Knowing Jesus( Pt 2)

KNOWING JESUS THROUGH HIS WITNESSES

"The next day John was there again with two of his
disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said,
'Look, the Lamb of God!' When the two disciples
heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

"Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked,
'What do you want?'

"They said, 'Rabbi' (which means Teacher), 'where
are You staying?'

"'Come,' He replied, 'and you will see.' So they went
and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with
Him. It was about the tenth hour" (John 1:34-39).

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WITNESSES

A "witness" is one who tells what he sees and knows to be true. When he gives his report of the truth, he TESTIFIES or gives TESTIMONY. John the Baptizer was such a witness (John 1:7).

"I have seen," he said, "and I testify that this is the
Son of God" (John 1:34).

John, when he saw Jesus, told the people, "Look!" Thus they too became eyewitnesses. Two of John's followers wanted to know Jesus more fully. They were faced with the same problem that any ordinary person has. How does a common person come into the presence of a King?

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COME AND SEE

Since these two were followers of John, they knew John's great respect for the coming King. John was their leader, yet even he was not worthy to carry the shoes of the King (Matthew 3:11). Now, John had pointed to JESUS as that King. How could two ordinary men get close to this King? How could they come to know the high, exalted One of whom John spoke? (After all, have you ever met your nation's highest ruler?)

When they spoke to Jesus, He invited them to come to His place! "Come," He said, "and you will see." The memory of that invitation was so bright that they remembered exactly when it took place - the tenth hour. (If counted in the Jewish way this was at 4:00 P.M., and evening was coming.) So they spent the rest of that day with Jesus. This King wanted to talk with them. More than that, He was willing to let them stay with Him!

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THE OPENNESS OF JESUS

The first lesson the two disciples learned from Jesus was His openness. They were free to KNOW Him personally. He welcomed them. They could see Him, talk with Him, and be close to Him.

John the Baptizer was right about the high honor owed to Jesus. Yet Jesus' greatness did not isolate Him from His people. In this, He was different from most kings. He made Himself poor in earthly things (2 Corinthians 8:9). Sometimes He had no proper place to sleep (Luke 9:58). He was among the ordinary people. He welcomed all, whether great or small. Even children felt very welcome.

"People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him
touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw
this, He was indignant. He said to them, 'Let the little
children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom
of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone
who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child
will never enter it.' And He took the children in His arms,
put His hands on them and blessed them" (Mark 10:13-16).

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JESUS WAS COMPASSIONATE

Sinful people found Jesus friendly. He had no sin (John 8:46; Hebrews 4:15; 7:26). He taught them to "repent," to turn away from sin (Luke 13:3). Yet He made it very clear that He truly cared for them. He ate and drank with people known for their corrupt lives. He did the same for the government's tax officials, whom most people treated as enemies. Jesus became known as the "friend of tax-collectors and 'sinners' " (Luke 7:34). Jesus was among the people because of His concern and love for them. This explains why He spent so much time helping each one who came. He helped them, regardless of how great their problems. He helped them even when he was very busy with other important matters (Mark 1:21-34; 2:1-13; 5:21-43; 7:24-30; 10:46-52).

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TO BE WITH HIM

There is another important reason why Jesus worked so openly. The Christian faith would begin as a matter of public knowledge and public record. Since Jesus worked among the people, there were often many eyewitnesses to what He said and did. He had nothing to hide. As He said at His trial,

"I have spoken openly to the world...I said nothing in
secret. Why question Me? Ask those who heard Me. Surely
they know what I said" (John 18:20-21).

When the apostle Paul was later tried in a royal court, he said,

"The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak
freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped
his notice, because it was not done in a corner" (Acts 26:26).

In this Christianity is different from other faiths based on claims of hidden events, and personal ideas or feelings. Such faiths have no way to prove to others that they are true. From the beginning Christianity was a matter of public and historical record, and could be fully examined. Today one can still find out whether it is true or false. Indeed, it demands such study. Christians invite people to check for themselves, to examine the facts. "Come and you will see!"

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THE APOSTLES KNOW JESUS

One of the two disciples who met Jesus on that memorable day was named Andrew (John 1:40-42). He was the brother of Simon Peter. Their partners in the fishing business were Zebedee's sons, James and John (Luke 5:7-10). Jesus chose these four, and eight others, to serve as His special messengers or APOSTLES (Luke 6:12-16). One of the main duties of the apostles was to be WITH Jesus.

"He appointed twelve -- designating them apostles - that
they might be with Him and that He might send them out to
preach" (Mark 3:14).

Being "with Him" meant that they could watch him closely in good times and bad, happy times and sad, crowded times and lonely. They could see how He met every new challenge and trial. Many people are afraid to let others get close. Why? Closeness reveals one's faults. Yet Jesus invited others to be near. By watching, listening and sharing in His life, the apostles could KNOW His true character. They could also learn how to become like Him. With the help of the Holy Spirit, they would carry on Jesus' work after He left. They would be the Spirit's way for others to come to know Jesus. Jesus made this clear in one of His prayers for the apostles.

"My prayer is not for them alone (the first disciples). I pray
also for those who will believe in Me through their message,
that all of them may be one..."(John 17:20-21).

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WITNESSES FOR CHRIST

How would people in later years believe in Christ?

"Through their message" (John 17:20).

That is, through the report of those first disciples, especially the apostles. ("Apostle" is like the word "ambassador." It means one who is sent with a special authority to pass on his leader's message.) Jesus gave to them the task of being witnesses, to testify to the truth about Him (Luke 24:48; Acts 10:39-41). Just before He sent them into the world, Jesus said,

"...You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

However, at the time when this was said (the first chapter of Acts), one of the twelve was missing. Judas had betrayed Jesus, and then had killed himself. Another had to be chosen to take his place. The importance of finding a real witness was shown by Simon Peter's words,

"Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have
been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out
among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when
Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a
witness with us of his resurrection" (Acts 1:21-22).

Yes, Jesus wanted the apostles to be "with Him" so that they could be true WITNESSES. They were in the best place to see and know the truth about Jesus. They were the kind of witnesses that any good court of law would welcome.

Jesus' witnesses were from ordinary positions in life. They had normal questions and doubts when they first heard about Jesus. Yet what they saw for themselves removed doubts and fears. The witnesses were many, coming from different backgrounds and interests. Like all witnesses, they stated their testimonies in different ways. Each spoke from his own viewpoint. When carefully compared these testimonies agree. There is nothing muddled or lacking. The apostles, and those closest to them, gave a full and clear report. They remained united, and true to this report, all of their lives. The collection of their reports and letters is called the New Testament.

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NOT FALSE

As the apostles spread the Good News about Jesus, they reminded the people that they were true witnesses. See the following verses.

Acts 2:32
Acts 3:15
Acts 4:33
Acts 5:32
Acts 10:39, 41
Acts 13:31

They were not ashamed to speak in the presence of others who had been there. When Peter re-told the facts about Jesus, he added,

"...as you yourselves know" (Acts 2:22).

Thousands in Jerusalem proved that they agreed with Peter (Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14). From the very beginning, the rapid spread of Christianity showed how many found the testimony to be true. Peter's enemies did not show faults in his testimony. All they could do was to try to stop him by threats (Acts 4, 5,12). Peter later wrote,

"We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told
you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty" (2 Peter 1:16).

Peter said this when he knew he would soon be killed (2 Peter 1:14; John 21:17-19). What reward could there have been in dying for lies? If Peter was not telling the truth of what he saw, what did he think he could gain? The apostles did not become rich (Acts 3:6; 1 Corinthians 4:11; 2 Corinthians 6:10). Instead of becoming famous they became infamous - they were hated by the world. They suffered great losses and hardships for their message (2 Corinthians 1:9; 6:1-10; 11:23-31). Paul wrote,

"It seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at
the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the
arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe...
Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the
refuse of the world" (1 Corinthians 4:9,13).

No, the apostles received no reward from this world, but only shame and pain. Why then did they keep telling the same story? For the simplest and best reason: They KNEW it was true. They had SEEN it with their own eyes. Their lives matched the honesty of their report. When threatened, they had to reply, "We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20).