Stay. Wait. Then Go.

Many of us have misinterpreted the final words of Jesus here on this earth. 

For some reason, and maybe because it fits our need of an assignment of a practical position and direct duty, we think Jesus’ final words before His departure and ascension to heaven following His crucifixion and subsequent resurrection, were “go.”

We read it at the end of Matthew’s Gospel in chapter 28, verse 19, “Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”  He even continues a bit in verse 20 by saying, “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.”

And so much of our focus in on the “go.”
So much emphasis is placed upon the action steps… the moving forward.

But it wasn’t His last words.
“Go” was not the final command given to the students… the sons… the friends of Jesus Christ.

Take a look at Luke’s Gospel.  He’s known for giving more texture and exposing more details than the other Gospel books in our bible.
Luke 24:49 says this, “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as My Father promised.  But STAY here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”
We see it again in Acts, chapter 1. 
Jesus says, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift He promised, as I told you before.”  (referring to Luke 24:49 and John 16:26)

Ahh… and so have we confused the final instruction?

We say it’s “go”… but perhaps it’s “stay” and “wait.”

I envision the anxiousness of the disciples who had long misunderstood the Savior’s coming.  Just imagine the confusion He initiated with His answers of love to the issues of hate, His promise of persecution, and His order for restoration absent of retaliation.  They were expecting a punisher, and they got a Peacemaker.  They were looking for a warhorse and they got a Lamb.

And here… when they were most enthusiastic about service and eager to do the work in which they had been assigned… they were met with the task to stay. 

We have been given authority from on high.  This is without question.
The great commission remains intact: Go and make disciples.
But we cannot “go” until we first “stay” and “wait.”

The “go”, while essential and of the utmost necessity for Kingdom growth, must take a backseat to “staying” and “waiting.”
It is the “stay” and the “wait” that prepares us.

In Luke, chapter 9, we see Jesus giving His disciples authority and power, but here and now… at the closing up of His life on earth… He is giving them something they would need without the company of King Jesus by their side.

I can only consider what kind of difficulty it was for the friends of Jesus who had walked His missionary journey with Him for three and a half years to hear Him say, “It’s better for you that I go.”  (John 16:7)  It was completely opposite of what you might expect to hear from the one you were seeking to emulate.  The one you were learning everything you could from in order to continue His work upon his departure.

In our over-zealousness and our anxiousness to “go”, we miss the imperative requirement to “stay.”  We miss the crucial component of preparedness.  And in our haste, we supremely suppress our spiritual advancement, and dangerously misrepresent Jesus at the same time.

We have been given power from on high and we have been left with the gift of resurrection strength from our Jesus, but before we are equipped to “go”, we must take heed to “stay.”
The entire point of the “waiting” is that there’s something more.

The “go” - as important as it is, cannot be successfully executed until we “stay” and “wait” for the Holy Spirit to do the work in us that is necessary if we want to accurately display Jesus in the land of the living.

I know we’re so fixated on the “go.” 
And for good reason.
It’s fundamental to our Christian faith.
But what would it look like if before we went, we stayed?
What would it look like if instead of rushing out to speak our minds, and voice our opinions, and condemn sin in other people, we stayed and waited on the Holy Spirit to fill us with love that tears down barriers, mercy that goes the extra mile, forgiveness that restores nations, and peace that offers hope.

Our “go” might just be dependent on how long we “stay” and “wait” for the One who is outside of time and works all things out according to our good and His glory!

Stay.  Wait.  And then go.