“… It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:7-8).
This set of sentences is known to Bible students as “The Great Commission.” Jesus told His followers what it would mean to be about the Father’s business.
And then He was gone. He took flight, rose through the clouds, and assumed His place at the right hand of glory above. For a few moments, the disciples were frozen in place. They gazed at the sky in wonder.
A couple of angels came along and chided them: “… Why do you stand looking into heaven?” A new mode of operation was coming and these people had been told by their Savior to wait on God for the promised baptism that would enable them to change the world.
Given that their Leader and Savior had come back from the dead, these believers’ expectations trended toward Kingdom Come. They were captivated by thoughts of thrones and government.
Jesus said that power would come to them, but not the brand of power that the rulers of this world exercise. The real manner of their ministry is captured in these two words – “My Witnesses.”
The Apostles had seen a lot in their days with the Christ. They traveled with Him. He told them things that He told no one else.
It was all a process of preparation. Earthly seats of authority were so small in comparison to what the Lord had called them to do.
The Spirit had come to live in them. They were given words of life and were empowered to preach and teach. Their testimonies were complemented by signs and wonders. Remarkable healings and supernatural experiences came and went.
Still, it seems that the early church leaders became stuck in place, perhaps comfortable in Jerusalem. Yes, thousands had been converted there, but a region, an empire, and a whole wide world awaited them and His Witness.
Ruffled Feathers
The Lord, it seems, had to ruffle some feathers in order for this Jesus Movement to take full flight. Disturbance and distress forced the issue.
I think the Apostles seemed to see their roles as settled. They were to pray and to minister the Word.
The dispute over widow support mentioned in Acts 6 created an opportunity and brought a needed shift in focus. This situation also made room for men of giftedness and holy commitment to light the fire of mission.
Deacons – seven of them — were chosen and anointed for service by the hands of Peter, John, and others. And these deacons would serve to fuel the spread of the Gospel to the places where Jesus said it was to go.
Jesus could say of these men that they truly revealed what He intended when He called His followers to be “My witnesses.”
Stephen died with a vision of the Son in His glory in his eyes and prayers for his murderers on his lips. One of those seeing him perish was the brilliant and brutal rabbinical leader, Saul, who would come to be known as Paul.
Saul/Paul egged on the mob against Stephen. He watched over the attackers’ cloaks so their arms were free to fire the stones that felled the shining face of witness.
That scene never left Paul’s mind. At once, he led a parade of persecution. Jesus people were rounded up imprisoned and executed.
The effect of this furious opposition was to give feet to the Gospel. And those feet did run. “… They were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles.”
Taking Leave of Jerusalem
At this point, we are introduced to Philip. Stephen the deacon made history with his martyrdom. Philip the deacon left his mark on Christianity by being a man in motion.
Philip, one thrust into the service of the assembly because of the scourge of prejudice, manifested the open heart that Jesus revealed to His disciples and to the world. He was convinced that the Gospel was the Message for whosoever would choose to receive it.
The first step was this: Philip got out of town. He left Jerusalem and began to speak the Word in Samaria.
Samaria? Yes, Philip settled in the home of people counted as outcasts by the Jewish leaders. It proves to me that this man knew Jesus and the Son’s mission of inclusion, to make friends of publicans, sinners, and the ones counted out in society.
What did Philip do? He preached Christ. He witnessed and the Word won people. The signs that accompanied his messages sparked a wave of conversions. “And there was great joy in that city” (Acts 8:8).
What did Philip do? He preached Christ. He witnessed and the Word won people. Share on XThe power of the Truth and the Holy Spirit captivated people and sparked baptisms aplenty. Even the sorcerer Simon was transformed. He believed and was baptized. This magic man was counted as one of the great and powerful men, but the wondrous things of God had drawn him to higher things.
Simon’s story takes an interesting turn when Peter and John arrive to survey the situation. These Apostles noticed a need and so they laid hands on believers and demonstrated the full manifestation of the Spirit in them.
Something of Simon’s past life triggered him to seek this ability for himself. He offered Peter money for this power of the Spirit and got a sharp rebuke – this coming from a man who had felt rebuke from the One who saved him and commissioned him.
Peter said to the onetime sorcerer, “… Your heart is not right in the sight of God. … Repent therefore of this wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I perceive that you are in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity” (Acts 8:21-22).
Simon heard this and pleaded with Peter to pray for him. And I believe Peter did just that. And I believe Simon went forward in following Christ. Based on this story, the sin of “simony” came to the fore in the Middle Ages for many of the clergy in those days had paid money to gain their positions. This does injustice to the legacy of Philip.
The last words we read coming from Simon are the most telling: “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me” (Acts 8:24). Would God reject such a petition from any of us? I think not.
Simon remained a believer. To think otherwise runs contrary to the promise of our security in the Son.
Another Life Changed
Acts 8 closes with another missionary adventure of Philip the deacon, another incident that proved that the Gospel was to be shared with any anyone, everywhere.
The Spirit led him out to the Gaza road that ran between Judea and Egypt. There, in that desert place, Philip caught wind of an Ethiopian eunuch reading aloud from Isaiah 53.
This man, a government official in service of his queen, was coming back from his pilgrimage to Jerusalem. As a eunuch, and also a black African man, he was likely forbidden from entering the Temple. Perhaps feeling the sting of prejudice, as so many others had, he may have been quite discouraged. So he opened the Scriptures.
Philip ran to the eunuch’s chariot. He then taught this man about the reality of the One who “like a sheep He was led to the slaughter. … Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35). Soon the eunuch was baptized in some water by the side of the road.
The testimony of Jesus was all that this deacon needed to bring life to someone searching for God.
This is all that we need to be His witness.
The commission is our commission too. Don’t worry so much about how to be a witness. Just love Jesus and people will notice.
The Lord makes things happen for us. He brings people to us. Follow Him. Hear His Word. Talk about the Truth. There’s power in His Name. There’s power in me and you. It is wonder-working power.
Rest in God and be amazed.
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