You will be my witnesses — Jesus' last words before he left.
Jesus' final instruction to his followers. A power, a job, and a map — all in one sentence.
The episode in a glance.
- 01'Power' is the Greek dunamis — not raw force, but capability for the task.
- 02'Witnesses' is martyres — people who tell what they have seen.
- 03Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth — a widening circle.
- 04The mission moves outward; the gospel doesn't stay home.
Read along.
Right before Jesus ascended, he gave his disciples one last sentence: '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.'
'Power' here isn't political power or muscle. The Greek word is dunamis — capability, the ability to do what you've been asked to do. Jesus is saying: I'm not sending you out empty.
'Witnesses' is the word martyres — where we get 'martyr.' A witness is someone who tells what they've personally seen. Not a theory. An eyewitness account.
Then the map: Jerusalem first (right where you are), then Judea (your region), then Samaria (the place you'd rather skip), then the ends of the earth.
It's a widening circle, on purpose. The gospel doesn't stay local. It starts with the people in front of you and keeps moving outward until it reaches everyone.