Scripture:
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Acts 1:6–11; 2:1–4; 2:36–41
Devotional Thought:
The disciples are still thinking small. Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? They want a political restoration, a national vindication. And Jesus gently but firmly redirects them: the kingdom’s scope is not a nation — it is the ends of the earth.
Stop looking at the sky. You’ll see me again. But right now, you have a job: be my witnesses. Jerusalem first. Then Judea. Then Samaria. Then everywhere.
Pentecost is the ignition. The same Spirit that hovered over the waters at creation, that breathed life into Adam, that brought the dry bones to life — descends on this small, frightened, expectant group of followers. And the first thing they do is speak — and people from every nation under heaven hear the gospel in their own language. The kingdom mission begins not with a strategy but with the Spirit.
Three thousand people respond in a single day. Not because of Peter’s rhetorical brilliance, but because the Spirit was moving and the word was proclaimed. The kingdom is proclaimed by Spirit-filled people speaking the word of God into the places where they live. It was true then. It is true now. The promise is still for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.
Reflection Questions:
1. Like the disciples, are there ways you are thinking too small about where God wants to take the kingdom through your life?
2. What does it mean for you to be a witness — not just someone who believes, but someone whose life and words testify to the risen Jesus?
Application:
Ask God today to fill you afresh with his Spirit for the purpose of witness. Then identify one “Jerusalem” in your life — one person or place that is right in front of you — and take one step of intentional witness toward them this week.