A Testifying Church

In the Name of Jesus, By the Power of the Spirit

This past Sunday was Pentecost Sunday. Therefore, it is more than appropriate to consider the famous Pentecost Sunday in Acts 2. In particular, let’s consider why we read about a church in Acts that lives in the name of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. To this end, I would like to write from the perspective of a witness, testifying about why the church is portrayed as Luke describes it in Acts 2. Afterwards, I’ll comment further on this text as a minister of the gospel. As I do, the passages of scripture I quote will come from the Common English Bible (2011). Additionally, before proceeding, you may want to read Acts 2:14-47.

Now that you’ve read Acts 2:14-47…

“Tell me more about your church,” Tim said, as we talked while eating dinner together.

“Sure,” I said, “It’s an amazing way of life that we have. We’re baptized believers who follow Jesus. We believe he’s the Messiah, which is why we refer to him as Jesus Christ. So we align ourselves with the apostolic teaching that we’ve been taught, which is about Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God. But we also have wonderful fellowship. So we are always breaking bread and praying together.”

“Wow,” Tim interjected, “that sounds terrific. Very biblical, you might say.”

“Well, we hope so.”

“Tim, I can tell you that we’re united on mission with God. There’s so much commonality and equality among us that those of us who have wealth are willing to even sell our properties and possessions to help our brothers and sisters when they’re in need. I don’t say that to brag but just because that’s how we live. We meet regularly to spend time praising God in worship and share meals with joy and fellowship. It’s one of the ways that we love God and our neighbors, which are the two great commands in the Torah that Jesus taught us about.”

“My, oh my,” Tim said, sounding surprised. “That’s just so wonderful.”

“It is,” I told Time. “The most fantastic thing is that even though everyone doesn’t like our community, our Lord just continues bringing people to us. ‘Adding them,’ so to speak,” to be saved just like us.”

“I’m sure, without seeing it for yourself, that it might seem difficult to believe everything I’m telling you. And there are probably a thousand ways that people can dismiss our way of life, saying it's too weird. After all, some people refer to us as radicals but I think they do that just so that they don’t have to consider the possibility that this might just be what God wants.”

“You know, Tim, I’ve heard many crafty arguments and strange excuses. I don’t waste arguing with people. I just keep sharing our testimony.”

“What’s that? What’s your testimony?,” Time asked.

“Well, I’m glad you asked,” I said to Tim. “In short, it’s about Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. You see, we learned a lot about the way Jesus lived… The way he extended grace to others and spoke the truth, the way he always had compassion on people, and pursued peace with others, all while showing mercy, doing justice, and living a holy life. Most importantly, Jesus was always faithful in loving God and his neighbors—even the ones who hated him. But that all ended with Jesus being killed. His enemies conspired to have him crucified. So he died and was buried.”

“Now ordinarily, the story of Jesus would end there but it doesn’t. You see, Jesus was raised from the dead. Tim, I know that might seem very far-fetched to believe but Jesus spent time with a lot of different people, showing them that he was really alive again.”

“Now, I never saw Jesus myself. In fact, once I tell you the rest of the story, you’ll see that I wasn’t always a fan of Jesus.”

“The rest of the story,” Tim asked.

“Well, there is more to the story,” I said. “After Jesus was raised, something else happened. It was on Pentecost. Things got really weird. It seemed like a severe thunderstorm was coming through but there were also these men who followed Jesus around as his apostles. They were speaking in everyone’s language.”

“One of those men, the one called Peter, stood up to speak. As he began speaking, he started quoting the Bible. He was quoting the prophet Joel, which was familiar to a lot of us. He reminded us that God had promised to pour out the Spirit on all people—both men and women.”

“Then… and Tim, this is where a lot of us were caught by surprise. This Peter… he began speaking about Jesus being raised from the dead after he was crucified. I know that I already mentioned to you about Jesus being raised but this is how most of our church heard about it for the first time. Peter said that God raised Jesus and exalted him as the Lord and Messiah.”

“Tim, my heart still races when I tell people about this because, as far as many of us were concerned, Jesus was just a radical. Most of us wrote Jesus off and wanted nothing to do with him. Some of our leaders, no doubt under pressure to keep our Jewish way of life in tact, convinced the Roman authorities to crucify Jesus.”

“Yeah, that’s what happened.

“Peter, the one speaking, blamed us as he told us how he and his other comrades had witnessed Jesus’s resurrection and how God exalted Jesus and poured out the Holy Spirit.”

“So, you’re telling me that you believe this,” asked Tim in an unsettled voice.

“Yes, Tim, I do.”

“I know it might sound crazy but I do believe. That’s what makes what I’m telling you so terrifying and amazing at the same time.

“You see, Tim, I was glad when they crucified Jesus. The last thing we needed was a radical causing more trouble with the Roman authorities. But I couldn’t deny what Peter was saying. He spoke with such conviction and fervor that there’s no way he could be making all this stuff up. Plus, he and his comrades… They’re just a bunch of Galileans. I know that doesn’t sound nice but I say that because they spoke with such power in everyone’s language. Galileans, mind you! I knew right then and there that the Holy Spirit was upon them, enabling them to speak.

“And Tim, that’s when I realized that Jesus was God’s Messiah and still is but also that we had rejected him. I was so terrified at that moment. It was as though we had spit in God’s face. This sense of dread came over us. It was just overwhelming, realizing that we had made ourselves enemies with God.”

“So what did you do?” asked Tim.

“Well, a bunch of us began asking what we could do. We weren’t thinking in terms of something we could do to appease God. We were just wondering if there was any possibility left for God’s mercy. That’s when Peter told us to repent… You know, change our minds about Jesus, realize that Jesus is now Lord, and submit our lives to Jesus. That’s why Peter also told us to be baptized in the name of Jesus, assuring us that God would forgive us of our sins and that we would receive the Spirit too.”

“So, one person stepped forward. Then another. And then another. And before you know it, about three thousand of us said “Yes to repentance and we were baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. And just like Peter said, God gave us all the Holy Spirit.”

“Tim, I guess what I’m trying to tell you is why our church is the way it is, why we're so committed to the apostolic teaching and each other, eating together, praying, and all the other stuff you have heard about us. We’re just trying to live our repentance and baptism every day, living in the name of Jesus by the Power of the Spirit.”

“Wow, that’s just so amazing to hear,” exclaimed Tim.

There was a short pause and then Tim asked me one more question, “Is there anything else you’d like to share with me, Luke?”

Now I can’t speak for what else Luke might say. I only hope I’ve accurately conveyed the word God speaks through this biblical text and then write about why it matters. What we need to understand is that Acts 2 wasn’t written as a weapon to wield in all of the doctrinal debates some Christians have sought to engage in. Some people will read what Luke says about Jesus and either ignore it or reject it. That’s their choice. What matters here is how those of us who believe Jesus is the crucified, resurrected, and exalted Lord and Messiah, who believe that God has poured out his Spirit, will respond. What must we do if we take Luke's account seriously?

Well, our response begins with repentance and baptism. According to Acts 2:38, we are told, “Change your hearts and lives. Each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The three thousand on that day didn’t argue or raise any objections. They believed that God had raised Jesus and exalted him as Lord and Messiah, so when they were told to repent and be baptized, that is what they did. It’s not rocket science. It’s just a matter of whether you want to obey God or not. The choice is yours. Choose wisely!

If we have already turned to God in repentance and surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ in baptism, great! But we still need to hear this summons to repentance and baptism again. You see, when Peter told the Jewish people to repent and be baptized, he wasn’t just talking about them having their sins forgiven. He also talked about being baptized in the name of Jesus and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. Those two statements align with what he preached. The two big claims Peter made in his message were that God was now pouring out his Spirit on all people and that God had exalted the crucified and resurrected Jesus as Lord and Messiah. Do you see the connection between his message and the summons to repentance and baptism?

Repentance and baptism are an initiation into a new way of life in which we live our lives in the name of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Repentance and baptism become, so to speak, our pledge to live as a community of disciples under the authority of Jesus, where the Holy Spirit leads us forward on mission with God. When we do, the result is a testifying church. We live as a community of disciples who embody the gospel in both a faithful and contextual manner in society.

The picture of the early church that Luke paints with words isn’t entirely prescriptive but it’s more than just descriptive. The second chapter of Acts should stir our imaginations for what our life as a church should be like if we take our repentance and baptism seriously. The communal life Luke imagines doesn’t mean we all must sell all our property and possessions but it does mean we should consider such a gesture if that’s what is necessary to care for those in need. After all, such charity is a way in which we bear witness to the good news of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God. That means our witness, always centered in Jesus Christ and oriented to the kingdom of God, is subversive.

Our subversive witness as disciples is intended to be a light that shines in contrast to the darkness of the world, which too often relishes in coercive power, exploitative economics, and discriminatory social policies. The point isn’t just a criticism of the world and its entrapment in darkness but an alternative vision that depicts what can be when people surrender to Jesus as the Lord and Messiah. That’s why it’s so important that we take our repentance and baptism as a commitment to an ongoing life of following Jesus. Repentance and baptism are our acceptance of God’s redemptive work, to enter into his salvation, as our pledge to live in the name of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. While our lives will vary as an expression, depending on the local contexts in which we embody the gospel, we will serve as a portrait that faithfully testifies to the good news of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God.