“And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.”
Acts 13:31 (NLT)
Paul says the risen Jesus “appeared… to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem,” and “they are now his witnesses.” That line grabbed me today because Jesus is intentional about who he appears to, what he entrusts to them, and how he prepares them to carry the gospel.
When I hear the word witness, I think about a courtroom. Witnesses must be sworn in. They commit under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If we are witnesses of Jesus Christ, then we do not get to edit the message. But to tell the truth, we have to know the truth first.
Paul lays out the good news clearly in 1 Corinthians 15: Christ died for our sins, he was buried, he was raised, then he appeared to witnesses. Then Paul says he was a witness “by the power of God’s grace working through him.” If I’m going to be a witness for Jesus, I can’t just know what He did. I have to receive what Jesus did, then be empowered to do it His way. That matters because Jesus told the original disciples to wait for “power from heaven” in Luke 24:49, and he promised in Acts 1:8 that the Holy Spirit would empower them to be witnesses everywhere. Holy Spirit is not only a part of the good news, it is fuel for the good news.
So here’s my challenge today: if my conversation avoids the good news, then I’m witnessing to something else. That could be sports, our success in business, politics, the latest trends, what’s going on in the news, our latest success, or our latest worry. Whatever is hogging our conversation, that’s the “truth” we’re telling people and witnessing to. I’m thankful Jesus’ blood washes me clean and his mercy is new every morning. Today I want to repent, change my witness, and go all in for the salvation message that’s been sent to us.