Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“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.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, April 7, 2024
by Madison Johnston, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: The most important thing about witness is that we never have to do it alone.
These are two very different texts about witness. The first takes place after Jesus’s death and resurrection, while the second takes place beforehand. The first is framed by abstract, philosophical questions about the end times, while the second is more tactical and instructional in nature. The first includes heavenly actors in white robes and an almost literal peek into heaven, while the second is based very much in the mundane—the dusty-floored houses of strangers. But these pieces of scripture are linked by two, fundamental claims about what witness to the good news of Jesus looks like.
Did you notice that Jesus is present and leading the conversation about witness in our passage from Acts and our passage from Mark? This is a simple but very important reminder for us as followers of Jesus today—that he is the ultimate source of the love we are called to share, and that the story of his life, death and resurrection is our true north. We tend to associate evangelism with the church, and while that isn’t problematic in and of itself, it can be good for us to recenter in Christ and Christ’s words more directly.
Did you notice, too, that Jesus only ever intended for his followers to witness in a posture of togetherness? In Acts, he instructs the apostles together so that they have an experience in common to reference as they continue in their work. Even after he ascends into heaven, Jesus inspires the apostles and their loved ones to find strength in numbers, congregating and praying together in the Upper Room. In Mark, Jesus also instructs the disciples together. Then, he sends them on their missions two by two so that they won’t have to face any uncertainty alone.
These texts have a lot to tell us about witness—that it takes intentionality and time and courage. That it entails some risk, and even more trust. That it won’t always seem to make sense to us in the bigger picture. That it can be rewarding beyond our imaginations. Most important of all, though, these texts combine to reinforce for us that in our journeys of witness, we will never be alone—we will have Christ and we will have each other as encouragement.
