Chapter 3

Christian Witnesses of Jehovah in the First Century

“YOU will be witnesses of me . . . to the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) With those parting words, Jesus commissioned his disciples to be witnesses. But witnesses of whom? “Witnesses of me,” said Jesus. Do these words mean that they were not to be witnesses of Jehovah? Far from it!

Actually, Jesus’ disciples were given an unprecedented privilege—that of being witnesses of both Jehovah and Jesus. As faithful Jews, Jesus’ early disciples were already witnesses of Jehovah. (Isa. 43:10-12) But now they were to witness also concerning Jesus’ vital role in sanctifying Jehovah’s name by means of His Messianic Kingdom. Their thus bearing witness to Jesus was with Jehovah’s glory in view. (Rom. 16:25-27; Phil. 2:9-11) They testified that Jehovah had not lied, that after more than 4,000 years he had at last raised up the long-promised Messiah, or Christ!

Christian witnesses of Jehovah in the first century were also given a unique responsibility—one that rests upon genuine Christians to this day.

“Go . . . Make Disciples”

After Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, he appeared to his disciples who had gathered at a mountain in Galilee. There, Jesus outlined their responsibility: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And, look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.” (Matt. 28:19, 20)

A responsible commission was thus conferred upon Christ’s followers, namely, to do a disciple-making work among all nations. To make disciples of Christ, though, they had to witness concerning Jehovah’s name and Kingdom, for that is what their Exemplar, Jesus, had done. (Luke 4:43; John 17:26) Those who accepted Christ’s teaching and became disciples thus became Christian witnesses of Jehovah. Becoming a witness of Jehovah was a matter no longer of birth—into the Jewish nation—but of choice. Those who became witnesses did so because they loved Jehovah and sincerely wanted to submit to his sovereign rule.—1 John 5:3.