We Are All Witnesses

We Are All WitnessesPastor Andre Butler For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. --2 Peter 1:16 Resurrection Day is one of the most important days of the year for Christians. Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is no salvation, and without salvation there is no Christianity. This illustrates the heart of the gospel message that Jesus rose from the dead. In the Book of Acts one word seemed to be used repeatedly to describe the followers of Jesus: witnesses. In Peter's first message on the day of Pentecost, his grand finale was that Jesus was no longer dead but alive and that they were all witnesses. The rest of the apostles joined in with Peter in testifying of what they had heard, seen, and knew. They with more than 500 others had personally seen Jesus after his resurrection.He was among them for 40 days and proved He was alive by many infallible proofs. Therefore, they became an ecstatic group that found themselves on the streets of Jerusalem testifying about the resurrection of Jesus. If the apostles had made up the resurrection story they preached, and later wrote, surely at least one of them would have confessed of their deception to prevent whatever death awaited them during that time. However, they all testified through their actions that their testimony was true.They, along with those that became followers of Jesus through his ministry and theirs, testified wherever they went that Jesus was alive. Later a man named Paul, one who had Christians killed for their beliefs, had an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. He left on his trip with plans to end the lives of Christians, and he returned as a witness to the resurrection of Jesus. As Christians today, we have the same responsibility to spread the good news about the resurrection of Jesus. We are witnesses, commissioned to testify that Jesus is not dead but alive, and that His resurrection is proof that everything He said was true. The many healings and miracles occurring not only in churches all over the world, but in grocery stores, athletic fields, schools, and anywhere else you find Bible-believing Christians using the authority of Jesus also prove that Jesus is alive and still working miracles as He did during His time on earth.Lastly, as Christians, each of us are witnesses of what Jesus has done in our marriages, bodies, finances, careers, emotions, and other areas of our lives. We must not be ashamed to get in the streets as the early believers did and testify about what Jesus has done for us.Resurrection Day is not just a day where we celebrate, but a day when we are reminded of our responsibility to be a witness to our world that Jesus is alive and that what He did for us He will do for them as well!