The Time Jesus Told His Disciples Not to Obey the Great Commission
Chip Chambers // UGA Graduate
“Then [Jesus] said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 24:44-49
And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Acts 1:4–5
It’s the greatest rescue mission in all of human history.
Jesus has invaded creation and is launching the greatest military offensive the world has ever seen. The good news of His life, death, and resurrection has been moving out from Jerusalem since the first century. His kingdom is pushing back darkness, and one day it will finally culminate in all nations giving Him glory.
But none of this is surprising. It was prophesied all throughout the Old Testament, as Jesus points out in the passage above. He shows them that the Messiah was always supposed to be a suffering servant (Isaiah 53, Psalms 22) who was to die and rise again. The Gospel working out from Jerusalem isn’t plan B. It’s been plan A from the beginning of time (Revelation 13:8). God has provided a new hope, and His empire is striking back.
So, you would think, with such an important mission, time would be of the essence. If I were staging this invasion, I’d tell the disciples, “Get to work! Go! Stop hanging around Jerusalem! This is the most urgent message the world has ever known. Get to Cambodia, Norway, Argentina, and Algeria as quick as you can!”
But Jesus tells them not to go in v. 49 of Luke’s passage and the first part of Acts 1:4. He tells them not to leave the city… at least not yet.
It might seem like I’m harping on a minor point (with a click-bait article title), but this is actually quite important. When we read Scripture, we must beware of passing over the small details that don’t make sense. Ask the text questions, then let the text answer them.
So why did Jesus tell the disciples to stay in Jerusalem? Because they didn’t have the Holy Spirit yet.
Whoa.
So whoever this “Holy Spirit” is, He’s apparently central enough to the Great Commission that the mission can’t proceed without Him. The squadron is put in a holding formation until they’re fully equipped for battle. And this Holy Spirit isn’t just another solider in the fight; He’s the Commander-in-Chief, the Central Intelligence, and the Tomahawk missiles. We don’t move without Him. We dare not move without Him.
Have you been trying to accomplish the Great Commission without the Holy Spirit? Do you even know the Holy Spirit’s role in this fight? If not, I suggest you start figuring that out quick, because it looks like Jesus would advise locking yourself in the basement before trying to do this mission apart from the Spirit.
So, who is the Spirit, and what does He (not “it”) do? In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was always resting on people. Now, he resides in us (1 Corinthians 3:16). God’s presence has broken out of the temple, and He’s got an agenda.
The singular goal of the Holy Spirit is to shine a light on Jesus. John 15:26 tells us that the Holy Spirit’s mission is to testify about Jesus. In John 16:14, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will “glorify me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you.” He is like a floodlight on the cross. The point is never to stare at the floodlight, but rather to what it’s shining on.
He does this in a myriad of ways, which will be helpful for us to examine. Here are 10 ways the Spirit accomplishes the mission of glorifying Jesus.
The Holy Spirit…
Saves. The Jewish festival of Pentecost was the festival of the harvest, and when The Holy Spirit shows up on the scene, the first believers are brought in. It’s in the Holy Spirit’s DNA to regenerate souls.
“He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.” - Titus 3:4-6
Seals. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just leave us on our own once He saves us. He indwells us and secures us as His own. We aren’t going anywhere.
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” - Ephesians 1:13-14
Sanctifies. Nearly every time we see the “will of God” in Scripture, it’s about shaping our character. Only by the Holy Spirit can we kill sin (Romans 8:13), forsake our former patterns of living (Galatians 5:16-21) and start bearing new fruit as evidence of His work within us (Galatians 5:22-25).
“…God chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” - 2 Thessalonians 2:13
Specializes. There’s a lot of work to be done in this movement, so He has equipped some parts of the body for particular parts of the work. As JD Greear explains in his book Jesus Continued, a “calling” is just a specialization in an assignment given to all believers, conferring a particular effectiveness in a general responsibility.
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” - 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
Sensitizes us to sin, righteousness, and judgment. While the Holy Spirit is working corporately to specialize us, He also speaks to our hearts to convict us of sin, show us the path of righteousness, and remind us of the coming judgment. Let Him preach these to your heart today.
“I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” - John 16:7–11
Shouts “sons, not slaves!” I’m just going to leave this one here.
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” - Romans 8:14-16
Searches what’s on God’s mind and reveals it to us. The Holy Spirit doesn’t leave us guessing what God’s will is. He speaks it to us, giving our hearts a sense of the beauty of Christ and leading us to worship (Philippians 3:3).
“These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” - 1 Corinthians 2:10-11
Sends and strengthens. When Jesus gives the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), He promises presence alongside the command to go. In Acts 1:8, the power of the Holy Spirit and the mobilization of the Gospel are introduced simultaneously. Don’t try to access His power without being willing to go, but arguably more dangerous would be trying to go without His power.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” - Acts 1:8
Speaks for us. As we go, we can rest assured that the Holy Spirit will take care of the words that need to be spoken. Trust this as you proclaim the Gospel today.
“Do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit” - Mark 13:11
Supports. Jesus called the Spirit the “Paraclete,” which can be translated advocate, helper, counselor, or comforter. As the Church moves in obedience to the mission of God, the Holy Spirit steers the moving ship. Greear points out that the Spirit "makes the word come alive in us. He reminds us, explains it to us, shows us the beauty in it, empowers us to obey it.” The Spirit is stocked with the arsenal of Scripture, and He will explode it upon our hearts, stirring our joy and passion.
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” - Romans 8:26-27
I hope that these principles have clarified the work of the Holy Spirit in your life and led you to desire more of Him. John Piper says, “Without the Holy Spirit, we have no new birth, no confession of the lordship of Christ, no victory over sin, no progress in sanctification, no spiritual wisdom, no spiritual gifts, and no resurrection from the dead.” With Him, we have all these things.
We desperately need Him, and we dare not move without Him.
I close with one final quote from JD Greear’s book Jesus Continued, which I would highly commend (and have largely plagiarized here):
“The primary objective of God’s Spirit is to complete the mission. To know Him is to be devoted to that mission. Without Him, we cannot hope to succeed. With Him, we cannot fail."
“The primary objective of God’s Spirit is to complete the mission. To know Him is to be devoted to that mission. Without Him, we cannot hope to succeed. With Him, we cannot fail.”
Chip, a long-time Watkinsvillian and WFBCer, graduated from UGA in December, 2019 with degrees in biology and economics. He has served in Watkidsville and with the college teaching team while at Watkinsville, and plans to attend medical school in the fall of 2020 (James 4:15). He enjoys puns, watching Planet Earth, and has a passion for people’s heads and hearts to both be full with the knowledge of Jesus, which is both conceptual and experiential.
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