Benny Nalkara, CMI

The verse, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth”(Acts 1:8), the mission commandment of Jesus is considered as the key verse of the Acts of the Apostles. The disciples of Jesus who misunderstood the Kingdom of God preached by Jesus tried to clarify their doubt after His resurrection by asking Him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom of Israel?” (Acts 1:6), thereby referring to their yearning for an apocalyptic or political kingdom in which they would have a glorious role to play. Jesus gave them a clear answer about their future role as His disciples: to be witnesses to the ends of the earth.

The word “witness” comes from the Greek word, martyria which literally means “testimony” or “witness.” The word “martyr” comes from this because often it is used in relation to suffering which is involved in bearing witness to one’s own faith even to the point of death. The more literally correct and holistic meaning the term would be, “the total representation of the one whose witness one claims to be.” It is to represent and reproduce the personality of the person. So by giving witness to Christ, a disciple of Jesus is representing Him totally. Generally, the term, “witness” refers to the legal or juridical usage. But here in the command of Jesus it has a much broader and comprehensive meaning.

We find that the new way of becoming witnesses is marked by a special personal note by prefixing, ‘my’ to ‘witnesses.’ Jesus made it clear that the witnessing of the disciples for Him is now going to enter into a realm of personal relationship from the realm of witnessing to the facts. The factual witnessing the disciples had experienced during the earthly ministry of Jesus has now to be transformed into a dynamic and personal witnessing, which they should share with others and enrich them. The disciples are asked to represent and re-present in their lives the personal qualities of Jesus. The value system and the world vision of Jesus is to be represented and re-presented through the words and deeds of the disciples.

The radicalized concepts of Jesus in the approach towards God, towards the world, the law, the marginalized, the poor, the outcasts, the sick and suffering, the women etc are to be represented and reproduced by the Christians in the act of witnessing. This witnessing dimension demands a focus on the concept of presence. Presence means reciprocity being with others and for others. The witnessing through representing and re-presenting Jesus should be done through this essential mission of being there in the world through the quality of life empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Acts of unconditional forgiveness, selfless service and life-giving stance for the truth of the Gospel are the ways in which we need to represent and re-present Jesus today.

In the mission commandment in Acts 1:8, Jesus stresses the coming and accompaniment of the power of the Holy Spirit in their mission. The word, power (dynamis) here points the human limitations and stresses the potentials and strengths of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit who was present in all the moments of the earthly life of Jesus and now works through the Risen Christ, will be there as an empowering presence in this witnessing mission of the disciples. This witnessing mission has a universal dimension too. It has to reach to the ends of the earth. In the biblical language, the expression, “to the ends of the earth” refers to Rome, the centre or end of the, then known world. Thus, it refers to the universal dimension of the witnessing through representing and re-presenting.

In our times which is marked by so many challenges like pluralism, factionalism, religious fundamentalism and fanaticism and all other socio-economic and political challenges, our call to be witness to Jesus Christ through representing and re-presenting Him is not an easy task. Our radical and dynamic personal witnessing to Christ through our presence should be a question of what we can make for others, rather should be about what we can become for others. The representing and re-presenting of Jesus Christ demand a total transformation too. One’s own ego and personal interests and agendas are to be replaced by “Christic interests” and values. The words of St Paul are to be echoed in the word and deeds of a Christian witness: “It’s no more I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). In this process we are not to be led by the powers of this world or our own powers but by the power of the Holy Spirit and only that will help us to transcend the spatial and temporal boundaries in the mission of witnessing.