John 20:24-25 (NKJV)
“Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So, he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
The age-old question: if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, will it make a noise? Similar to: if there were no disciples that followed Jesus, would we have a church like we know it today? Without any witnesses, would we have the Gospels or even the New Testament at all?
If you really think about it, there are millions of events and astonishing feats that were never written down or passed along. Millions more that might have been part of something obscure that faded into a mere footnote of a larger chapter of history.
Regardless of what is remembered by a group, the nation or the world, it requires that there were others to witness what happened. Others that wrote it down to document it for history or at least kept it alive verbally until it could be recorded at a later time.
With the technology we have today, we find that this happens much easier. You don’t have to look far to see everything happening in the world. Good, bad, and controversial are splashed across all the forms of media around us. For all the people who are elated that their triumph was captured, there are even more who regretted that it was.
This would have been so awesome to be able to do over the centuries. Being able to visually record as it happened. The parting of the Red Sea, the Great Flood, David defeating Goliath, and so much more. It would have been even more awesome in the time of Jesus. John 20:21 even makes the point that if all of His miracles were written down, there would not be enough room in the world.
Remember that paper and writing instruments were not readily available in biblical time. In fact, many people could not even read or write effectively. There were few written copies of the Old Testament, but people memorized scripture read by priests or told to them by others.
This is also how Jesus taught the disciples and they in turn memorized scripture further to convey it to others. As they travelled with Jesus, Matthew and John wrote down His messages and the events that occurred along the way. No PowerPoints, no workbooks, and no videos to bring the scripture to life.
So many others were witness to the things that Jesus did, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. They spoke about it and told others, who told others as well. Humans by nature are like Thomas in the opening scripture. I want to see things in person with my own eyes.
The Lord coming to earth for all to see was the next step that had to be taken after centuries of witnessing only the actions of God as in Isaiah 43:10, “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me.
Again, we as human would rather look for proof that we can see, touch, or experience ourselves. But Jesus had the apostles who he called who were there day after day being part of the miracles and His ministry. But what if they weren’t? What if they rejected that call?
Peter and John stayed fishermen, Matthew stayed a tax collector, and the rest stayed where they were. No one to bring the message of how the Lord showed us how to live, how the Lord sacrificed himself as the lamb to be slain for all mankind, and how He fulfilled the scriptures by rising on the third day. Then we may not know the Love and Forgiveness that God has for us.
But we did have those who were called to be His witnesses and instructed to share what they have seen with the world. Luke shares some of this in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And Acts 22:15, “For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.”
Jesus himself later appeared to Paul who was persecuting the followers Christ sought. Which led Paul to be one of the greatest Apostles who spread what Christ did for us and he eloquently tells of all the witnesses below.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8, “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.”
So, join me this Easter to not only remember how Christ rose from the dead to forgive our sins, but also those who witnessed His resurrection and told the world about it no matter the consequence. Now let us celebrate what the Lord has done for us and then tell others so they can know our Lord of mercy, forgiveness and love.
HIS FORGIVENESS THEY CAN RECEIVE
Would we know what happened in history if nobody wrote it down,
All those people who were heroic and ones that wore a crown.
Events so great they were carved in stone or painted on cave walls,
Having one empire rise up to glory while another one falls.
The times when details were missed or never even recorded,
Championships won or every time someone was rewarded.
Many times we may only get a story that is verbally told,
Recounting all the legendary antics from the days of old.
This is how the Gospels were first shared and remembered,
With only a few witnesses writing down how they surrendered.
If it were not for them who would have told what our Savior had done,
The miracles performed and lessons taught by our Fathers Son,
Especially when He defeated death and rose up on the third day,
To bring forgiveness to all the world and wash our sins away.
We must honor Him by sharing these words with those who do not believe,
So they have a chance to know God’s love, His Forgiveness They Can Receive.
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