The Great Promise that Makes the Great Commission Possible

Text:  Acts 1:6-8

Focus: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”—Acts 1:8

We preacher-types like to put Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8 together, and for good reason. They go together! Here’s how our preaching on these two passages tends to go . . .

     1) The Great Commission in Matthew challenges us to “make disciples.” Three participles tell us how to make disciples: “going” (as you go, share the gospel); “baptizing” (bring new disciples into the life of the body of Christ); and “teaching” (grow these new disciples until they are making disciples). Or, as I once heard: make, mark, and mature.

     2) Then in Acts, Dr. Luke tells us where to make disciples: start in “Jerusalem” (right where you are), then in “Judea and Samaria” (the areas surrounding you and among those who are different or hard to reach), and “to the ends of the earth” (take Jesus to the nations). In fact, Acts 1:8 is a great outline for the rest of the book as the early church took the name of Jesus to Jerusalem (Acts 1-7), Judea and Samaria (Acts 8-12), and then to the world (Acts 13-28).

What an awesome task! At times even overwhelming. Because the greatest problem in our world is still lostness, we are still on the mission of the Great Commission. The problem with our preaching, however, is not in what we share, it is in what we miss as we share. Jesus provides two precious enabling promises in Acts 1:8. The first is fairly easy to see. Jesus said, “you will receive power.” It would come from the Holy Spirit. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus had promised that He would, “ask the Father to send another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). That promise would soon be fulfilled on Pentecost.

The second promise is a little tougher to see, but don’t miss it. Luke records a second “you will.” Jesus said, “You will be My witnesses.” But wait, isn’t that a statement of fact rather than a promise? I’m glad you asked. Time for a quick Greek lesson. The word “My” (‘mou’ in the Greek) implies both the objective and subjective genitive (doesn’t that just impress your socks off!). In other words, it carries the idea that we will both testify about Jesus AND testify with Jesus. We will not just be empowered by the Spirit as we make disciples; we will be accompanied by the Master as we do it!     

Too often we leave God’s people with the idea that Jesus gave us our marching orders, empowered us with the Spirit, and then turned us loose on the world. That misses the second promise of Christ’s sustaining presence when He said, “you will be MY witnesses.” His promise should not surprise us, though. In Matthew, Jesus followed the command to “make disciples” with His assurance, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). 

As He met in Acts 1 with His disciples one last time before ascending to heaven, Jesus not only reminded them of the Great Commission, He repeated the Great Promise that makes the Great Commission possible, “I am with you.”

Want some even better news??? In the closing moments of the New Testament, Jesus said: “Both the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ Let anyone who hears, say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17). Not only does the Spirit empower us (we are “the bride”), He testifies with us. Or, more accurately, we testify with Him. 

We have the Father’s plan, the Savior’s promised presence , and the Spirit’s power and participation. What more do we need? Find someone and invite them to “Come.”

“Because the greatest problem in our world is still lostness, we are still on the mission of the Great Commission.”