You Are Witnesses

Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God. Luke 24:44-53


The risen Lord now had the attention of the gathered disciples at Jerusalem. He had spoken to them, had shown them his body with its scars; He had eaten food in their presence. Now He had some important truths to impart, beginning with "this is what I've been trying to tell you about."

"All things" written about Me (The Messiah) in the Old Testament had to be fulfilled. Then He lectured them about the "all things," after opening their minds to comprehend what He had to teach. Even those who fervently believed in Him needed some spiritual help understanding these doctrines. That was before the universal indwelling of all believers by the Holy Spirit, Whose help we now have at all times. "It is written." There's that phrase again, always used by Jesus when teaching about Himself. No ad lib, no winging it, no guesswork, speculation, or "some says." This is what the Word says about Me. The Word, which is God, (John 1:1). The virgin birth, sinless life and perfect atonement of the Messiah has been accomplished. His suffering. His rising from the dead on the third day. Forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed to all the nations, but it all had to start at Jerusalem. ....to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Gentiles), Romans 1:16.

Next, this wonderful statement: "You are witnesses of these things." Not I want you to be, not I command you to be, not I expect you to be...."YOU ARE." We who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ ARE witnesses to what we believe about Him. Believers who love the Lord do not have to be coaxed or shamed or bribed or taught or even encouraged to be His witnesses. We cannot help ourselves. WE ARE. Humans invariably talk about what we know and what we love. If it is football or music or movies or books or our kids or our Lord Jesus Christ. That was true of the original apostles. After what they had seen and heard with Jesus, and now seeing Him alive, there would be no way to silence them about Who and What He is. They would need to stay together at Jerusalem, though, until the Holy Spirit descended to empower them.

Then it was time for His departure. They accompanied Him a ways, to Bethany, and there He lifted those unique hands and blessed them before He was lifted into heaven. They watched, worshipped, and returned to the city, where they continued to praise God in the temple while they awaited the promised power from God.