Acts 1: “…but wait…”

The disciples did not have to wait.  They only had to wait if they wanted to be obedient.  Christ had already given them a mission.  In the last chapter of Luke, Christ told them to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins in his name.  They were to begin in Jerusalem and continue into all the nations.  From what we know about Peter, he had to be anxious to get started.  Many of us are like him.  When we have something to do, we do not want to wait, we want to jump right in and get to it.

Sometimes it is easy to say we are being obedient, when in truth we are being halfway obedient.  Could they not wait in Jerusalem, and still began to preach repentance in the name of Jesus?  I believe they must have considered it.  However, they did not give in to the temptation.  They understood that Jesus was telling them that they must put the beginning of their ministry on hold.  They were to wait before preaching, and before ministering.  Sometimes it is easy to believe we are ready when we are not.  After all, Christ had left and he would not be teaching them anything new.  They knew the gospel, and they wanted to share that good news.  However, Christ knew they were not ready, so he told them to wait.

Christ said wait, but he did not say do nothing.  Often we think of waiting as a time of total inactivity.  Christ did not want them to be inactive.  The book of Luke tells us that the disciples went each day to the temple and continued praising God.  While waiting, we watch TV, read books or sleep; praising God is a much better choice.

In obedience to Christ, they waited.  They knew if they went before Christ said go, their ministry would be a failure.  The same principle is still true today.  The church still has a mission; to succeed, we must be obedient to God’s time.