The Purpose of a Witness

So we see that all these passages  over the past few days have as their center the message of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, forgiveness in His name, and changed lives. We have even seen the whole story in the life of someone who thought he was following God when he set out to destroy this new and disruptive “Way.” Saul had heard the preaching. He had stood by and seen Stephen bear eloquent witness to God and His grace, yet he had refused to listen. There was nothing any disciple could do for Saul at this point. It was up to the Holy Spirit. Saul had to meet Jesus for himself.

When he did, he had a choice how to respond to that visitation. He could have picked himself up, dusted himself off , (hired a guide), and continued his rampage. But he didn’t. He started praying. And now that he was softened, God called some of His disciples to talk to Saul. Judas took him in. Ananias touched him and brought God’s comfort, healing, and commission to him. The group kept him with them, no doubt told him their stories, and were the first to hear his. Now that Saul (now Paul) knew about repentance by personal experience, now that he understood changed life, now that he was forgiven (a miracle he never got over), now he turned around (the literal translation of “repented”) and began spreading the news he’d learned.

What is the goal of a faithful witness? By definition, a witness simply tells the truth. It isn’t the witness’s business to convince or convict. Legally, that’s the lawyer’s job. Spiritually, it’s the Holy Spirit’s job. In these stories, the main task of witnesses seems to be to tell stories. Not hearsay stories, but ones the witness has seen with his or her own eyes. The early Christians told the story of Jesus, especially the last week of His life. They might say sadly, “I was one of the ones shouting at Him, cursing Him.” Then, through their tears, they could glow with the joy of being able to say, “He forgave me! He loves me! It’s unbelievable!” Paul could and did say, “I am the chief of sinners. I used to kill people for believing in Jesus! But thanks be to God, Jesus delivered me from this body of death!”

Witnesses also answered questions. Jesus said, “You were with me from the beginning.” His closest friends could say, “Yes, He really did say He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We didn’t understand it. I’m not sure I do now! But my life is different.” James or John could answer the question, “I get so angry! What can I do about my bad temper?”

Peter could answer someone who wanted to know, “How can I keep from getting cowardly and running away from trials?”

If somebody was curious about how to believe without seeing, he could ask Thomas. And surely the new converts wondered, “Since He’s gone now, how can I know Him?” Then the Christians could explain about the Holy Spirit. The thing is, they didn’t stop with explaining about the Holy Spirit. Those who were with Jesus on His last night could say a lot about that subject. They could list knowledgeably, “convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment.” (John 16:8) They could expound on the Spirit manifesting Jesus to the world. It was such an exciting subject that they probably did talk a lot about it. But then they’d say, “You can have the Holy Spirit living in you, too! Shall we ask Him?” They’d pray there and then—we have lots of

stories showing that.

You can’t pass on your faith, not even to your children. But you can point to the Holy Spirit, who is present everywhere, all the time, loves all the people all the time, and will always come when asked. The magic of it is, when the Spirit enters in, “taking what is Jesus’ and disclosing it to us,” (John 16:14), then the new believer begins to have a very personal life with Christ, too. And can, in turn, pass on the news and pray with someone else.

If our methods, programs, plans, seminars and courses are to introduce people to Jesus, they must be centered on proclaiming the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, changed lives, and the abundant grace of forgiveness. That’s contagious. One thoughtful definition of witnessing calls it “offering Christ to those outside our doors.”

Just offering. That’s all. Jesus died for your and my freedom to believe or not to. We violate that freedom when we try to insist and convince. God loves that person even more than we can, and He has a thousand ways. All He wants is for us to tell our stories.