Witnessing the breathe of world missions and evangelism

I want to discuss the importance of witnessing in missions and evangelism. I'm just letting my thoughts run where they will. I'm not intending to offend anyone.

The word witness in greek is μάρτυς (martys) which the word Martyr comes from in English. Consider this verse for a second here.

"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me [fn] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Also, a very key verse to me now mentions "For all the promises of God in Him [are] Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us." the word for "to the" comes from the greek word πρός (pros) which means "to the advantage of" it is to God's advantage that we witness of Him. Hallelujah!

Yes, very famous verse. This would conclude their meeting with Jesus, who had, over 40 days talked to them regarding the Kingdom of God, in his exalted body. Consider this. You have just witnessed the taking away, trial, crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and fellowship of the Messiah, and on one occasion he even says "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and [to] My God and your God.' "

He would be with them for another 40 days still. Why would he say something like this? when he did? and why does He commission them as His witnesses only to say "Go and wait in the upper room" True, the disciples are all afraid for their lives. One verse in my bible that stands out to me is in the previous chapter.

John 19:41,42 "Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation [Day], for the tomb was nearby."

What feast was going down at this time? What day was it?

John 12:1 "Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, [fn] whom He had raised from the dead."

John 12:12 "The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,"

John 13:1 "Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end."

John 18:28 "Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover."

So the feast was Passover, and the day was Passover day
The previous verse says "Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden"

For a moment, what does this sound like?

Song 4:16 [The Shulamite] Awake, O north [wind], And come, O south! Blow upon my garden, [That] its spices may flow out. Let my beloved come to his garden And eat its pleasant fruits.

In fact, it refers to Christ being the "first fruits" and in Psalm 16 says "For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence [is] fullness of joy; At Your right hand [are] pleasures forevermore." and again:

"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put [Him] to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see [His] seed, He shall prolong [His] days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, [fn] [and] be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors."

The first part of this verse in Song of Songs describes the Brides heart behavior saying "whatever you have, I will receive" the second describes her giving over her heart to Him. It is very pleasant and heart-warming to know that Christ being dead, raised from the dead, is very much at work in her heart. I can just imagine that the excitement in her mind over giving up everything to Him, she has faith that raises from the dead because of Her love. Oh wow I did say that! It's almost like in Esther, how she gives the King these lavish banquets, and bids him to hear her request (he actually asks the request of her, but she is inviting His presence into her request)

"It's impossible that the Holy Spirit would not illumine Jesus in any of the books of the bible"

I have to be of the opinion that when Jesus is talking with His disciples, He is somewhat "stalling" - because He is waiting for a certain date. Do you know what that date is? One might very well ask, "Why did Jesus leave it up to 40 days speaking to his disciples? wouldn't it have been more effective to leave straight away and let them have a 50 day prayer meeting? rather than 10?" My God no! This is fellowship with the Risen Christ, the Son of God, and his very presence is their witness. He actually had it in his mind before the creation of the world who would be His witnesses. He said in His heart "Fellas! I am giving you your witness, Go and spread it!" when he thought of His Son being raised from the dead! The other portion of His passion is this: that Jesus is who He says He is, but I have to add something. Because He loves us he saves us.

So being a witness is something very close to His heart. It would also make sense it is close to our hearts too. What ties us together. It says "If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--" He didn't choose you for any other reason than to live inside of you. I'm God's witness? Help! doesn't that sound right! exciting! The witness that comes from God, that has to be testified by more than one witness. All this to say that, like the Priests in Ezekiel's time, we have a testimony that comes from Jesus Christ. And the severity of that will not go away. It is most sweet but it is most bitter as well. And he holds us accountable to that witness and revelation we have.

You are my witnesses. It does not so "You will go witness" Let the fear of God grip you for the lost.