“So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, ‘Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?'” (Acts 1:6 NLT)
It’s amazing to me that even after some 3 years following Jesus and hearing Him teach, the Apostles still didn’t get it.
They were still hoping for Jesus to lead a military/political uprising. They wanted Israel to be freed from Rome and restored as an independent kingdom. An understandable desire, perhaps. But that was not Jesus’ agenda.
Sometimes modern-day Christians don’t get it, either. We read the Word and somehow come away with it with justification for our own agendas. Like the Apostles, we need something more than to just read or hear the Word.
Read the rest of Acts and you’ll see what a huge difference the Holy Spirit makes in their lives. They finally get it. And not only do their agendas change, but they receive God’s power to live out Jesus’ agenda.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (
Acts 1:8 NLT)
We need the Holy Spirit, too.