Power
Acts 1
“So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’”
This was the end. Yes, the end, the final words of Jesus as he was about to leave us and ascend to the Father. And, sorry to say, even now, after three years with Jesus, we just couldn’t seem to lay aside our deep-seated expectations of him. In short, we could not escape the hope that the long-awaited Messiah would upend the balance of power, defeat the hated Romans, and restore the glory of David’s kingdom. And our desire for such a warrior Messiah would not easily die.
Armenian Gospel Manuscript
1609
But as you no doubt know, Jesus was not that Messiah. Not even close. However, he could have been. Yes, he could and before I close this message from the past, I will explain that to you.
Jesus was not to blame for our misplaced hopes and dreams. It was all our fault. I mean, he never promised any sort of military campaign. Instead, he declared just the opposite: we were not to resist our enemies and we were commanded to even love them. He went so far as to also instruct us to actually pray for them.
And before I go any further, let me confess: I was in this crowd of followers and I too, had wondered when Jesus would fulfill what we thought was an ironclad prophecy. It seemed to many of us that it was high time for Jesus to do what our people had hoped for since the Romans marched into Jerusalem. After all, hadn’t Jesus been raised from the dead by our Father God? And as we asked, didn’t that make this a good time for him to take charge and restore the kingdom? If our God had the power to raise the dead, why couldn’t he defeat our hated enemies?
But how would he do it? Clearly, Jesus was no warrior. He was a teacher, a healer, and a champion of the oppressed and downtrodden. He taught love and forgiveness, and he submitted himself to the greatest injustice of all time, his trial and execution at the hands of our Jewish religious leaders and the Roman governor.
In short, Jesus truly fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah (Matthew 12):
“Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,
my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the gentiles.
He will not wrangle or cry aloud,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
He will not break a bruised reed
or quench a smoldering wick
until he brings justice to victory.
And in his name the gentiles will hope.”
So, what power could Jesus bring to the battle against our hated enemies? Where was his strength? How could he contend with the power of imperial Rome?
Yes, you must agree that it was all about power. Power is what was needed, and just the right kind. Might, military might. We needed a lion, not a lamb. After all, it would take a powerful leader to overcome the Roman army.
Why were we so desperate for a powerful Messiah? Don’t forget the history of our people, which included a litany of defeats. Yes, I’m sure you remember how the Egyptians enslaved us. But there was more: we were overrun by the Assyrians, exiled to Babylon, conquered by Alexander and most recently, defeated and occupied by the powerful Romans. We knew all about power and it seemed that we were always on the wrong side of it. You can understand our hunger for a strong leader who would match the power of our adversaries.
But where was the power of Jesus? Did he have any?
Yes, it turns out that he did. And although it was not the power that we lusted for, I propose to you that the power of Jesus was even stronger, yes, even more potent than military might.
How can that be?
You see, the power of Jesus was in his obedience to his father, our Yahweh God, the one creator God, the all-powerful God. As he told us, all he did and all he said was at the instruction of his father. And although he prayed for release, Jesus went to the cross in that obedience. So, you see, Jesus was a witness, a messenger to God’s people, teaching us and showing us with his very life how much God loves us. Through Jesus, God’s message to us, his people, was not one of matching power for power but was, instead, a message of love and mercy, a great tidal wave of healing love. You see, Jesus came to our world to heal, not to destroy.
And worldly power? Jesus spoke of it:
“So Jesus called them and said to them, ‘You know that among the gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.’” (Mark 10)
Then, you might ask: did Jesus drive out the hated Romans? No, he did not. But you know what? Eventually, they left us. Imperial Rome is no more; it didn’t endure. And while other powerful nations have come and gone over the centuries up until your time, what has, you might ask, remained constant? What has endured? What has survived the triumphs and tragedies of our people? What power can we hold onto that cannot be defeated?
Yes, it’s the power of love, as expressed in the teachings and the very life (and death) of Jesus. As Jesus told us, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12)
So, Jesus, even in your time, continues to draw all people to himself. People everywhere, yes, even people amid the ruined palaces of Rome.
But what about the “ruler of this world?” As I mentioned earlier, Jesus had a choice about power. Yes, he could have become a powerful ruler, an earthly king, one whose power could not be questioned.
In fact, he was tempted to employ such power, a power that would be unmatched in the world. The tempter wanted, in exchange, for Jesus to fall down and worship him, not our Yahweh God.
Jesus declined, choosing instead to employ the power of love, such a love that demanded that he lay down his life, to give everything he had in the expression of God’s love.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son.” (John 3)
Yes, Jesus was and is the messenger of God’s love for the world. And as nations rise and fall, God’s love is the only constant, the only power that will stand over all time. And the word of that love, the perfect expression of that love, is Jesus.
And where did that leave us in our first century hopes? Well, we had to give up our expectation that Jesus would restore the kingdom. It wasn’t easy. But the words of Jesus stuck with me:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Again, the power that Jesus promised was not military might. It was love and a fierce obedience to our Yahweh God, a power that came to us suddenly, at Pentecost. It was a passionate power that never dies, a power that passes down the generations, even to your time. And you, like we, must be “witnesses” to that power.
What power? The power of God’s fierce love for his children. Everything else, you see, is transient. Like the powerful Roman army, all else will pass away. Only God’s love remains. For all of eternity. And after all, what other power can match that?