You Will be my Martyrs

Recently we were preparing to study the book of Acts. I say preparing, because I believe it is important to gather as much background on the book before you actually start the Bible (word) study. Not only should we study the Bible's words, we should study the Bible's background, culture and setting. It all has relevancy to the final interpretation we seek- truth.

Naturally, one of (if not the) key verses is Acts 1:8.

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

I emphasized "witnesses," because I have always taken it to mean we should tell others about the Gospel message. Here's what I learned from Bangor's resident Bible Scholar, Gene Bragg: the root word (martys), here translated as "witnesses," means:

of uncertain affinity; a witness (literal [judicially] or figurative); by analogy a “martyr” :- martyr, record, witness. - Strong's Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

With that in mind, here it is again: "You will be my martyrs . . ." That puts a whole 'nother spin on our Christian responsibility, huh?!

Wow!

Here's how I see it: 1) When we become a Christian (Christ follower), we give up our life to follow Jesus. We become his slave (as Paul puts it). We give up our rights, our desires, our stuff (money, things), our goals in life- everything. We become martyrs for his cause. 2) Well, the obvious- we may very well be asked to give up our lives in the literal sense of the word. It shouldn't come as a surprise when we are persecuted. We should not even have to think about whether we could give up our lives or not if needed. The decision's already been made. It's a done deal.

Are you ready to become a martyr? If you're a Christian, it's your responsibility.