Living Christ, 
we rejoice that You are as good as Your Word. 
We praise You that You will come again, 
in the same manner in which You went. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. 

Acts 1:8 

As Christ spoke His last few words to His disciples before He ascended into heaven, He laid out before them a simple, but ambitious mission. He told them they would be ‘witnesses to Me.’ This would absorb all the rest of their life. He went on to say where they would be witnesses to Him. He said they would begin in Jerusalem, then expand their witness to Judea, Samaria and finally, ‘to the end of the earth.’ Their witness would be in their own neighborhood, then in the surrounding district, then in a neighboring district, then finally to the farthest reaches of the earth. As we read the balance of the book of Acts, we see how this began to come to pass. Peter stood up on the Day of Pentecost and began to witness of Christ in Jerusalem. The remainder of the book shows the rapid expansion of the Gospel. We have the opportunity to begin as witnesses to Christ in our own neighborhood. Wherever we go, we have the privilege of witnessing to Christ. His testimony is still relevant and worthy to be preached to the end of the earth. 

Our Gracious Master and our God, 
we rejoice that You have given us the privilege 
to speak of You. 
We praise You that anywhere we go, 
is a worthy place to speak of Christ. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. 

Acts 1:8

 

What was the core business of Christ’s people in the New Testament? It was the proclamation of Christ. Our text is the last recorded statement of Christ before He ascended. It articulates His purpose for His people. He says, ‘you shall be witnesses to Me.’ As we read the book of Acts, we see how the Apostles understood these words and how they carried out this assignment. Peter stood up and preached Christ on the Day of Pentecost. He preached Christ after healing the lame man in the Temple. Stephen preached Christ before the leaders of the Jews and died under a hail of stones. Peter preached Christ to the gentiles. As soon as Saul of Tarsus encountered Christ on the Damascus Road, he began to preach Christ. This is the pattern of the New Testament and should still be the core business of the followers of Christ today. The value of teaching and preaching should be measured by its’ Christ content. It is not enough to preach from the Bible without preaching Christ. He is the Message. He is the Grand Subject. This is our core business. 

Our Glorious, Living Savior, 
we praise You that we have the opportunity 
to declare You as the only Redeemer. 
We rejoice that where Your message goes forth, 
You will draw all manner of people to Yourself. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning