and we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the jews and in jerusalem. they put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” [acts 10:39-41]
we are witnesses
every generation has at least one ‘i remember what I was doing when’ experiences. my parents remember where they were and what they were doing when the beatles appeared on the ed sullivan show, or when jfk was assassinated. i remember what i was doing when I heard what was happening on 9/11, and where I was when i first accessed this new thing known as ‘the internet’.
there are events that we all remember vividly, and can describe in detail. some are devastatingly sad, while some or joyous.
peter and the others experienced both, and were able to tell, in detail, about the things they had experienced. they had experienced the horror of watching their savior endure the cross, and the supernatural joy of seeing him alive again!
i am certain they remembered every detail, every aspect of these moments, along with all the moments leading up to these. they remember what it was that they ate and drank when they saw him resurrected. they had spent three years of their lives with the Creator of the universe. these witnesses walked and talked with Jesus on a daily basis.
in the presence of Christ, even the mundane becomes memorable.
their testimony is reliable. their stories were regularly fact-checked, and they checked out, because others had seen the same things. the truth of God could not be denied.
because of their witness, their commitment to Jesus, and the inherent truth of what they had to proclaim, others believed and became witnesses as well. These new witnesses shared this truth with others, who also believed. this witness has now been shared for 2,000 years, across continents and cultures, in languages and cities that did not even exist when peter gave this sermon.
we are now also witnesses. because of this faithful group who had no choice but to tell of what they had seen and heard, their testimony continues today.
not because it is interesting, or because it is a good story. their witness persists simply because it is true.
~ jason soroski