More on the Eyewitness

This afternoon I began reading Mark 16 and there it is, do we believe the eyewitnesses or not? There has always been a great challenge to Christian beliefs in a world that can only believe if they see first, 'show me the money.' Sunday in church, a friend reported a conversation she had with someone about faith and his response was, "show me the evidence." When we have God's word backwards, we will not see.

Christians who have seen and believed the Lord, love to celebrate who He is. Two of the days we love to celebrate more than any other are Christmas and Easter, the beginning of our faith for salvation and the resurrection to eternal life with Jesus. We love to celebrate and the world increasingly loves to castigate the meaning of our celebrations. But they can never change what God has given us.

What were the expectations and hopes of the people we read about in Mark 16? 16:1, they were going to anoint a dead body; 16:3, who would roll back the stone for them? Every emotion these three women felt is probably exactly what we would feel. They have been grieving, terror-filled, amazed, frightened enough to be trembling, bewildered and seized with consternation, they were held captive by fear and alarm (all scriptures are from the Amplified Bible). Verse 9 says that Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene, she went and reported to the disciples (v.10) what she had just SEEN and HEARD, and the disciples response was to weep and grieve. Yesterday (March 29) we had a very good description from P. Rory of what it is to weep like that. It's pretty messy, but there is no way to stop it because you don't care who sees it. The Bible calls this "godly sorrow for sin". Could it be that the eleven were sitting around thinking of the last few days and everything they had done and experienced? When the Master's name was mentioned, did Peter remember his betrayal of his Master? They grieved and wept. After all this, still they could not believe, "And when they heard that He was alive and that she had SEEN Him, they did not believe it" (v 11). Jesus never gives up on His people!! He appears to His apostles and rebukes and reproves them for their hard hearts and lack of faith, "...they had refused to believe those who had SEEN Him and LOOKED at Him attentively after He had risen [from death]." Thank you Jesus for not giving up on our frames of dust! Jesus believed in them! After His sharp rebuke, He gives them the Great Commission! And here we are today.

Soon we will be celebrating again. Easter is in a couple weeks, April 12. This year is the fifth year since we first came to TRC. Broken-hearted and unhealed, but Jesus...

I'm blogging like the whole world is reading everything, so this is my message to you today. Even if you have heard it many times and your response is "I'm still not ready", make this year different. Believe the eyewitnesses, believe the pastors when they preach their hearts out that Jesus loves you and will save you. They and many others have SEEN and believed. Believe the eyewitnesses in Mark 16, it is these people who changed the world. Jesus still wants more world-changers, you are one too when Jesus gets hold of your life. Forsake your life and your life will be saved. This Easter time!

Do You Believe the Eyewitness?

A number of years ago I served for three months on a grand jury in Anchorage. The function of the grand jury is to show up on time when you are called and hear testimony of several witnesses, among them, eye witnesses. Based on the testimony we heard and after asking questions of the witnesses, we voted yea or nay on issuing an indictment. We heard testimony from many people, relating to many different cases over those three months. Some of the most important testimony was from eye witnesses. We believed some, and others we did not believe.

One of the blessings we have in our Bible is the testimony of the eye witness, and our choice is to believe or disbelieve. Holy, inspired men and women of God have carefully laid out their testimony of their experiences with God and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Their testimony has survived every test the world can throw at it. It still changes peoples lives because of its truth. God can tell nothing but the truth and when we believe by faith, that truth sets us free. (John 8:36; John 14:6).

For the Apostle Paul, there was no mistaking the experience he had on the road to Damascus. Still in the midst of threats, conspiracies and murder against the Church, Paul (or Saul at that time) had an unforgettable experience with the ascended Jesus Christ. He is ready to meet leaders of the synagogue in Damascus to carry out these plans against the Church but as he nears the city, he has a meeting with Jesus that knocks him off his horse and blinds him for a time in the light around him. Saul's first statement from the ground is "Who are You, Lord?" He immediately had the witness that the voice he heard was to be called 'Lord.' From that day on, Paul (God changed his name, as He did everything in his life) gladly gave eyewitness testimony of the transformation he had in his life and the credit belonged to Jesus.

The Apostle Peter was preaching to the household of Cornelius (Acts 10:36-43) "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him. And we ARE WITNESSES OF ALL THINGS which He did..." The apostles eyewitness never softened, remained consistent to the end of their lives. The kind of eyewitness the whole world could believe in! Even the prophets of the Old Testament saw the Messiah by faith, Peter goes on, "To Him all the prophets witness that, [Jesus was to be Judge of the living and the dead] through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins." Peter was an eyewitness to the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. An eyewitness to believe. How boldly Peter told the story of the Savior! Can you imagine sitting down with Peter and listening to the complete story of what he saw when he lived with Jesus?

When Jesus was speaking at Capernaum, the multitude asked for a sign, "...that we may SEE it and believe you?" It was show me, and I will believe, with Jesus it is, believe and you will see. The statement that Jesus gives the crowd is, "But I say to you that you have SEEN Me and yet do not believe. (John 6:28-36). How blessed we are to have never seen, yet believe!! We who are transformed by the power of His blood know and have seen by faith that He is real and is everything He said He is.

Blogs permit only a few paragraphs. The scripture is full of eye witnesses who met the Living God and had their lives changed. I challenge you to find the eyewitnesses and believe them! Act on what the Holy Spirit witnesses in your hearts as you search His word.

"And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who SEES the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:40