LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
Witnesses (1)
God calls for witnesses. In every age and place, God has called for a testimony on earth of his will for mankind. John, the beloved disciple, bears witness to this both in his Gospel and in his letters. In chapter 5 of John’s Gospel, the Lord Jesus mentions five witnesses.
The first of these is John the Baptist. "John came as a witness" (John 1:7). John was the greatest of men born of a woman; yet his ministry was very brief, for he was but a voice crying out in the wilderness. He said: ‘Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.’ Once his testimony had been given, his voice fell silent.
The second ‘witness’ were the works that the Lord Jesus performed. "The works that I do bear witness to me" (John 5:36). Unbelieving eyes need to see in order to believe. The Jews were unbelievers, so the Lord performed works before them so that they might receive the testimony they needed. Yet they did not believe.
"The Father who sent me has also borne witness to me" (John 5:37), said the Lord. The Father bore witness at the river Jordan, when Jesus was baptised. Then He did so again, on the Mount of Transfiguration; later, He bore witness once again shortly before the Lord went to the cross. But His testimony was not received either.
Finally, Moses, in whom the Jews had placed their hope, bore witness. "He wrote about me," said Jesus. To the Jews, Moses was the greatest prophet. They considered themselves disciples of Moses. His word was utterly trustworthy. Yet the Jews could not discern, in the writings of Moses, the testimony that he was giving concerning Christ. Everything Moses wrote was filled with Christ: the tabernacle in all its details, the priesthood with its garments and ceremonies, the sacrifices, the Jewish feasts. To them, all of this was a mystery.
God has required witnesses, so that man may be without excuse at the hour of judgement. That is why "the gospel of the kingdom," said the Lord, "will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all the nations" (Matt. 24:14).
When the Lord gave His final instructions to the disciples before ascending into heaven, He said to them: "…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). When we read the book of Acts, we see how faithfully they obeyed this instruction. In the apostles’ preaching, their role as witnesses is repeatedly emphasised. "it is this Jesus whom God raised up, a fact that we are all witnesses to," Peter says at Pentecost (Acts 2:32). "…whom God has raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses," he says after healing the lame man at the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:15). At Cornelius’s house, he says it again: "And we are witnesses of all the things that Jesus did in the land of Judea and in Jerusalem…" (Acts 10:39). God has had witnesses; God seeks witnesses. Are you among them?