The Acts of the Apostles
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 3: The Great Commission
See Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:1-11.
After the death of Christ the disciples were well-nigh
overcome by discouragement. Their Master had been rejected, condemned, and
crucified. The priests and rulers had declared scornfully, "He saved
others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the King of Israel, let Him now come
down from the cross, and we will believe Him." Matthew 27:42. The sun of
the disciples' hope had set, and night settled down upon their hearts. Often
they repeated the words, "We trusted that it had been He which should have
redeemed Israel." Luke 24:21. Lonely and sick at heart, they remembered
His words, "If they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in
the dry?" Luke 23:31. {AA
25.1}
Jesus had several times attempted to open the future to His
disciples, but they had not cared to think about what He said. Because of this
His death had come to them as a surprise; and afterward, as they reviewed the
past and saw the result of their unbelief, they were filled with sorrow. [26]
When Christ was crucified, they did not believe that He would rise. He had
stated plainly that He was to rise on the third day, but they were perplexed to
know what He meant. This lack of comprehension left them at the time of His
death in utter hopelessness. They were bitterly disappointed. Their faith did
not penetrate beyond the shadow that Satan had cast athwart their horizon. All
seemed vague and mysterious to them. If they had believed the Saviour's words,
how much sorrow they might have been spared! {AA 25.2}
Crushed by despondency, grief, and despair, the disciples
met together in the upper chamber, and closed and fastened the doors, fearing
that the fate of their beloved Teacher might be theirs. It was here that the
Saviour, after His resurrection, appeared to them. {AA 26.1}
For forty days Christ remained on the earth, preparing the
disciples for the work before them and explaining that which heretofore they
had been unable to comprehend. He spoke of the prophecies concerning His
advent, His rejection by the Jews, and His death, showing that every
specification of these prophecies had been fulfilled. He told them that they
were to regard this fulfillment of prophecy as an assurance of the power that
would attend them in their future labors. "Then opened He their
understanding," we read, "that they might understand the Scriptures,
and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer,
and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of
sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at
Jerusalem." [27] And He added, "Ye are
witnesses of these things." Luke 24:45-48. {AA 26.2}
During these days that Christ spent with His disciples, they
gained a new experience. As they heard their beloved Master explaining the
Scriptures in the light of all that had happened, their faith in Him was fully
established. They reached the place where they could say, "I know whom I
have believed." 2 Timothy 1:12. They began to realize the nature and
extent of their work, to see that they were to proclaim to the world the truths
entrusted to them. The events of Christ's life, His death and resurrection, the
prophecies pointing to these events, the mysteries of the plan of salvation,
the power of Jesus for the remission of sins—to all these things they
had been witnesses, and they were to make them known to the world. They were to
proclaim the gospel of peace and salvation through repentance and the power of
the Saviour. {AA 27.1}
Before ascending to heaven, Christ gave His disciples their
commission. He told them that they were to be the executors of the will in
which He bequeathed to the world the treasures of eternal life. You have been
witnesses of My life of sacrifice in behalf of the world, He said to them. You
have seen My labors for Israel. And although My people would not come to Me
that they might have life, although priests and rulers have done unto Me as
they listed, although they have rejected Me, they shall have still another
opportunity of accepting the Son of God. You have seen that all who come to Me
confessing their sins, I freely receive. [28] Him
that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. To you, My disciples, I commit
this message of mercy. It is to be given to both Jews and Gentiles—to
Israel, first, and then to all nations, tongues, and peoples. All who believe
are to be gathered into one church. {AA 27.2}
The gospel commission is the great missionary charter of
Christ's kingdom. The disciples were to work earnestly for souls, giving to all
the invitation of mercy. They were not to wait for the people to come to them;
they were to go to the people with their message. {AA 28.1}
The disciples were to carry their work forward in Christ's
name. Their every word and act was to fasten attention on His name, as
possessing that vital power by which sinners may be saved. Their faith was to
center in Him who is the source of mercy and power. In His name they were to
present their petitions to the Father, and they would receive answer. They were
to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Christ's
name was to be their watchword, their badge of distinction, their bond of union,
the authority for their course of action, and the source of their success.
Nothing was to be recognized in His kingdom that did not bear His name and
superscription. {AA 28.2}
When Christ said to the disciples, Go forth in My name to
gather into the church all who believe, He plainly set before them the
necessity of maintaining simplicity. The less ostentation and show, the greater
would be their influence for good. The disciples were to speak with the same
simplicity with which Christ had spoken. They were to [29] impress
upon their hearers the lessons He had taught them. {AA 28.3}
Christ did not tell His disciples that their work would be
easy. He showed them the vast confederacy of evil arrayed against them. They
would have to fight "against principalities, against powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places." Ephesians 6:12. But they would not be left to fight alone. He
assured them that He would be with them; and that if they would go forth in
faith, they should move under the shield of Omnipotence. He bade them be brave
and strong; for One mightier than angels would be in their ranks—the
General of the armies of heaven. He made full provision for the prosecution of
their work and took upon Himself the responsibility of its success. So long as
they obeyed His word, and worked in connection with Him, they could not fail.
Go to all nations, He bade them. Go to the farthest part of the habitable globe
and be assured that My presence will be with you even there. Labor in faith and
confidence; for the time will never come when I will forsake you. I will be
with you always, helping you to perform your duty, guiding, comforting,
sanctifying, sustaining you, giving you success in speaking words that shall
draw the attention of others to heaven. {AA 29.1}
Christ's sacrifice in behalf of man was full and complete.
The condition of the atonement had been fulfilled. The work for which He had
come to this world had been accomplished. He had won the kingdom. He had
wrested it from Satan and had become heir of all things. He was on His way [30]
to the throne of God, to be honored by the heavenly host. Clothed with
boundless authority, He gave His disciples their commission, "Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the
end." Matthew 28:19, 20. {AA 29.2}
Just before leaving His disciples, Christ once more plainly
stated the nature of His kingdom. He recalled to their remembrance things He
had previously told them regarding it. He declared that it was not His purpose
to establish in this world a temporal kingdom. He was not appointed to reign as
an earthly monarch on David's throne. When the disciples asked Him, "Lord,
wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" He answered,
"It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath
put in His own power." Acts 1:6, 7. It was not necessary for them to see
farther into the future than the revelations He had made enabled them to see.
Their work was to proclaim the gospel message. {AA 30.1}
Christ's visible presence was about to be withdrawn from the
disciples, but a new endowment of power was to be theirs. The Holy Spirit was
to be given them in its fullness, sealing them for their work.
"Behold," the Saviour said, "I send the promise of My Father
upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power
from on high." Luke 24:49. "For John truly baptized with [31]
water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence."
"Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and
ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1:5, 8. {AA 30.2}
The Saviour knew that no argument, however logical, would
melt hard hearts or break through the crust of worldliness and selfishness. He
knew that His disciples must receive the heavenly endowment; that the gospel
would be effective only as it was proclaimed by hearts made warm and lips made
eloquent by a living knowledge of Him who is the way, the truth, and the life.
The work committed to the disciples would require great efficiency; for the
tide of evil ran deep and strong against them. A vigilant, determined leader
was in command of the forces of darkness, and the followers of Christ could
battle for the right only through the help that God, by His Spirit, would give
them. {AA 31.1}
Christ told His disciples that they were to begin their work
at Jerusalem. That city had been the scene of His amazing sacrifice for the
human race. There, clad in the garb of humanity, He had walked and talked with
men, and few had discerned how near heaven came to earth. There He had been
condemned and crucified. In Jerusalem were many who secretly believed Jesus of
Nazareth to be the Messiah, and many who had been deceived by priests and
rulers. To these the gospel must be proclaimed. They were to be called to
repentance. The wonderful truth that [32] through
Christ alone could remission of sins be obtained, was to be made plain. And it
was while all Jerusalem was stirred by the thrilling events of the past few
weeks, that the preaching of the disciples would make the deepest impression. {AA 31.2}
During His ministry, Jesus had kept constantly before the
disciples the fact that they were to be one with Him in His work for the
recovery of the world from the slavery of sin. When He sent forth the Twelve
and afterward the Seventy, to proclaim the kingdom of God, He was teaching them
their duty to impart to others what He had made known to them. In all His work
He was training them for individual labor, to be extended as their numbers
increased, and eventually to reach to the uttermost parts of the earth. The
last lesson He gave His followers was that they held in trust for the world the
glad tidings of salvation. {AA
32.1}
When the time came for Christ to ascend to His Father, He
led the disciples out as far as Bethany. Here He paused, and they gathered
about Him. With hands outstretched in blessing, as if in assurance of His
protecting care, He slowly ascended from among them. "It came to pass, while
He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven."
Luke 24:51. {AA 32.2}
While the disciples were gazing upward to catch the last
glimpse of their ascending Lord, He was received into the rejoicing ranks of
heavenly angels. As these angels escorted Him to the courts above, they sang in
triumph, "Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises [33]
unto the Lord, to Him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens. . . .
Ascribe ye strength unto God: His excellency is over Israel, and His strength
is in the heavens." Psalm 68:32-34, margin. {AA 32.3}
The disciples were still looking earnestly toward heaven
when, "behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye
men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is
taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him
go into heaven." Acts 1:10, 11. {AA 33.1}
The promise of Christ's second coming was ever to be kept
fresh in the minds of His disciples. The same Jesus whom they had seen
ascending into heaven, would come again, to take to Himself those who here
below give themselves to His service. The same voice that had said to them,
"Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end," would bid them welcome
to His presence in the heavenly kingdom. {AA 33.2}
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As in the typical service the high priest laid aside his
pontifical robes and officiated in the white linen dress of an ordinary priest;
so Christ laid aside His royal robes and garbed Himself with humanity and
offered sacrifice, Himself the priest, Himself the victim. As the high priest,
after performing his service in the holy of holies, came forth to the waiting
congregation in his pontifical robes; so Christ will come the second time,
clothed in garments of whitest white, "so as no fuller on earth can white
them." Mark 9:3. He will come in His own glory, and in the glory of His
Father, and all the angelic host will escort Him on His way. [34]
{AA 33.3}
Thus will be fulfilled Christ's promise to His disciples,
"I will come again, and receive you unto Myself." John 14:3. Those
who have loved Him and waited for Him, He will crown with glory and honor and
immortality. The righteous dead will come forth from their graves, and those
who are alive will be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air. They
will hear the voice of Jesus, sweeter than any music that ever fell on mortal
ear, saying to them, Your warfare is accomplished. "Come, ye blessed of My
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
Matthew 25:34. {AA 34.1}
Well might the disciples rejoice in the hope of their Lord's
return. {AA 34.2}
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"Pentecost"
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