TIMELY TESTIMONY
I John 1.1-4
S: Incarnation
C: Eyewitness testimony
Th: I Love It When a Plan Comes Together
Pr: THE TESTIMONY ABOUT JESUS IS RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY.
CV: “We will clearly communicate the transforming truth of the Bible.”
Type: Inductive
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Trust the reliable eyewitness testimony.
• Embrace the scandal of the incarnation.
• Join the community and experience joy.
Version: ESV
RMBC 30 November 08 AM
INTRODUCTION:
Do any of you remember the TV series the A-Team?
It aired during the mid-1980s.
The setting for the A-Team is that they were a group of ex-United States Army Special Forces, working as soldiers of fortune while being on the run from the military for a "crime they didn’t commit".
Despite being thought of as mercenaries by the other characters, the A-Team always acted on the side of the good guys and helped the oppressed.
When an episode was coming to a close, and the A-Team was about to accomplish their goal, you would inevitably hear from Hannibal Smith, “I love it when a plan comes together.”
Well, that is our theme for our messages this Christmas season…
Theme: I love it when a plan comes together.
I must admit – I am fascinated on how the story of Christmas comes together.
I am fascinated on how credible it is, because it is a crazy, impossible story.
Over the next weeks, we are going to discuss this plan.
Today, we are going to understand the historicity of Jesus.
Next week, we are going to see that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures.
The following week, we will see that Jesus is deity, God with us.
I love it when a plan comes together.
Again, today I want us to understand that Jesus was not a figment of the imagination.
He is an historical figure.
Real people saw Jesus.
It is evident, because…
We have the testimony of eyewitnesses (I John 1.1-4).
Here is how it is described…
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life — the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us — that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
Who is speaking?
This is one of the twelve.
It is John, the son of Zebedee, the brother of James.
Together, James and John are known as “the Sons of Thunder.”
They did not get the name because they were quiet.
They were strong, vivacious fishermen that spoke what was on their mind.
Along with Peter, James and John formed Jesus’ inner circle.
This is the author.
And note what this author says…
John heard Jesus.
John was there to hear all of Jesus’ marvelous teachings.
John heard Jesus speak and explain the parables…the Good Samaritan…the Prodigal Son…the Sower…
John heard Jesus deliver the Sermon on the Mount.
John heard Jesus’ claim to deity.
He heard Jesus say…
“Before Abraham was, I AM”
“I AM the way and the truth and the life”
“I AM the good shepherd”
“I AM the light of the World”
“I AM the resurrection and the life.”
John heard Jesus…and…
John saw Jesus.
Imagine all that John saw.
The feeding of the 5000.
The healings of the paralyzed, the sick, the leprous, the demon possessed.
He saw Peter trying to walk to Jesus on the water.
He saw Jesus raise a boy from the dead and give him back to his mother.
He saw Jesus talk to a Samaritan woman, an unheard of practice at the time.
He saw Jesus forgive a woman caught in adultery.
He saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead after being in the tomb.
John saw Jesus…and…
John gazed upon Jesus.
John also saw things that made him stop and pause.
They made him think – really think.
He stopped and stared when he saw Jesus transfigured.
He said nothing when Jesus stood there with Moses and Elijah.
He stopped and stared when Jesus was crucified.
He was the only disciple at the foot of the cross, standing with Mary the mother of Jesus.
And he stopped and stared when he saw Jesus ascend into heaven and be hidden by the clouds.
John gazed upon Jesus…and…
John had felt Jesus.
Using his own hands, John had personally touched Jesus.
Being young guys, I am sure they had gently pushed each other, slapped each other on the back, and put their arms around each other.
Jesus was no phantom.
He had been real, physical, flesh and blood.
John knew.
He had experienced Him.
The New Testament writers all have connection with Jesus.
Peter, Paul, and John claim to be eyewitnesses.
Luke and the writer of Hebrews claim to be informed by eyewitnesses.
If you read some of those texts that I have put for further study, you will read the claims that are made.
In addition, we know that Matthew was an eyewitness, being one of the disciples.
Mark would claim to be informed by an eyewitness – Peter.
It is also likely he would have been a part of the entourage that followed Jesus when he was a young boy.
But here is the question…
Is this testimony reliable?
Can what we have in written form be counted on to be telling the truth?
Or did they make it up?
Could this have been a part of a conspiracy of some sort with other intentions in mind, such as overthrowing the Jewish hierarchy?
It is our contention today that the testimony of Jesus that is found in the New Testament is trustworthy and reliable.
Let me just barely scratch the surface of reasons why I believe that the New Testament is trustworthy and reliable.
First…
There are 84 facts in the last 16 chapters of Acts that have been confirmed by historical and archaeological research.
We are looking at the book of Acts today because it is written by Luke.
When he writes the gospel and then the first fifteen chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, he is an investigative and informed historian.
But in the second half the book, the pronouns change, and he is an eyewitness.
In the latter sixteen chapters of Acts, there are an incredible array of places, names, environmental conditions, and customs.
And we know that at least 84 of them are confirmed by research.
Here are just a few examples:
• The correct language in Lystra is identified.
• The proper term of politarchs is used of the magistrates in Thessalonica.
• The theater was the meeting place of the city of Ephesus.
• There is a right of appeal for Roman citizens that Paul uses before Festus.
• In Paul’s final voyage to Rome, the locations of Fair Havens and the neighboring site of Lasea are correct.
That is five – 79 to go!
There is amazing accuracy all throughout Luke’s writings.
In addition, in the gospel of Luke, he is very careful to name historical figures so that we have a correct timeframe of when Jesus was born.
Interestingly, all eleven historical figures named in the first three chapters of the gospel have been confirmed by non-Christian writers and/or archaeology.
I think it is fair to say that Luke did his job to be a reliable source.
Next is John.
Is he reliable?
Well, please note that…
There are 59 historical details in the gospel of John that demonstrate he is an eyewitness.
John’s gospel is written from a different perspective than Luke.
He is not as detailed as Luke is, but his details are precise, and are confirmed by non-Christian sources.
For example…
• The proper place of Jacob’s well.
• The ongoing hostility between the Jews and the Samaritans.
• The distance of fifteen stadia is precisely the distance from Bethany and Jerusalem
• The waving the palm branches was a common Jewish practice for celebrating military victories and welcoming national rulers.
• Caiaphas was the high priest at the time of Jesus’ death.
So John proves out also to be a reliable witness.
I think it is fair to say that John did his job to be an accurate reporter of his experiences with Jesus.
Note this as well…
There are at least 30 characters in the New Testament who have been confirmed by archaeology or non-Christian sources.
For example…
• Herod the Great
• John the Baptist
• Herodias
• Agrippa I and II
• Pilate
• Felix
• Gamaliel
These are all found in other histories or in archaeological finds.
Again, the New Testament shows its reliability.
But if you are still doubting, let me ask you a few more questions.
Like…
How can a collection of largely independent writing be such a cohesive whole?
The New Testament was written by nine different authors.
There exist multiple independent accounts.
It is written in a 20-50 year period.
The texts are written in various locations.
Yet, in spite of all these differences, the testament hangs together.
It works together to give a consistent message.
It tells us that Jesus was born to the virgin Mary, died on the cross, raised on the third day, ascended to heaven, and will come again.
The story stays the same in spite of all the different authors, etc.
I have another question for the skeptic…
Where is the historic corrective if the teaching was false?
The events of Christianity were not hidden.
The early church did not develop underground.
It was common knowledge.
So as the New Testament authors are writing at their different times from their different places, they wrote with confidence.
They appealed to the past.
They appealed to the known events that happened in Jerusalem to Jesus.
But, if it was not true, where was the corrective?
Where was the scroll that disputes their claims?
Apparently, it was not written.
The facts were well known, and they stood.
My final question I want to offer is…
Why would the New Testament writers endure persecution, torture and death?
It is the tradition of the church that Peter was crucified upside down because he did not consider himself worthy to be crucified like Jesus.
Every one of the original disciples, except John, died the life of the martyr.
If the story about Jesus was not true, does not it seem like common sense that the telling of the story would have broken down somewhere along the line, for who wants to die for a lie?
ILL Testimony (S)
Peter Kreeft:
Why would the apostles lie? If they lied, what was their motive, what did they get out of it? What they got out of it was misunderstanding, rejection, persecution, torture and martyrdom. Hardly a list of perks!
Does it make sense that they all would have been so delusional?
It does not.
You see, I love it when a plan comes together!
CHALLENGE:
ILL Testimony (S)
When Lee Strobel first met shy and soft-spoken Leo Carter, he was a seventeen-year-old veteran of Chicago’s grittiest neighborhood. His testimony had put three killers in prison. And he was still carrying a .38-caliber slug in his skull - a grisly reminder of a horrific saga that began when he witnessed Elijah Baptist gun down a local grocer.
Leo and a friend, Leslie Scott, were playing basketball when they saw Elijah, then a sixteen-year-old delinquent with thirty arrests on his rap sheet, slay Sam Blue outside his grocery store.
Leo had known the grocer since childhood. "When we didn’t have any food, he’d give us some," Leo explained to me in a quiet voice. "So when I went to the hospital and they said he was dead, I knew I’d have to testify about what I saw."
Eyewitness testimony is powerful. One of the most dramatic moments in a trial is when a witness describes in detail the crime that he or she saw and then points confidently toward the defendant as being the perpetrator. Elijah Baptist knew that the only way to avoid prison would be to somehow prevent Leo Carter and Leslie Scott from doing just that.
So Elijah and two of his pals went hunting. Soon they tracked down Leo and Leslie, who were walking down the street with Leo’s brother Henry, and they dragged all three at gunpoint to a darkened loading dock nearby.
"I like you," Elijah’s cousin said to Leo, "but I’ve got to do this." With that he pressed a pistol to the bridge of Leo’s nose and yanked the trigger.
The gun roared; the bullet penetrated at a slight angle, blinding Leo in his right eye and embedding in his head. When he crumbled to the ground, another shot was fired, this bullet lodging two inches from his spine.
As Leo watched from his sprawled position, pretending he was dead, he saw his sobbing brother and friend ruthlessly executed at close range. When Elijah and his gang fled, Leo crawled to safety.
Somehow, against all odds, Leo Carter lived. The bullet, too precarious to be removed, remained in his skull. Despite searing headaches that strong medication couldn’t dull, he became the sole eyewitness against Elijah Baptist at his trial for killing grocer Sam Blue. The jurors believed Leo, and Elijah was sentenced to eighty years in prison.
Again Leo was the only eyewitness to testify against Elijah and his two companions in the slayings of his brother and his friend. And once more his word was good enough to land the trio in prison for the rest of their lives.
Isn’t it interesting how powerful testimony is?
It is especially powerful when it is an eyewitness.
So let me encourage you to…
Trust the reliable eyewitness testimony.
I want to repeat that I John passage, but this time from the Message translation:
From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in — we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us. We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!
Did you notice the heart of what John says here?
“The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.”
This is incredible.
God becoming man.
This is the eyewitness testimony, that we need to…
Embrace the scandal of the incarnation.
He who existed from limitless eternity has entered time and space and taken up residence here on earth.
John called Him the Word, for the Word is the creative self-expression of God by which the universe was made.
This truth cannot be set aside.
It cannot be marginalized.
Jesus was born.
God came to earth as a baby.
He was born to a simple peasant teenager, who was still a virgin.
It is a scandal.
It is a scandal to embrace.
John does not want you to miss it.
So he encourages us to…
Join the community and experience joy.
For it is in koinonia – community that we find true joy.
We find full satisfaction and complete fulfillment.
It is the kind of life you don’t want to miss.
I love it when a plan comes together!
For Further Study: Luke 1.1-2; John 19.33-35, 20.24-30; Acts 2.32, 3.15, 4.18-20, 5.30-32, 10.39-40; I Corinthians 15.3-8; Hebrews 2.3-4; II Peter 1.16
BENEDICTION:
Don’t be afraid of the scandal of God coming to earth; it is reinforced by timely testimony that is trustworthy and reliable; embrace it and find the community and joy that you long for.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral:
Goettsche, Bruce Jesus, the Real Deal
Owens, David The Word of Life
Other:
Burge, Gary M. The Letters of John. The Niv Application Commentary, ed. Terry Muck. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996.
Geisler, Norman, and Frank Turek. I Don’t Have Enough to Be an Atheist. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004.
MacArthur, John F. 1-3 John. The Macarthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 2007.
Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence of Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: ZondervanPublishingHouse, 1998.
