The Power to Witness

Acts 1:8                                

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and he shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.   

These are the last words Jesus Christ spoke to his disciples before he ascended into heaven. In his last words to his disciples, he promised them that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them (Acts 1:8).  Not only does he tell them they will receive power, but he also tells the disciples why they will receive power. The reason Christ gives for the disciples receiving the power from the Holy Spirit, is because power is what they would need to effectively witness to the world the gospel of Jesus Christ.    

This promise was so important that Jesus, commanded the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the baptism with the Holy Ghost. They were commanded to wait for the promise of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, and wait is exactly what they did. In Acts 1:8, we have observed Jesus’s promise of power to his disciples. However, the promise of witnessing power comes to fruition in Acts 2: 1-11, and it reads:   

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?  And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. (KJV)   

As we go about our mission to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, Scripture suggests that power from on high is essential to be effective witnesses. What better way to understand the necessity of witnessing power than to investigate the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was first poured out upon the saints as described in Acts 2:1-11. Before we began to examine this portion of the text, we should also take into consideration that the book of Acts is a letter that Luke the Physician wrote to a disciple named Theophilus to share with him an eyewitness account of the history of the apostles and the Early Church following the ascension of Jesus. In the very first verse of Acts chapter 2, Luke said, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”  In this verse, it is necessary for us to understand how the day of Pentecost was a part of God’s divine plan and his sovereign will. The word “Pentecost” comes from the Greek work “Pentekoste” which means fiftieth. According to Jewish Tradition, the Day of Pentecost is a part of the celebration of the Passover, in that the celebration of the Passover is not over until after Pentecost, the fiftieth day. On the day of Pentecost, the Jews would get together and celebrate the First fruits of the Harvest. So, what is the significance of the Day of Pentecost, and why was it a part of God’s divine will for his Spirit to first be poured out on the sons of men on this fiftieth day of the Passover Celebration? 

The Passover  

You see, the very first Passover took place in the land of ancient Egypt just before the judgment of God came upon all the firstborn of Egypt. God’s judgment came upon Egypt, because they enslaved and oppressed the children of God for four hundred and thirty years (see Ex. 3: 6-10). Moses and Joshua made several appeals to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, that he must let the children of Israel go to worship their God in the wilderness (Ex. 5: 1). With each of the appeals of Moses and Aaron, God showed signs, miracles, and judgment against Egypt.  

1. Moses’s rod turned into a serpent in the presence of Pharaoh, and Pharaoh would not let God’s people go (Ex. 7: 10-14). 

2. All the bodies of water in the land of Egypt were turned into blood (Ex. 7: 17-25). 

3. The land of Egypt was smitten with frog infestation (Ex. 8:6-11). 

4. The dust of Egypt was turned into lice, and Pharaoh’s heart was still hardened (8:16-19).  

5. God smote the land of Egypt with a grievous swarm of flies (Ex. 8: 24). 

6. God smote all the Egyptian cattle, horses, donkeys, and sheep with disease and sickness, and all of the Egyptian cattle died the following morning. Pharaoh still refused to let the children of Israel go (Ex. 9:1-7). 

7. God rained down a grievous hail/fire storm in the land of Egypt. 

God carried out all these judgments against the land of Egypt, and Pharaoh still refused to let the children of Israel go. This is the moment in history, where God carries out his judgment upon all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. Why did God kill all the firstborn sons of Egypt? He killed the sons of Egypt because Egypt enslaved his children.  Furthermore, the Egyptians also mandated the abortion of all the newborn baby boys of Israel. In Exodus 1:15-16, Moses tells us  that, “…the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other was Puah: And he said, When you do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.” When we consider how staunchly God was against this form of oppression and murder; when we view God’s response to said oppression, all Christians should advocate for the lives of unborn children and prisoners on death row, that their lives would be saved from abortion. We should speak out against gang violence, where the blood of black and brown sons is spilled in the streets of America. As a result of Egypt’s sins against the sons of Israel, God’s judgment upon Egypt was that all of their firstborns would die. On the other hand, this is also the moment in history when God first instituted the Passover, and it describes how the Passover was to be celebrated annually. In Exodus 12: 21-27, it is written: 

21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families and slaughter the Passoverlamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; but when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall keep this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever. 25 When you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall keep this rite. 26 And when your children say to you, what does this rite mean to you?’ 27 then you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord because He passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians but spared our homes.’” And the people bowed low and worshiped. (NASV) 

                In other words, the Jews celebrated the Passover, because it is the day when God spared their lives with the blood of a Passover lamb. Why is it significant for us to know the history of the Passover? It is significant for us to know the history of the Passover, because Jesus was crucified on the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. We Christians believe that Jesus was the Passover Lamb, because we know him to be the Messiah and Son of God. When John the Baptist beheld Jesus at his baptism, he cried, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn: 1:29). Approximately seven hundred years before John the Baptist declared Jesus as the Lamb of God, the prophet Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be crucified saying: 

1Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong: because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (KJV) 

            Jesus Christ was the Passover Lamb. He is the Lamb of God who was slain for the sin of the world. Notice how the prophet Isaiah says, “He shall see of the travail of his soul an offering for sin, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many” (Is. 53:11). Why did Isaiah say “many” and not “all?” The reason why Isaiah said that the Messiah will justify many is because he knows God to be a covenant God, and God knows that not all will live by this new covenant that he offers us through Jesus Christ. Jesus was a Jew, and the Jews did not even accept him. The apostle John wrote that “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (Jn. 1:11). So, God knows that many will not accept the new covenant that he offers to us through Jesus Christ, and it is indeed a covenant that he offers us through Jesus Christ. Jesus said so himself during the Passover meal.  

Holy Communion with a Covenant God 

Before Jesus’s crucifixion, he celebrated the Passover with his disciple, and it was during the Passover meal that Jesus instituted what we know as Holy Communion, the Eucharist, or the Lord’s Supper. When Jesus instituted Holy Communion, the bible said that he “took the bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and he tells them of the new covenant saying, “Take, eat; this is my body” (Mt. 26:26). Then, the bible said that “He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it: For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” Mt. 26:27-28). The word testament simply means covenant, and in this covenant, one must believe that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. In this covenant, one must also believe that his blood was shed and that his life was given so that those who continually believe in him would be forgiven of their sins” (Rm. 10-9; Jn.3:19). God has always been a covenant God, and in every covenant, there is the shedding of blood.  

The covenants that most are familiar with is the covenant of marriage (Gn.2:21-24). There was the Edenic Covenant that is mentioned in the book of Genesis. (Gn. 2: 8-17). God made a covenant with Noah that he would never destroy all of mankind with water anymore and left the symbol of the rainbow as a sign of that covenant (Gn.9: 11-17). Among the Jews, there is the covenant of the circumcision that God made with Abraham (Gn: 17: 9-14). God also made covenants with Eve, Abraham, and David about a promised Seed (Gn: 3: 15; 17: 6-8).  In this message, we are learning about the covenant of the Passover Lamb in the book of Exodus (Ex. 12: 21-27). Then, Jesus left the New Covenant with his disciples (Mt. 26:26-28). God has always been a covenant God, and by covenant God I mean that God is a God who establishes covenants. It is the responsibility of the people to whom God offers his covenants to accept the covenants and abide by the covenants. As with all covenants, there are blessings to those who accept and abide by the covenant, and there are consequences and/or curses for those who reject and break the covenants. The New Covenant (New Testament) in Jesus’s blood is no different, in that those who accept and abide by the covenant receive the blessing of Holy Communion with God and the brethren. On the other hand, there are consequences to not accepting the New Testament in Jesus’s blood. In John 3:16, the apostle John wrote the words of Jesus when he said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This is arguably the most famous verse of all times, in that it describes the love and the mercy of God, but many times we overlook that Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection was extended to us as a covenant. The clause of this covenant is found in John 3, the passage where we look for his love and mercy. God is indeed a God of love and mercy, but he is also a God of justice. Let us consider verses that follow John 3:16, verses 17-19, and they read: 

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (KJV) 

In other words, all humans are guilty of sin and worthy of death, but because of his love he offers a covenant (Rom.3: 23; 1 Jn 1:18). In his covenant, he offered his only begotten son to take the punishment that was rightfully ours to bear. God’s only begotten son was and is holy and sinless, but he chose to bear the punishment of our sins. That is love, and if one rejects God’s loving covenant, it is not God who has not loved, but the one who has rejected his love is the one who is to be blamed for not loving a loving, merciful, and just covenant God.

Legalism or No?

Some may read this talk of covenant and the reality of blessings and curses as a form of legalism. Is it lawful? Of course! Is it legalism? God forbid. This concept of being faithful to the covenant causes many to feel restricted and even paralyzed by the fear of breaking the covenant. This feeling of restriction and paralysis comes from the guilt of knowing that no one is worthy and that no one is capable of abiding by the law of God perfectly, and this is true. The apostle John taught that, "All unrighteousness is sin" (1 Jn 5:17). The apostle James taught that, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." If we are honest with ourselves, we know that everyone, our selves included, have done things that we know are not right, and according to the apostle James and all the apostles, this is sin. That is why the apostle Paul was right in his reasoning when he resolved that, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3: 23). No one who has ever lived, besides Jesus Christ himself, has been able to keep the law of God perfectly, and no is capable of doing it now. This concept is devastating to many, even Christians who do not yet fully comprehended the grace they have received in the New Covenant. It is for this cause that many use the term legalism as a metaphorical sword to keep away the principle of accountability, which gives life to the mentality of "I don't have to listen anyone who attempts to hold me accountable for my actions regardless of how sincere their sentiments may be, because they are legalistic." We must understand that this is a harmful mentality to have, and it has always been an issue since the yesteryears of the Early Church. Because to deny the law is to deny the need for a savior. It is the law that teaches us that we are inherently sinners in need of a savior. Paul said, "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet." In other words, one does not know that lust is a sin unless there is a law that tells him that he should not what belongs to someone else. The law teaches us that the evil things we do are evil. When we examine ourselves against the rule of God's perfect law, we all can say that we are guilty. However, that is where God's New Covenant through Jesus Christ is offered to us. In Romans 3: 23-25, Paul tells us how the New Covenant works, saying, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by grace through the redemption of that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." Through the blood of Jesus our sins are washed away, and the wrath of God passes over us. 

It is for this cause, that we know Jesus to be the Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God, as described by John the Baptist (Jn. 1: 29). So, is the New Covenant and its principles legalism? No! However, it is lawful, in that Jesus became the atonement that takes away our sins, cleansing us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn.: 1:9). This is what Christ means when he tells his disciples that He did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law (Mat. 5: 17). He fulfilled the law, in that he became the Passover Lamb that saved us from the wrath of God that is revealed against all those who will not believe. Here's the thing. If Christ died for us, ransoming us from the wrath of God, one must conclude that all belongs to God. Specifically, all those who believe in Christ and accept the New Covenant in his blood, become his bride, his prized possession. Because of love, we are the bride that Christ died for (Rom. 5:9). On the other hand, because of love, we are the bride who should be faithful to Christ. Jesus says it like this, "If a man love me, he will keep my words" (Jn. 14-23). Therefore, the law we keep is not one that paralyzes us, but it liberates us to follow Christ and his words out of sheer love for him, and to be heartbroken when we fail him (see Jn. 14-23; Ps. 51:17). In doing this, the law is fulfilled. In doing this, the prophecy of Jeremiah is fulfilled that says, "“For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD: “I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (NASB). Therefore, the conversation about the new covenant and its principle of faith is not legalism, but it is covenant, even covenant because of love (Jn. 3: 16-18; 35-36) (Jn. 4: 23-24). 

Power on Pentecost

So, why did Jesus promise the disciples power to witness, and what is the significance of the power being given on the Day of Pentecost? Acts 1:8 lets us know that the power was given so that Jesus's disciples would be effective in their witness for him. One must conclude that witness for Christ must be powerful, in that the inherent nature of mankind is to reject God, the things of God, and even the very Christ (Ps. 51:5) (Ps.14: 2-3). But it is the power of the Holy Spirit that allows men to witness to sinful men in a way that would penetrate and convert their very souls. This is exactly what occurred in Acts chapter 2 when the Holy Ghost poured out on the disciples of Jesus. Eyewitnesses from different nations and languages saw and heard what took place on that first Pentecostal experience, and they claimed that they heard the disciples of Jesus speaking about the wonderful works of God in their own language (Acts 2:6). Following this demonstration of diverse testimonials of God's works, then was the apostle Peter preached the first Pentecostal message preached to those who looked on (Acts 2: 14-41). In that particular sermon, the apostle Peter preached:

14...Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this, and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is only the third hour of the day; 16 but this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel: 17'And it shall be in the last days, "God says, That I will pour our my Spirit upon all mankind; And your sons and your daughters will prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, and your old men will have dreams; 18 And even on my male and female servants I will pour out my Spirit in those days, And they will prophesy. 19 And I will display wonders in the sky above and sings on the earth below, blood, fire, and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. 21 And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a Man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and sings which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- 23 This Man; delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 24 But God raised Him from the dead, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. 25 For David says of Him, 'I saw the Lord continually before me, Because He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue was overjoyed: Moreover my flesh also will live in Hope; For You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with your presence.' Brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 So because he was a prophet and knew that God had sword to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. 32 It is this Jesus whom God raised up, a fact to which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore, since He has been exalted at the right hand of God, and has received the promise of the holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear. 34 For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: 'The Lord said unto my Lord 'Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.' 35 Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified."

37 Now when they heard this they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what are we to do?"

38 Peter said to them, "Repent, each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." 40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on urging them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!"

41 So, then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls (NASV).

      Peter's words must have been powerful, because he had just recently been filled with the Holy Ghost. The evidence suggests that the Holy Spirit empowered the witness of the disciples and the witness of the apostle Peter to such as degree that "three thousand souls" became disciples of Christ and were baptized that day. This brings us to our next question concerning the significance of the power being given on the Day of Pentecost. According to the article Jewish Roots of the Feast of Pentecost, the Feast of Pentecost, also known as Shavout, was first celebrated because it was the day when the law was first given to the Children of Israel, but Pentecost also became a day when the Children of Israel celebrated bringing the first fruits of the harvest to God as an offering. When the first fruits were brought to God, this was the completion of the seven weeks celebration of the Passover (Jews For Jesus, Robinson, 2021). From the day of the Passover Feast to the Day of Pentecost is 7 weeks and a day, which is fifty days. The word Pente is the Hebrew word for the number fifty, and that is why the Celebration of the First Fruits is also known as the Day of Pentecost, which is known in Western Christianity as Pentecost Sunday. It is interesting that the day of Pentecost became known as the day of First Fruits in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the Children of Israel celebrated bring the first fruits of the harvest of grain to God. In the New Covenant, also known as the New Testament, the day of Pentecost became the day when the First Fruits of the New Covenant was brought to God. The first fruits of the New Covenant are the souls who have believed in the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Passover Lamb. In order to have a first fruits, receiving the Holy Ghost and his power was and is absolutely essential for the ministers responsible for bringing the first fruits before the Lord. In James 1: 17-18, the apostle James taught that, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures." The Holy Spirit is that good and perfect gift from above that continually comes from the Father lights into the hearts of men who ask Him (Lk. 11:13). Because of the Passover Lamb, we have a New Covenant, even Holy Communion with God our Father. Because of the Holy Spirit and his power, the children of God can witness with the power that causes sinful men to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. After the Holy Spirit causes men to repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, he gives them the power to become the children of God (Jn. 1:12).

Let us pray,

Heavenly Father, thank you for you are sovereign. Your will is perfect, and you always work all things together for the good of them who love you and are called according to your purpose. You knew that we were without hope. So, you gave your son so that we could hope in him. Thank you for the sacrifice you made in giving your only begotten Son so that whosoever continually believes on him should not perish but have everlasting life. Because Jesus was the Passover Lamb, can now have Holy Communion with you and the brethren. Thank you for pouring out your Spirit on us so that we could hear the gospel and be saved. Also, thank you for the Holy Spirit who gives us power to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ. In Jesus name we pray, Amen