Don't Discount an Eyewitness Account

The Eyewitness Accounts

Currently there is a new television miniseries airing on NBC in the United States entitled: A.D. The Bible Continues. The series is a follow-up series to the amazingly popular 2013 miniseries entitled: The Bible, both created by Roma Downey and Mark Burnett. A.D. The Bible Continues, covers the first 10 chapters of the New Testament book of Acts. The accounts of the followers of Jesus are powerful stories of radical life transformation. I enjoyed watching the first episode and will continue to watch. One reason I will continue to watch is the trust that I have for the accounts from the followers of Jesus. The men and women, detailed in the book of Acts and other historical records, building on the foundation of Jesus, established a brand new religion. This religion is based on the facts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This religion is also based on the faith one places in Jesus. Facts and faith work beautifully together to develop an understanding of who Jesus is and what He has done. You may not trust the personal eyewitness accounts of the life and work of Jesus, but you can! Here are 5 reasons: 
 

5 Reasons you can trust the accounts of Jesus:

1.    You can trust the accounts of Jesus because they heard, saw, and touched Jesus. 
Don't neglect the importance of personal contact. The people who gave us the details of Jesus' life didn't just hear about Him, they had personal, daily contact with Him. Their testimony, although ancient, would hold up as a testimony in a court of law.


2.    You can trust the accounts of Jesus because they sincerely wanted other people to join them. 
It would be one thing for someone to have lived with Jesus and watched Him die to say, "He was a great man and He changed my life", but it is another thing all together to radically go throughout the known world at that time seeking more followers. These people were so committed to the person of Jesus that they willing died to tell His story. In fact, the Greek word for witness became so tied to the witness about Jesus that the word evolved in modern language to mean martyr. To be a witness of Jesus was equal to being a martyr.


3.    You can trust the accounts of Jesus because they were obligated to speak the truth about Jesus.
Jesus said that He was the truth. Would His followers then willingly spread a lie? No, His followers were committed to sharing the truth of Jesus and that commitment to the truth cost them their lives and changed the world.

4.    You can trust the accounts of Jesus because they wanted others so see the truth about Jesus. 
The Bible speaks a great deal about spiritual blindness. Those who do not know or seek God are blind. The followers of Jesus knew the truth and they wanted more than anything for other people to see the truth and have their spiritual blindness removed.


5.    You can trust the accounts of Jesus because they wanted other people to receive forgiveness of sins. 
What the early followers of Jesus knew was, Jesus could remove the penalty of their sin and make a right relationship with God possible. Only Jesus can forgive sins. No activity, no religion, no self-help book, no other person besides Jesus can truly forgive sins. Those other things may make a person feel better but deep down inside everyone knows their sin is a heavy burden. The followers of Jesus knew the only way to get rid of that burden was to believe in the person and work of Jesus.

You can trust the accounts of the life and work of Jesus but more importantly you can trust Jesus with your life!