Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The disciples question and indeed their longing has been for the restoration of the kingdom. Three years spent with Jesus hearing him talk, “kingdom”. Watching him Live kingdom and bringing that same rule and reign and beauty into the lives of all who would receive it left them hoping for nothing else. They had given three years of their lives to see God’s kingdom restored. Then to have their hope crucified with their friend only for him to be alive and with them again. Yet still it seems they haven’t quite got it. They haven’t T this point quite apprehended whT it means for the kingdom of God to come on earth as it is in heaven. How often we miss the very thing God is doing how often we long for something and later realise God is doing something so much more. Jesus gives his disciples a glimpse of the more, ‘you will be my witnesses’. They have been sent by Jesus before (Luke 9:1-9 and Luke 10:1-24). But this time the remit is different and expansive. Their message and demonstration of the kingdom and its king is not just for the Israelites but it to move from Jerusalem through gentile territory to the very ends of the earth. So, while they may not have previously grasped the extent and reality of the kingdom they are about to. They will live and die in the power of the Holy Spirit to extend the borders and influencer of the kingdom.
Question
What are you waiting for? That question can go either way: An invitation to keep patiently trusting or am urging to get going. Which is it for you?
Prayer
God of every moment let me know your presence and your holy rhythm. Take me when and where you chose.
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