CLOUDED
by
EMOTION

When speaking of evangelism, many in the religious world use the word witness. If they go out to speak to strangers about the death of Jesus, or if they go door-to-door trying to teach people about the gospel, they may say they are witnessing for Jesus. However, that is not how the New Testament uses the word witness. In fact, that is not how we generally use the word either. Speaking to the apostles about their upcoming baptism with the Holy Spirit, Jesus told them:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. Acts 1:8

Later in this chapter, when a new apostle is being appointed to take Judas’ place, one of the qualifications of any man put forward was that he was an eyewitness of Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 1:22). Later, echoing Jesus’ promise, Peter would proclaim that both the apostles and the Holy Spirit were sent into the world to be Jesus’ witnesses (John 15:26–27 and Acts 5:32).

In other contexts, when we use the word witness, what do we mean? A witness is someone who was within the vicinity of an event that can testify to its truthfulness, having experienced it with his or her senses. The apostles were witnesses of the resurrected Jesus, as John explains:

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:1–3

John makes it clear. He was a witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul reminds the Christians of these events, and then he begins listing people that Jesus appeared to after His resurrection.

This fact speaks to many things, not the least of which is the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus. Even today, in our world of devices in our pockets capable of capturing any moment on video, courts of law still call eyewitnesses to the stand to establish truth.

God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. Acts 10:40–41

But what about us? We were not part of the select few to whom Jesus physically appeared, the first of which were the women who had come to the tomb. Jesus told Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed” (John 20:29).

Jesus says blessed are those who are not His witnesses, yet believe in Him based on the evidence and testimony of witnesses. What has Christ left for us? The witness of the apostles and the Holy Spirit, which has been preserved in the Scriptures.

Discussion Question: Why is it important for Christianity to be based on the evidence of eyewitnesses?

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Scripture quotations are taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation