Daily text, Sunday, December 18. 2016

[Queen Esther]

You will be witnesses of me . . . to the most distant part of the earth.—Acts 1:8.

http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/dt/r1/lp-e/2016/12/18

Why did Jesus say: “You will be witnesses of me,” not of Jehovah? Jesus could have said the latter, but the ones whom he addressed were Israelites and as such were already witnesses of Jehovah. Now Jesus’ disciples would have to make known a new feature of Jehovah’s purpose—something far grander than Israel’s deliverances from slavery in Egypt and later from captivity in Babylon. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ provided the basis for freedom from the worst form of captivity, namely, slavery to sin and death. At Pentecost 33 C.E., Jesus’ newly anointed disciples made known to the people “the magnificent things of God,” and many who heard responded. Thus, from his Father’s right hand in heaven, Jesus began to see his name take on greater meaning as thousands repented and put faith in him as Jehovah’s means of salvation.—Acts 2:5, 11, 37-41. w14 7/15 4:5, 6