It is very interesting to note that there are ten different Greek words used in the New Testament that are translated as command or commanded. Some of these words carry a very different meaning than the one used in Acts 1:4. The following are several examples:

And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. (Matthew 15:35) The Greek word used here for commanded is “keleuo” which means to urge.

And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. (Matthew 21:6-7) The Greek word used here for commanded is “prostasso” which means to bid.

On the other hand, the Greek word used in Acts 1:4 is “paraggelio” which means to charge, declare, or command, which carries with it a much more forceful and authoritative nature. The following are some examples (besides Acts 1:4) of this Greek word being used in the New Testament:

(For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) (Luke 8:29)

And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; (Luke 9:21)

And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. (Acts 4:18)

What I want you to see here is that when Jesus commanded the disciples in Acts 1:4 to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father, it was not just an urging or bidding. It was not just a mere suggestion. It was an authoritative command! It was a “You must do this!!” He knew they would never make it through what they would face in the future without the power of the Holy Ghost.

That command of Jesus still stands today for all of us!!! Nothing has changed. In fact, we live in a world that is so full of demonic influence and craziness that we all need everything Jesus has for us. We need the power of the Holy Ghost and the only way you get that is to ask. That seems so simple but it requires laying down all our religious pride and asking Jesus for something we may have been told is of the devil. Maybe you were taught that all this passed away with the apostles. Well, all that is a lie! Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His promises are still active and available!!!

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:13)

(To Be Continued)