{"id":26369,"date":"2020-10-09T17:50:35","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T22:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=26369"},"modified":"2020-10-09T17:50:35","modified_gmt":"2020-10-09T22:50:35","slug":"they-wrote-what-they-saw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/they-wrote-what-they-saw\/","title":{"rendered":"They Wrote What They Saw"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

by Matthew W. Bassford<\/p>\nDuring our week and a half of vacation, we drove for more than 3000 miles. About 400 of those miles were through the state of Nebraska. I am sure that Nebraska is a great state for growing corn in, but when it comes to scenery, I\u2019ve seen better. There\u2019s not much to look at but corn and roadside signs.
\nThis being Nebraska, a fair percentage of the signs had some religious message. Generally, they weren\u2019t particularly profound, but there was one that I particularly liked. It said, simply, \u201cThey wrote what they saw,\u201d and provided a number that you could call for more information.\n

\"\"I have no idea what kind of information you would get if you called the number, but that\u2019s a great point! It speaks to one of the key issues underlying our faith: the reliability of the Scriptural accounts of Jesus. If, on the one hand, the stories of Jesus\u2019 life were sourceless legends written down hundreds of years after the events they contain supposedly occurred, that\u2019s not much to build our faith around. If, on the other hand, the stories we have come from eyewitnesses who demonstrated their sincerity, we have strong reason to remain disciples. This evening, then, let\u2019s consider what it means that they wrote what they saw.<\/p>\n

Peter<\/h3>\n

The first eyewitness we will consider is the apostle Peter. We see his eyewitness testimony in II Peter 1:16-18. Apparently, at this point in time, there is some question about whether the events of the Transfiguration occurred. In response, because Peter knows that he is going to die soon, he feels compelled to set the record straight.<\/p>\n

He affirms that he, along with James and John, saw Jesus transformed in a way that revealed His divine glory and majesty. He heard the voice of God Himself confirm that Jesus was His Son. He says this is not a made-up legend or myth. This is fact.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Peter claims. Is Peter a reliable witness, in this and the other claims he made about Jesus? The evidence points to yes. If this is a lie, it certainly did not benefit Peter. Indeed, the opposite is true. Because he proclaimed Jesus as Christ, Peter was arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and condemned to die. All that happened in just the first 11 chapters of Acts. Even though the rest of his life story is not recorded for us, it probably went about the same. He could have avoided all of that pain by recanting or even just shutting up.<\/p>\n

As he is writing II Peter, he is convinced that he is about to die. Even though he doesn\u2019t specify the manner of his coming death, John 21 reveals that he was going to be killed for his faith in Christ. Once again, if he is lying, all he has to do to get out of trouble is to give up on the lie.<\/p>\n

Even beyond that, if he believes he\u2019s about to die, what\u2019s the point in lying, anyway? In the law of our country, dying declarations are given particular evidentiary force because it is presumed that someone on their deathbed will tell the truth.<\/p>\n

And yet, what do we see Peter saying at the end of his life? It\u2019s the same story. He is still claiming to be an eyewitness to proofs that Jesus is the Son of God.<\/p>\n

John<\/h3>\n

Next, let\u2019s consider John. Look at what he says in I John 1:1-2. This is nothing less than a claim of John\u2019s involvement in the ministry of Jesus from beginning to end. He says that he heard, he saw, he carefully examined, and he even touched. His conclusion from all that is that eternal life is attainable through Jesus.<\/p>\n

In the gospel of John, John goes into much greater detail. Everything that the book contains is his eyewitness testimony, but at particular points of the narrative, John emphasizes his personal involvement. During the Last Supper, John was the one who asked Jesus who would betray Him. John was present for Jesus\u2019 show trial before the Sanhedrin. He watched when the Roman soldiers came to the body of Jesus on the cross, concluded that he was already dead, and stuck a spear into his side to prove the point. On the morning of the resurrection, he and Peter looked into the empty tomb. He was the first to recognize Jesus standing by the shore of the Sea of Galilee.<\/p>\n

These are the claims that John makes for himself, and once again, he lived his whole life as though those claims were true. He was arrested, beaten, and imprisoned right next to Peter. He too had to hide from the persecution of Saul. When he writes the book of Revelation, he does so as a prisoner on the island of Patmos.<\/p>\n

Basically, from beginning to end of his long life, John gets nothing but misery because of his testimony about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Frankly, if John was a liar, he was the dumbest liar ever to walk the face of the earth. He didn\u2019t write what he made up. He wrote what he saw.<\/p>\n

Paul<\/h3>\n

Finally,\u00a0 let\u2019s consider Paul. We see his eyewitness testimony in 1 Corinthians 15:8-9. The event that he describes here leads to one of the most dramatic life changes in all of human history. On one side of the event is Saul of Tarsus, a proud persecutor of the church, a foremost enemy of the gospel of Christ. On the other side of the event is Paul the apostle, servant of the church, proclaimer of the gospel of Christ.<\/p>\n

What could cause such a profound change? In Paul\u2019s own words, Jesus appeared to him just as He had to the other apostles. That event on the road outside Damascus changed Paul\u2019s life and the future of Christianity forever.<\/p>\n

This is what Paul claims. Is there reason to accept him as a reliable witness?<\/p>\n

The reasons start, I think, with his conversion himself. As a Hebrew of Hebrews, probably a member of the Sanhedrin already, Saul had prosperity, comfort, respect\u2014everything that people want. He gave all that up to join with a poor, hated, persecuted minority sect.<\/p>\n

During the time of his apostleship, he himself suffered greatly. He went throughout the Mediterranean world and got beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned, and stoned for his pains. He was so poor that sometimes he didn\u2019t even have enough to eat.<\/p>\n

Like Peter, Paul also writes a book at the end of his life, 2 Timothy. He\u2019s not dying peacefully in bed. Instead, he is back in prison\u2014again\u2014and he is about to be executed for the cause of Christ. And yet, what does he keep proclaiming? In 2 Timothy 2:8, it\u2019s the same old story. Jesus rose from the dead. What\u2019s more, he even encourages Timothy to suffer for Christ like he has suffered!<\/p>\n

This is not the behavior of a liar. Instead, this is the behavior of an intelligent man\u2014and Paul was extremely intelligent\u2014who considered the evidence before him and was so sure that Jesus was Lord that he staked his life on it, even at the cost of everything else. As with Peter and John, Paul\u2019s testimony shows all the signs of a genuine eyewitness account.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Matthew W. Bassford During our week and a half of vacation, we drove for more than 3000 miles. About 400 of those miles were through the state of Nebraska. I am sure that Nebraska is a great state for growing corn in, but when it comes to scenery, I\u2019ve seen better. There\u2019s not much…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[709],"class_list":["post-26369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-evidence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12248,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/reading-about-the-congregation-in-nebraska-put-quite-a-few-thoughts-within-my-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":26369,"position":0},"title":"Reading about the congregation in Nebraska put quite a few thoughts within my heart","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a member of the church of Christ.\u00a0Reading about the congregation in Nebraska has put quite a few thoughts within my heart.\u00a0I am looking forward to visiting this congregation in the future.\u00a0Maybe too many congregations are putting too much money into their auditorium, too much emphasis on eating,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6785,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/locating-congregations-of-the-churches-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":26369,"position":1},"title":"Locating Congregations of the Churches of Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 25, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Directories Find the Church Interactive Bible Directory of Churches of Christ in the United Kingdom Congregations in this Region Nebraska Church of Christ at 7th and Bell, Beatrice, Nebraska La Vista Church of Christ, La Vista, Nebraska Iowa Davenport Church of Christ, Davenport, Iowa Des Moines Church of Christ, Des\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Resources"","block_context":{"text":"Resources","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/resources\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25997,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-thing-which-ought-not-to-be-done\/","url_meta":{"origin":26369,"position":2},"title":"A Thing Which Ought Not to Be Done","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 13, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton The newspapers and talk radio have been commenting about a lawsuit in Blair, Nebraska. It seems that a young man of 16 got a young woman of 15 pregnant. She did not realize it until she was 23 to 27 weeks into the pregnancy. Her family\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Dinah-1-204x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23671,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/thank-you-for-the-article-on-the-development-of-the-new-testament-text\/","url_meta":{"origin":26369,"position":3},"title":"Thank you for the article on the development of the New Testament Text","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 3, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A quick note to thank you for The Development of the New Testament Text. What a great page for showing a fairly sophisticated flow in an easy to understand way. Quite educational. I got it from my sister in Africa who's husband is a missionary. I've no idea where\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27308,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-was-pleased-to-read-your-outline-on-the-sons-of-thunder\/","url_meta":{"origin":26369,"position":4},"title":"I was pleased to read your outline on the sons of thunder","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 21, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a member of the church of Christ. We studied John and James briefly tonight during the invitation. I remembered them being the \"sons of thunder,\" which got me searching on Google, and I think your website was the first one that came up. Now, you never know\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24041,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-appreciate-your-stand-for-serving-the-lord-in-the-right-way\/","url_meta":{"origin":26369,"position":5},"title":"I appreciate your stand for serving the Lord in the right way","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 18, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Brother Hamilton, I live in a small Texas town.\u00a0 May you continue to serve the Lord in Nebraska.\u00a0 I appreciate your stand for serving the Lord in the right way. May you have a wonderful new year. Answer: I thank you deeply for the encouraging words.","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26369\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}