“Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people. Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyreneans and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen, but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.” (Acts 6:8)
I grew up with the teachings of the Catholic faith. I knew the story of Jesus and His resurrection by heart. I know the story so well I have never stopped to question if the story was true or whether it was possible for a man to come back to life after death. These stories about Jesus had to start somewhere and had to be believed. While I was pondering this story of Stephen recently, it occurred to me what an overwhelming task the first Apostles faced! We Christians today believe in the resurrection because we believe in the Church that Jesus established, but would we believe if we were without our church? If I had been one of the Apostles, I would have been terrified to speak of what I knew simply because I would have felt I lacked the authority to speak of it.
In reality, the Apostles were also terrified and did not have authority until Jesus appeared to them and breathed the authority of the Spirit into them. Why did Jesus do this? Wouldn’t it have been easier to proclaim His resurrection Himself? Imagine if Jesus had entered Jerusalem in all His glory, showing His wounds and declaring He was who He said He was and that He had conquered death. That would have been such a sight to behold for all who were lucky enough to witness it, but the story would have ended there. Jesus selected His apostles as His messengers because He knew that these men would take what they saw and give life to the story through their words.
I heard a priest once say that people are fickle. They witness miracles everyday and still forget to remember the impact they had on their lives. I am an example of this: when I was diagnosed with diabetes, I was literally on my death bed. The only reason I am alive today is because God willed me to be. I am a true miracle. In the moment when I came to that revelation, my life was forever changed, but my first thought was, “I’m hungry, what will I have for dinner?” If Jesus had been His own witness of His resurrection, people would have forgotten to keep telling the story. Instead, these first Apostles were filled with the Spirit and brought Jesus to the world–another actual miracle.
Today, the world needs powerful witnesses again. As much as I fear speaking out against the mainstream beliefs of the world I live in, it needs to be reminded of the miracle that happened over 2,000 years ago, and that miracles still happen in front of our eyes every single day.
God is calling us to forsake our fickle ways and speak out. Even now, at this moment, the Holy Spirit prompted me to write this blog so that I can be a witness. There will always be fear when we take a step toward speaking the truth, but the Holy Spirit is with us. God is the Way, the Truth and the Life, but this can easily be overlooked. Witness every day to the miracles He presents to you in your life and these miracles will spread and transform the world.
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Originally published at Kitty in the City
Photo: Mosan Workshop, Wikimedia Commons / PD-US
