But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Christ calls them back to God's promise and their calling, the surest cure for the restlessness that rises from idleness or unbelief. They grasp at gifts of the Spirit before the Spirit has come upon them, like soldiers who abandon their post seeking ease in the inn; they must first labor before they triumph, and learn that His kingdom is not what they imagined.
AI summary
In Jerusalem Christ, by his angel, had appointed his disciples to meet him in Galilee; there he appointed them to meet him in Jerusalem again, such a day. Thus he would try their obedience, and it was found ready and cheerful; they came together, as he appointed them, to be the witnesses of his ascension, of which we have here an account. Observe, I.
Commenting on Acts 1:6-11
They sought a temporal kingdom and ease; Christ gives them instead the power of the Holy Ghost to preach, work miracles, and face afflictions with courage. Their business was not to inquire about restoring Israel's earthly throne, but to testify of a crucified Jesus as the only Saviour.
AI summary