You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.
Jesus' final promise before ascending — and the birth of the church's mission.
The episode in a glance.
- 01The disciples were told to wait in Jerusalem.
- 02Power comes from the Spirit, not from training or personality.
- 03They would be witnesses — tellers of what they'd seen.
- 04The mission starts local and goes global.
Read along.
Acts 1:8 — '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.' This is Jesus' last words on earth before he ascends.
The disciples ask: is now the time you'll restore the kingdom? Jesus says: it's not for you to know the times. But you will receive power. That's the immediate promise. Not political power. Spiritual power. The power of the Holy Spirit.
And the result: 'you will be my witnesses.' Not lawyers. Not soldiers. Witnesses. People who tell what they've seen and heard. That's the calling. That's the mission. Tell the story of Jesus.
The geography is deliberate. Jerusalem — local. Judea and Samaria — regional, including the people you don't like. The end of the earth — global. The mission starts where you are and expands until it covers everywhere.
This verse is the blueprint for the church. Receive power. Be witnesses. Start local. Go global. And the fuel for all of it is the Holy Spirit. Without him, it's just human effort. With him, it's a movement.