Confusion and pain rule the day the minds of the disciples, but the love of Jesus compels him to not leave them alone and to promise to come back to them.
God created us in His image and commanded that our lives produce fruit. In an effort to obey His commands, we most often expend our energy trying to self-produce what only comes through abiding and resting in Christ.
Jesus calls his followers into a mission of “greater works.” This mission is characterized not by perfect obedience, but by the presence and power of Jesus, himself, through the person of the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 26, Paul is on trial. But more than giving a defense for himself, he is giving testimony to Christ. Paul's life is Christ. And he desires for his hearers that they too would know Christ as he does.
Gospel advancement comes only in the face of much opposition and requires a kind of love that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things.” Gospel love demands missional perseverance.
The gospel of Jesus Christ breaks down walls of prejudice and hostility, and ushers us into the hope and reality of one united people under the banner of peace.