Witnesses, Not Warriors--November 12, 2024
"After his suffering [Jesus] presented himself alive to [the disciples] by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.... 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'." [Acts 1:3, 6-8]
The text doesn't mention it, but some part of me is convinced that Jesus let out an audible sigh and smacked his own forehead in futility when his disciples asked the question.
This scene comes from the beginning of Luke's blockbuster sequel, which we call "The Acts of the Apostles," and takes place not only after the cross and empty tomb, but after a forty-day seminar Jesus had given his disciples about how God's way of saving the world was death and resurrection, not domination and retribution. They had not only seen the wonders and miracles from before the cross, but they had now heard Jesus teach extensively that he hadn't come to replace one empire with another, and they had seen his own risen body offered as evidence that the real enemy Jesus had come to defeat was death itself.
Now, as Jesus prepares to commission them and send them out into the world to announce that victory to the world once they are empowered by the Spirit, he gathers them up on a mountain. And that's when the disciples ask it: "Lord, is NOW the time when you're gonna set up your government and take the country back for God?"
And, as I say, Jesus' response suggests an unmentioned sigh of disappointment. Jesus' answer is not what the disciples were hoping for. They wanted an agenda for how they would take back power--and of course, put themselves in the best positions as Jesus' holy lieutenants. They wanted a timetable for enforcing their rule over the nation, which of course would also mean a fight against Caesar and his imperial armies to get them out of Judea. They wanted to hear Jesus' blueprint for consolidating their power, for taking the reins of government, and for punishing all those who had stood in their way--from the townspeople who had rejected Jesus to the Roman soldiers who had overseen Jesus' torture. They are ready for Jesus to unleash them, and for them to "take back" Judea for God, all with Jesus' blessing.
They are, in a word, disappointed. Jesus doesn't give them any of those things. He doesn't give them permission to take power from Herod or his lackeys. He doesn't give them authority to storm the praetorium and run Pontius Pilate out of town. He doesn't give them the green-light to start rounding up the ones who had collaborated with Rome, like the tax collectors, or to expel foreigners like Samaritans or Roman bureaucrats, from their turf. He doesn't even tell them that any of those things will ever happen. Rather he just says, "None of those things are your concern. Instead, I'm sending you out soon with power from the Holy Spirit to be my witnesses."
This would also be Jesus' turn to be disappointed. After all, how could Jesus have been any clearer that his purpose was not to take over for Herod in ruling like a tyrant? How could he have been any clearer that had not come to crown himself king, and that he wasn't coming to "take back" any country in the name of God, at least not the way his disciples heard that language? And how could these disciples, who had seen and heard him for years saying that his "kingdom" was not of this world and did not operate by the world's terms or rules of engagement, would now change course and decide that he wanted to set up a national government in God's name? How was resurrection from the dead not enough for them?
And yet, as disappointed as Jesus may well have been, he didn't give up on these guys. He didn't say, "Oh my goodness--you dummies are still so completely misguided about my purpose in the world that you were hoping for me to make myself head of state and put you all in positions of power, too? That's it--you're out!" He doesn't fire them, and neither does he call down fire from heaven upon them to punish them. Instead, he corrects them, and redirects them. He makes his own vision clear--not taking over the government or "taking our country back for God," because that's not how God does things, but rather they'll be witnesses of the victory God has already won in Jesus. And that's where they come in. The disciples still have a role to play, but as witnesses, not warriors. They are not here to fight a battle that is still in dispute; they are here to announce a victory that has already been won--by Jesus' death and resurrection. That's where we fit into Jesus' mission.
Understanding and accepting the difference between those two is a big deal. It's difficult for any of us to consider the possibility that we have misunderstood Jesus--that we have been wrong to conflate our wishes and agendas with his. And it's harder still, once Jesus says shown us that we have misunderstood him, to let go of our old paradigms and plans in order to take hold of Jesus' vision. It had to have been hard for the first disciples to stop and say, "Oh--we've had it wrong, all this time. Jesus never wanted us to take control of the government; WE projected that onto him. Now we see what he was trying to show us--his victory is over death itself." It is always hard for us to admit when we've gotten things wrong, especially about God.
Amazingly--and maybe this is the real wonder of the story of the early church--they do let Jesus redirect them. They are willing to be what Jesus calls them to be: witnesses who announce a truth that God has already accomplished, not warriors who fight a battle in God's name. And, as you know (because you are a part of the story, too, now), as witnesses, these disciples change the world. They are filled with the Spirit, and they begin a new adventure bringing the news and community of Jesus to people of all nations (not just Judea or Galilee, and not a restored "Israel-Judah"). They heal the sick, cast out evil spirits, raise the dead, and feed the hungry. And eventually somebody told somebody who told somebody who told it all to you, too, and you are a witness as well.
That's still where we find our place in this picture. Jesus is not looking for warriors; he is only looking for witnesses. He is never interested in seizing the reins of national power; he is always daring us to draw people from all nations into his Beloved Community. Jesus does not need us to fight a war (not even a culture war) for the cause of "godliness;" he seeks us to tell the world about the victory over death God has already won through him.
How would it change the way we face the world today if we let Jesus set the agenda this way, rather than trying to fit him into ours? How might we be changed ourselves by letting Jesus use us as witnesses rather than warriors--as servants rather than sovereigns?
Lord Jesus, correct us where we are misguided, and then use us as you will to be your witnesses in the world you love.
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