Jesus was very clear with those who followed Him that as intimidating and impossible as it seemed—He would leave and they would carry on His mission. But they weren’t stranded; He told them that He would be with them to the end; that the Holy Spirit who had been with them—would now be in them—and He would give them awesome power. The disciples understood that Jesus’ call, Jesus’ promise, Jesus’ command, and Jesus’ power wasn’t just for them. They took Him seriously, engaged under very difficult circumstances—and they prevailed! But, the unfortunate part of history for followers of Jesus is that for centuries at a time people simply saw themselves as recipients of truth and grace from God’s servants—instead of servants of God and givers of grace and truth.
