But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 NIV
Jesus had just been crucified in Jerusalem for saying there is another way to live and to be saved. He was restating an ancient prophecy of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, given by, among others, Joel. (2:38ff)
Jesus saw it fitting that the witness of the Way, the Truth and the Life be first given to Jerusalem, a city that executed Him. Jerusalem would get one more chance of hearing that there is another way to live. That way is the way of Jesus.
That ancient city of David missed it then, it is still missing it today. Not much has changed, except in one important point. Then, Jerusalem had a faithful witness in the Church. Spirit filled Christians boldly confronted Jerusalem with her sinful ways and stubbornness. Like Jesus, they too were executed.
Today, many in the Christian community have conspired to give a different witness to Jerusalem. Theirs is to love Jerusalem, pray for her, and mobilize political, financial, moral, military along with every other conceivable support to strengthen the hand of those who would wrest Jerusalem, the city of David, from the hands of Jesus the Son of David.
In recent days, the state of Israel has continued to meet out violence to innocent people praying in East Jerusalem, leading to fatalities.
Jerusalem continues to cry out for a faithful Christian witness from around the world. Sadly, that Witness is captured by worldly powers. Thankfully a remnant of Christians in Jerusalem have issued an urgent plea. May we hid their call.
Rev Moss Ntlha
(General Secretary)