After the risen Christ ascended back to the right hand of the Father, the disciples were instructed to return to Jerusalem—that hot mess of a city marked by all kinds of nasty divisions (class, education, theology, politics, ethnicity, etc.). It was also the place where Jesus was crucified by a corrupt religious establishment and a brutal pagan empire. It was a chaotic city not unlike our own culture in the 21^st century. God is calling his people to go back to their Jerusalem today to bear witness to Jesus by sharing his gospel, his good news. As uncomfortable as that may be, God's people have God's Spirit to do God's work.

Jesus himself summarized the good news like this: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17). God is pro-people, and the church must likewise be pro-people. We are not called to condemn the world through our own political opinions and judgmental attitudes, but to serve people’s needs as best we can while sharing the gospel so that all may have the opportunity to respond in faith.

Simply put, it’s time for God's people to go all-in with Jesus. People don’t want to hear sermons from a preacher in a suit, or long theological treatises; they want to hear what difference Jesus has made in a person’s life. So, believers go back to their Jerusalem as fully devoted followers of Christ. They do this not isolated as individuals but in the context of community—people who come together to follow Jesus, sharing all they have with those in need. And what everyone needs most is Jesus.