The Witness (or Record) Of Jesus

I was told recently by a Christian minister that the infallible witness of the resurrection of Christ is the fact that the apostles touched him after he had risen from the dead. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life" (I Jn. 1:1). It’s true, they did physically touch Jesus after he had risen from the dead. Thomas even put his hand into the wound in his side, and felt the nail scars in his hands (Jn. 20:27). And as Peter stated, "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (II Pet. 1:16). So yes, this was proof positive to the apostles, and also to approximately five hundred others, according to the apostle Paul, that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead (I Cor. 15:6). So what I was informed of (and certainly not for the first time) was that we now have their record in the scriptures as positive proof that Jesus did rise from the dead. Well that’s all good and fine, but I’m just the type that has to know a thing for myself in order to be fully persuaded, especially about something that bears eternal weight. After all, the Bible says "that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (Jn. 3:16). I really need my own personal certainty of the matter, with those kind of stakes in the mix. And the truth is that God felt the same way, and provided a living, powerful witness for us to have as that certainty. As far as that goes, don’t we need some kind of certainty that Jesus even came here to begin with? I think so, and the Bible in fact says the same: "This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth" (I Jn. 5:6). So then, it is not the Bible that bears witness of Jesus coming to this world, but rather the Spirit of God. Or at least that is what the Bible tells us. So since the scripture says that "the Spirit is truth,” does that mean that the Bible is false? Of course not, it’s the Bible that tells us what the true witness is. But the point is, the Bible lets us know that we need to have something more than the Bible to let us assuredly know that Jesus indeed came to this world. That is unless the Bible is the Spirit of God. Come on now.

So since we’ve established this, let’s go back to the resurrection. Let’s see what Jesus said about what it would be that would bear witness of him (life, death, resurrection, and priesthood). “But when the Comforter is come, even the Spirit of truth that proceedeth from the Father, he will testify of me: and ye also shall bear witness" (Jn. 15:26,27). Now understand that the words ‘witness’ and ‘testify’ here are the exact same Greek word [mar-too-reh’-o ], so it’s just two ways to say the same thing. So even though the apostles saw and touched Jesus after he rose from the dead, they still needed tangible evidence once he ascended out of their sight on a cloud, that he did go back to heaven and become the high priest and mediator of the new covenant. After all, no one followed him to heaven, neither saw or touched him there. Jesus clearly stated that the evidence of these things would be the holy Ghost, which would be sent back from heaven to them. To these things agreed the apostle Paul: "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God… Whereof the holy Ghost also is a witness to us” (Heb. 10:12,15). But to bring this point home, let’s go back to I John 5 where we left off: “For if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God that he has testified of his Son. (what is the witness? The Spirit [remember?] - vs. 6). He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son" (I Jn. 5:9,10). The word ‘record’ here is also the same Greek word as ‘witness’ and ‘testify’ (mar-too-reh’-o - as in Jn. 15). So again we see definitively that it is the Spirit that is the witness, or record of Jesus, period [life, death, resurrection, and priesthood]. The Bible is not enough, nor the words of the apostles recorded therein: but rather we must receive the same witness of Jesus that they received from heaven, and that they also wrote about. The apostles specifically told us that God’s Spirit was and is the witness, or record, or testimony of Jesus Christ. And lest we define believing on Jesus of ourselves, Jesus made it clear what true believing would manifest: "He that believeth on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. [But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.]” (Jn. 7:38,39). So in conclusion, it is receiving, or being baptized with the holy Ghost with the sign of speaking in tongues; which is both the witness of our faith in Jesus, and also of his resurrection from the dead. Amen.