What made preachers out of peasants?

 
         I do not think the disciples fully realized what had happened in the resurrection. They had met with Jesus on numerous occasions during the 40 day interim between the resurrection and the ascension, yet they still had the mundane idea of an earthly kingdom. They asked, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). Jesus counters, “It is not for you to know” (v. 7.  I sometimes wonder if contemporary spokesmen for the details of the last days have read what Jesus has just said?). What is paramount for Jesus is the coming of the Holy Spirit to empower those who will be reaching out through the whole earth to proclaim the message of the resurrection (v. 8).
         The critical issue in telling the world that Jesus rose from the dead is the involvement of the Holy Spirit. Words may titillate, metaphors may clarify, but only the Spirit can breath life into the words. And there is a very good reason for this. The gospel is not words on a page or the rhetoric with which it is delivered, but the active presence of God himself in whatever medium is used. Apart from the Spirit it may be an interesting discussion of a spiritual idea, but it will never fulfill its role until the Spirit takes the words and uses them as a medium for the actual voice of God. Ultimately, he is the message, not the words about him.
         Jesus tells the disciples that the Holy Spirit will come upon them and that they will be empowered for their mission. They undoubtedly would have liked to discuss this crucial point, but “while they were looking on, (Jesus) was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (v. 9). This left the disciples standing there “gazing into heaven as he went” (v. 10). Imagine how they felt. They had left their work to follow this teacher from Nazareth, watched his miracles and heard his message. In time they acknowledged that he was the Son of God, but then things got out of order: Jesus was tried before the Roman governor, convicted, and crucified. Then, of all things, after three days he came back to life and kept meeting them on an irregular basis. Then he is taken up into the air and disappears. Two men in white tell them, “This Jesus . . . will come back in the same way you saw him go” (v. 11). Granted it was not easy to understand what was going on because nothing like this had ever happened before. However, they had seen the resurrected Jesus on various occasions and they knew that the promise of the Spirit was real and worthy of trust. So spreading the message was the only thing to do.
         The immediate response of the disciples was not a valiant display of confidence. Floored by the event, they were not quite sure how to go about it, but they went out proclaiming the message, and it has changed the world, thanks to the powerful work of the Holy Spirit.