Testimony of Jesus

The legal system is built upon the bedrock principle of the witnesses. The testimony of an eyewitness is critical in determining guilt or innocence, what is right or wrong. Testimonies are powerful.

Simon Greenleaf is the principle founder of the Harvard Law School established in 1817; making it the oldest continuously-operating law school in the nation. Between the years 1842 and 1853 the three volumes comprising his The Testimony of the Evangelists, Examined by the Rules of Evidence Administered in Courts of Justice were published. Greenleaf’s originally intent was to disprove the biblical testimony concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was certain that a careful examination of the internal witness of the Gospels would dispel all the myths at the heart of Christianity. But this legal scholar came to the conclusion that the witnesses were reliable, and that the resurrection did in fact happen.

Consider these testimonies from Scriptures:

John the Baptist

John 3:31-36 (New Living Translation)

³¹ “He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else.   ³² He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! ³³ Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. ³⁴ For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. ³⁵ The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. ³⁶ And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

Jesus  

John 5:31-36 (New Living Translation) 

        Witnesses to Jesus

³¹ “If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid. ³² But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true. ³³ In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. ³⁴ Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved. ³⁵ John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message. ³⁶ But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me.”

God the Father

1 John 5:9-13 (New Living Translation)

⁹ Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. ¹⁰ All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.

¹¹ And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

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Our Personal Testimony

All believers  have a testimony of Jesus – of what he has done in their lives!

Consider this passage from Psalms:

Psalm 105:1-6 (The Message)

Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name!
      Tell everyone you meet what he has done!
   Sing him songs, belt out hymns,
      translate his wonders into music!
   Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs,
      you who seek God. Live a happy life!
   Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works;
      be alert for signs of his presence.
   Remember the world of wonders he has made,
      his miracles, and the verdicts he’s rendered—
         O seed of Abraham, his servant,
         O child of Jacob, his chosen.

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I am excited to share this last bible passage because it stirs my spirit so with faith, hope and great boldness.

Revelation 12:10-11

10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens,

   “It has come at last—
      salvation and power
   and the Kingdom of our God,
      and the authority of his Christ.
   For the accuser of our brothers and sisters
      has been thrown down to earth—
   the one who accuses them
      before our God day and night.
11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
      and by their testimony.
   And they did not love their lives so much
      that they were afraid to die.”

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Let us then:

submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit,

be risk takers for the Kingdom of God,

declare our testimonies to everyone we meet as the Spirit leads us,

and see the might (dunamis) of the Lord displayed.

Glory to God!