Eyewitness testimony is a matter of significant debate in matters of law. Exactly how reliable is someone’s word? Candidly, plenty of testimonies have been corrupted by lies or biases or even bad memories. But on the other hand, what happens when you have hundreds of people all testifying to the same story with testimonies that all agree? This is actually some of the best proof you could ask for—especially when all of those people have been changed by the truth.
At the end of this book, John will tell us exactly why he wrote it: so that we may believe. Thus he overloads us with abundant proof of the miracle of who Jesus is. How do we know he performed miracles? Crowds of people saw them and told others about them. How do we know the Holy Spirit filled Jesus? Everyone who was there to see it has confirmed it. How do we know Jesus was superior to John the Baptizer? Because John the Baptizer himself said so—and you’d expect him to lie for his own self-interest! But instead, the Baptizer insists that you know for certain that Jesus is the Son of God. After all, he himself knows for certain; he saw it clearly confirmed in front of his face.
Look to Jesus, the Baptizer says! Behold him; he is the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrificial lamb from the Scriptures who is to accomplish our salvation once and for all! I witnessed the three persons of the Trinity come together in a single moment—the Holy Spirit indwelled the Son visibly, and then the Father blessed him and said directly to me that he was the very presence and glory of God with us! Not only is this the long-awaited perfect Passover lamb, nor is he only our savior and herald of the Holy Spirit; this is the Son of God, the one true God himself!
The testimonies of eyewitnesses caused the Jesus movement to spread like wildfire. Everyone who saw him scurried to tell others who he was, and others found their truthfulness to be so evident, their transformation so undeniable, and their message so wonderful that they couldn’t help but believe. That movement spread all across Israel and has since spanned the entire globe. We today are the newest generation of recipients of millions of testimonies, and we believe because they are so clearly true and so impossible to resist. Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! Listen to the testimonies—then go and tell everyone yours.
