What We Have Seen and Heard

It’s one thing to hear about an incredible story; it’s another to live it. We are always more impacted by what we have actually experienced. You can tell the story with different emotions and a different sense of the story’s details. In the New Testament, we have so many stories of people who did exactly that in regards to Jesus Christ. To them, he wasn’t a historical figure, a good teacher, or an inspirational writer – he was the Messiah in flesh and bone. Take a look at John’s first words in one of his letters: 

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:1-3)

The audience of his letter probably didn’t get to spend 2 years walking around with Jesus. They were like you and me, reading John’s words to get the details of the story. But the words and phrases he uses to describe his time with Jesus are abundantly clear: he was writing about a person he saw, heard, touched, and knew to be the Messiah. Nothing could take that experience away from him.

If I was reading this in the 1^st century, I would be encouraged to know that John took time in his letter to assure people of his testimony before preaching the message he needed to share. And don’t forget the reason he did, as evident in his own words: “so that you also may have fellowship with us.” John wanted everyone to experience the fellowship of Jesus and his believers. He wanted to spread truth, not doubt. The goal of John’s letters - from his gospel to the three we have later in the New Testament - are the same: that we would come to believe and love Jesus Christ. Once we do, we get to share the same way John did, proclaiming what we have seen and heard, that everyone might know the good news.