Read Acts 1:1-8.
At the beginning of the book of Acts, the disciples had been encouraged by seeing Jesus alive again after His death. In verse 3, Jesus had spent 40 days with them. Luke also says that Jesus presented Himself by “many convincing proofs” after His resurrection. What were those proofs? According to the Gospel accounts and Paul’s writing in I Corinthians 15, Jesus met with the disciples individually and in groups, He ate with them, He taught them, and He appeared to skeptics, like His brother James. These “many convincing proofs” helped bolster their witness as those apostles and disciples moved out on mission around the known world.
But what about us? We didn’t see Jesus or place our hands in the holes in Jesus’s hands or side. We didn’t share a meal with Him. Yet, Jesus said that we are blessed even though we did not see and yet, we believed (John 20:29). What have we seen or witnessed? The Holy Spirit has worked in our lives, convicting us of sin and the truth of the Gospel. We experienced a change in heart and life when we placed our faith and trust in Christ. He has also moved in our lives as we follow Him and conviction when our choices were not conformed to His will. These things are centered on the reality of the living Jesus Christ. That is our message.
I think that we have established that God calls us, as believers, to be His disciples. He also calls us to be His witnesses. We bear witness to the resurrected Jesus Christ and what He has done in our lives. The question then becomes, are we prepared to plant a seed, water it, or harvest? Are we prepared to tell our story?
Mark Riser - Apologist 