You Will Be My Witnesses: What Jesus Is Doing Today

Introduction

In early September, everything seems to start over from scratch: school resumes, vacations end, life finds its rhythm again. As in January, we ask ourselves questions. Which priority should change? What should we do differently this year? The Church asks the same questions: what is working, what needs to change, what is coming and what should we prepare for?

Jason Procopio, pastor of Église Connexion in Paris, acknowledges that these are good questions. But they are not the most important ones. The most important question is very simple: what is Jesus doing? That is exactly where the book of Acts begins, and it is the starting point of a five-week mini-series on chapters 1 and 2.

The book of Acts was written by Luke, a physician and co-worker of the apostle Paul, who gathered as many eyewitness accounts as possible of what Jesus did. It is, in a way, the Gospel of Luke, part two. But it does not tell what happened after Jesus finished his work: it tells how Jesus continues his work from heaven, through the Holy Spirit. When we plant a church, when we live out church life together, we are not creating anything for Jesus. We are being brought into something Jesus is already doing. From the first eleven verses, the pastor draws four truths about the Church.

Message Outline

1. We Have a Living Lord to Proclaim

• In verse 1, Luke speaks of "all that Jesus began both to do and to teach." The word "began" is very important. The Gospels tell what Jesus began to do; the book of Acts tells what he continues to do and to teach.
• We might get the impression that at the ascension, Jesus hands off the baton and leaves the responsibility for his ministry to the apostles. That is not what happens. Jesus went up to heaven, but he is not "sitting on a beach under an umbrella doing crossword puzzles." He is not retired. He continues what he had been doing from the beginning, simply in a different way.
• How? First through the witness of the apostles. These men do not bring a philosophy, a moral program, still less a political vision, nor touching stories about Jesus. They bring their own eyewitness testimony about a crucified and risen Lord.
• Verse 3: after his suffering, Jesus presented himself alive to his disciples and gave them many proofs over forty days, speaking about things concerning the kingdom of God. The Church's mission rests on an objective event, not on an idea or an ideology. Christ lived the sinless life we should have lived, he died for the sins of his people in our place, he rose physically from the dead. Jesus is alive today.
• The pastor confides that he is very aware of his limits: "I am not particularly innovative." But he does not need to be perfect. The Church does not need to invent a catchy message or pretend that everything is fine. It has something infinitely better: a true story to tell about a living Christ. The question is never "how do we make people want to come to church?" but always "how do we faithfully proclaim this reality?"

2. We Have a Power We Cannot Produce

• Verses 4 and 5: Jesus orders the apostles not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father promised, for "you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
• The apostles had just spent three years with Jesus, day and night. Even in a family, we do not spend that much time with someone. They heard his teaching, saw his miracles, saw his resurrection, received their commission. You would think they are ready. Jesus tells them: not yet. Why? Because knowing Christ is not enough.
• The Church's mission, to be disciples who live faithfully for Christ and who teach other disciples to do the same, is humanly impossible. We can organize, plan, preach, invite, lead Bible studies, improve our structures. But we cannot give sight to the spiritually blind, bring back to life those who are spiritually dead, lead someone to repentance, give faith, or change a heart of stone into a heart of flesh. Only God can.
• If you are a Christian, you already know this, because one day it happened to you: your eyes were opened, your heart changed, and you know very well that it was neither you nor anyone else who did it. God saves, through the gospel proclaimed in the power of his Spirit.
• Some Christians talk about the Holy Spirit as "that strange uncle who comes to family dinners and does magic tricks that sometimes fail." We never hesitate to talk about Jesus; we should not hesitate to talk about the Holy Spirit in the same way, because he is the Spirit of Christ. Without the Spirit, no Church, no salvation, no power in the gospel. The Word and the Spirit go together: the apostles proclaim Christ, and the Spirit opens hearts.
• The pastor remembers his very first sermon, about eighteen years ago, in a small church in Normandy. When he listened to the recording a few days later, he was ashamed: "it was truly awful." Yet people came to tell him that the message had helped them. It was clearly not thanks to him. The Spirit does his work through the faithful proclamation of the Word, despite all our shortcomings as speakers.

3. We Have a Mission Bigger Than Ourselves

• Verse 6: the apostles ask, "Lord, are you now restoring the kingdom to Israel?" This is what the Jews had been waiting for over centuries. Under Roman occupation, almost everyone interpreted the prophecies about the Messiah politically: he would drive out the occupier and restore the kingdom to Israel.
• Jesus wants to widen their vision, to make them see much bigger. Verse 8: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth." This verse is the table of contents of the book of Acts: the Spirit in chapter 2, Jerusalem in chapters 2 to 7, Judea and Samaria in chapters 8 to 12, the ends of the earth in chapters 13 to 28.
• Jesus chooses his words well. He does not say "you will be my marketing department, my sales team." He says "you will be my witnesses." A witness tells what he knows to be true. The apostles have a unique role as eyewitnesses of the resurrection; we do not have their apostolic function, but their testimony is preserved in Scripture, and the whole Church bears witness to the Christ they proclaimed.
• The Church's mission therefore involves speaking. The idea that we could simply show Christ through our lives is "absurd." Christian witness is much more than words, but never less than words. Our life and holiness should make the gospel credible, but at some point, we have to say who Jesus is and what he did. And for that, we have to go out.
• The natural tendency of every church is to turn inward: its members, its difficulties, its meetings, its needs. That is not bad, but it is incomplete. Jesus constantly pushes his Church outward.
• One form of this movement is the multiplication of churches. This Sunday is the sending service of Église Oberkampf, planted out of Connexion: a group of members is leaving the church to start a new one in the 11th arrondissement. "It's sad," the pastor admits. But the most effective way to reach different neighborhoods with the gospel is to plant churches there. People already walk past the storefront and stop. The trips to Togo and the sending of missionaries are part of the same movement.
• The other form goes through each person in the Church. We tend to look around and ask "who is coming to us?" That is a good question, but it is not the first. The first is: "whom has God sent us to?" Whom has God placed around me? Neighbors, colleagues, classmates, other parents at school, people met at the café or on the bus. The Church's mission always starts very close to home. The pastor admits he is "very bad at this": he is nearsighted and strangers scare him.
• "You will be my witnesses" is not a command, it is a promise. Jesus does not say "you will be well received." The apostles will be persecuted, imprisoned, and many will be martyred. Yet to the end of the book, "the word continued to spread." This should give us immense confidence, if we are motivated by the kingdom of God and not by our comfort. The future of the gospel does not depend on any particular church, large or tiny. It depends on Christ.

4. We Have a King Who Reigns and Will Return

• Verse 9: Jesus is lifted up before their eyes and a cloud takes him out of their sight. This is neither a metaphor nor a symbol: Jesus really went up to heaven. Where is he physically, in his body? "I have no idea. I can't wait to find out."
• In the Bible, God acts through real events in a way that gives them a meaning beyond themselves. When Jesus disappears into the cloud, it is not only his departure, it is his enthronement. In Scripture, the cloud is the image of God's presence and glory. It is as if God were saying: "What I promised about the Messiah has just been fulfilled."
• Jesus, the Son of God, is now seated at the right hand of God, where he received dominion and a kingdom. Daniel 7 and Psalm 110 are fulfilled. The ascension means that Jesus Christ reigns over this world, since his ascension and still today.
• The book of Acts is not the story of a vulnerable Church trying to keep the memory of Jesus alive. It is the story of Christ who reigns and who advances his gospel by his Spirit. So we do not enter a neighborhood, a building, a company wondering whether Jesus has authority there. Every street belongs to Christ. Every nation belongs to Christ. Every person will eventually bow the knee before Christ. We can proclaim it without shame, without complexes, without fear.
• Verses 10 and 11: two men in white clothing, angels, ask: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky?" It seems a rather "silly" question: who would not keep looking after seeing someone rise into the air? But the angels do not ask the question because they do not know the answer. They ask it to push the apostles into action.
• Jesus is coming back, and between his ascension and his return, there is work to do. The Christian reflex is not to try to flee this world with eyes fixed on heaven, but to faithfully bear witness to the gospel precisely because our King is returning. The Church's mission has an expiration date. One day, all Christians will have been gathered, all enemies defeated, and the kingdom will come in all its fullness. Until then, we have work to do.

5. Two Questions to Start the Year

• Acts 1 gives four convictions. A living Lord to proclaim: we must talk about Jesus. A power we cannot produce: we must pray for the Holy Spirit to act. A mission bigger than ourselves: we must look outward. A King who reigns and returns: we must move forward with courage and a certain urgency.
• These four convictions are not centered on us, but on Christ. The mission does not begin with "what extraordinary thing can this church accomplish this year?" It begins with: Jesus Christ is alive, Jesus Christ reigns, Jesus Christ is building his Church, and he has chosen to use ordinary Christians like us.
• Every Christian can therefore ask two very simple questions. First: whom has God placed in my life who does not know Christ? Second: what would it look like, for me, to witness to Jesus before this person?
• No need for a grand strategy. Many are waiting for training or the feeling of having reached a sufficient level of knowledge and maturity to talk about Jesus. We do not need that. We need a name, a relationship, prayer, hospitality, a conversation, an invitation, and the courage to simply talk about Christ.
• The Church in the book of Acts did not change the world through an extraordinary technique for attracting people. The risen Christ poured out his Spirit on ordinary believers, and those believers became witnesses. It is very simple, and it is how he still works today. So, what is Jesus doing today among us, and what will he do with us?

Key Takeaways

• The Gospels tell what Jesus began to do; Acts tells what he continues to do from heaven, by his Spirit. The Church is brought into what Jesus is already doing.
• Knowing Christ is not enough to accomplish his mission: it is humanly impossible. The Word and the Spirit go together, and it is the Spirit who opens hearts.
• To be a witness is to say what you know to be true. Christian witness is more than words, but never less than words.
• The ascension is Jesus' enthronement: every street, every nation, every person belongs to him. We can proclaim it without shame or fear.
• Between the ascension and Christ's return, there is work to do, and it starts very close to home.

Personal Application

1. At the start of this year, what questions are you asking about your church or your life? Did you start with "what is Jesus doing?"
2. Whom has God placed in your life who does not know Christ: a neighbor, a colleague, another parent at school, a family friend?
3. What would it concretely look like to witness to Jesus before this person this week: an invitation, a meal, a conversation?
4. Do you pray for the Holy Spirit to act, or do you count on your organization and your abilities?
5. In which area of your life do you still walk in wondering whether Jesus really has authority there?

Verses Cited

• Acts 1:1-11
• Acts 1:8
• Ezekiel 36:26
• Daniel 7:13-14
• Psalm 110:1
• Acts 12:24

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "Jesus began to do and to teach" mean in Acts 1:1?

For Jason Procopio, the word "began" is decisive. The Gospels tell what Jesus began to do and to teach. The book of Acts tells what he continues to do and to teach from heaven, through the Holy Spirit. The ascension is not a handing off of the baton to the apostles: Jesus continues his work, simply in a different way.

Why does Jesus ask the apostles to wait in Jerusalem?

The apostles had spent three years with Jesus, heard his teaching and seen him risen. Yet Jesus tells them to wait, because knowing Christ is not enough to accomplish his mission. This mission is humanly impossible: only God opens the eyes of the spiritually blind and changes a heart of stone into a heart of flesh. They needed the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

What does it mean to be a witness of Jesus according to Acts 1:8?

Jesus does not say "you will be my marketing department" but "you will be my witnesses." A witness tells what he knows to be true. The apostles were eyewitnesses of the resurrection; their testimony, inspired by the Spirit, is preserved in Scripture, and the whole Church today bears witness to the Christ they announced. This witness is more than words, but never less than words.