Acts 1
By Pastor Steve
Can He Get A Witness?
Everyone appreciates it when something unbelievable can be proven true. The disciples who followed Jesus were no different than anyone else—except for the fact that they seemed to have a faith that was in some ways deeper or superior to ours. But, wait a minute—was their faith stronger, superior, deeper, or more legitimate than ours? Let’s look into Acts chapter 1 for our answer.
After the disciples “witnessed” the fact that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead they all went back to Jerusalem to figure out what to do next. While they were gathered together discussing what they should do, Jesus suddenly appears to them and Luke recalls the story by saying: “After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3) This causes me to think a little more about the faith of those who walked and talked with the Master on a daily basis. They had witnessed Him feeding thousands from a little boy’s lunchbox. They had witnessed Him casting demons out of people who had been consumed by evil for years and years. They had witnessed Him raising people from the dead—now that is some kind of proof for something! Some of them had witnessed Him on the Mount of Transfiguration and He was hanging around in the clouds with Moses and Elijah. They had all witnessed Him reading their minds and wondered how in the world He knew what they were thinking. They had witnessed Him restoring sight to the blind, giving legs to walk to a guy who had been crippled from birth, and then they witnessed His power when He endured the scorn and flogging of the religious leaders and hung from a cross and said “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” They witnessed much, but then we read that Jesus had to “Prove” to them that He was the Son of God, that He had conquered death, and that He was still alive. So, I ask—was their faith stronger? Was their faith deeper? Was their faith superior? Was their faith somehow more legitimate?
No—I don’t think so. I think they were just like you and they were just like me and every other human being who ever decided to walk with Jesus and be His witness. They were just people choosing to believe in something that could not be proven but could be witnessed. You see, every day when I wake up I choose to believe in Him and be His witness. Every day when something goes wrong I choose to believe in Him and remain His witness. Every day when a question about my faith crosses my mind or someone decides to challenge my faith I choose to believe and choose to be His witness. Faith is a choice to believe in what cannot be proven and then be a witness when others want proof.
How about you? What are choosing today—are you choosing to be His witness because He invited you? You don’t have to prove Him to anyone—He never asked us to do that. But He did ask us to believe, to be His witness, and then allow His Holy Spirit to lead them into the truth. That’s not so hard now—is it?
