What kind of power did God intend to give the Twelve and the believing Jews?
God intended the Twelve and believing Jews to receive Holy Spirit power for miracles, signs, and wonders—the same supernatural works that marked Jesus’ earthly ministry. That power would let them carry on where He left off and authenticate His Messiahship to Israel.
Les explains that after the Holy Spirit, the secret word is power. John the Baptist said that when Jesus would baptize the nation of Israel with or into the Holy Spirit, the purpose was to give them power. Les asks what kind of power God had in mind for the Twelve and for the believing Jews who would be coming along: it was power to carry on where Jesus left off. During His earthly ministry, miracles, signs, and wonders were highlighted almost every day, and their purpose was to prove who He was. Now that He has ascended and is commissioning these eleven men—with another to take Judas’ place—they are to continue what He had begun, even though the Messiah has been crucified and ascended and the nation is rejecting the Kingdom.