One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Acts 1:8. From the New Living Translation it reads:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Here’s what I like about it and why I consider it the biggest “but” in the Bible. Most courses that teach how to study the Bible say that the use of the word “but” is a connecting term of contrast. Whenever you come across it, you should take a little extra effort to see what is being contrasted.
The context is the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. He is about to be taken up to heaven but the disciples didn’t know that. They, having just seen the resurrection and His miraculous comeback, were thinking and asked, “Are you now going to restore the Kingdom?” They were still thinking that His purpose was setting up an earthly rule and to kick out the hated Roman’s from the promised land.
Jesus comes back and says, “That’s in the future and not the focus.” Then we come to the word “but” — Jesus says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes” with the result that the Gospel will go around the world.
Fast forward and what happens is these disciples who just a few weeks earlier were cowering in fear and who even now are focused on their little world would go on to help take Christ’s message of salvation to the then known world. Most died for their faith and we today live in gratitude for their fortitude.
What made the difference? The Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that is available to us today. If you want your life to be radically changed, let the Spirit do His work. You too can then experience the power of the biggest but in the Bible.