Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 1:8

"But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." — Acts 1:8 (ASV)

The mandate to witness stands as the theme for the whole of Acts. It comes directly from Jesus himself—in fact, it is his final and conclusive word to his disciples before his ascension. All that follows in Acts is the result of Jesus’ own intent and the fulfillment of his express word. This commission lays an obligation on all Christians and comes to us as a gift with a promise. It concerns a person, a power, and a program—the person of Jesus, on whose authority the church acts and who is the object of its witness; the power of the Holy Spirit, which is essential for the mission; and a program that begins at Jerusalem (cf. 2:42–8:3), moves out to “all Judea and Samaria” (cf. 8:4–12:24), and progresses until it finally reached the imperial capital city of Rome (12:25–28:31). The Christian church, according to Acts, is a missionary church that responds obediently to Jesus’ commission, acts on Jesus’ behalf in the extension of his ministry, focuses its proclamation of the kingdom of God in its witness to Jesus, is guided and empowered by the selfsame Spirit that directed and supported Jesus’ ministry, and follows a program whose guidelines for outreach have been set by Jesus himself.