The Narrow Path Ministries

Hi Steve, I just wanted to get your (or anybody else's ) thoughts on what Jesus also could've meant by "power" in response to the apostles' question.

Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"

And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

In fellowship tonight, one person suggested that in addition to the witness power that Jesus spoke of, He could also have been redirecting the apostles' misguided desire for power, e.g. the notion of natural Israel ruling the earth.

Perhaps Jesus saw into their intentions, realizing they equated Israelite rule with personal authority and power and Jesus says, "Yes, you will have power, but of a dfferent kind. The kind that will be used for God's glory, and the blessing of others."

I had not heard this suggestion (being hung up into eschatology and pneumatoly at this verse), but thought it was a good insight into what may be a soft jab by the Lord at the apostles.

Thoughts?

I know that Jesus, when asked a question would commonly re-direct the conversation in a new direction without answering others question(s) asked of Him. Jesus controlled the direction the conversation was going. So it's possible that the answer to the question was 'your not going to understand without future revelation, right now you need to worry about pentecost and nothing else.'

Just a thought.

I tend to agree with Sean. Jesus' mode of operation was not always to refute fallacious claims and questions, but rather He would sometimes shift the focus somewhere else that was more relevant and significant to His agenda.

However, Jesus did tell the apostles they would sit on 12 thrones in the regeneration (Matt 19:28 ). So it may not be entirely impossible that the disciples had this in mind at the time of their question, misunderstanding what the regeneration was.

On the other hand, Jesus elsewhere rebuked their efforts to jockey for position (Mark 10:35-45), so I would likewise expect a rebuke of this kind if there were a power hungry attitude going on here.

Either way, I think their understanding of the kingdom became much clearer on the day of Pentecost.