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1 John 1-2


All through college I was looking forward to attending law school.  Ultimately, the Lord took me in another direction, but there are some facets about the law profession that have never left me.  I love to see evidence.  I appreciate logical, reasonable, and thorough investigations of facts.  That’s one reason why the first three verses of 1 John are so special to me.  

In just three verses the Apostle John amassed nine verbs to indicate   the accounts of Jesus were based on primary sources – the firsthand knowledge of seeing Jesus’ life in actuality. 

The life of Jesus reported in the Gospels is not a fairy tale.  Jesus is not merely a legend.  There is nothing mythical about Him.  The stories about Him are not fanciful or made up.  Notice the nine verbs that indicate eyewitness accounts of the veracity of Jesus life on the earth – heard (v. 1), seen (v. 1), looked upon (v. 1), touched (v. 1), made manifest (twice - v.2), seen (v.2), seen (v. 3), and heard (v.3).

The subject of all these verbs is always the word we.  John, the other Apostles, and the early Christians had a front row seat to see what Jesus did and hear what Jesus said.   A number of them even touched Him following His resurrection.

What did they do with that knowledge?  Three more verbs from these three verses tell us: testify (v.2), proclaim (twice – vv. 2-3).  They didn’t keep the good news to themselves.  Neither should we.  We can testify and proclaim truth.  We have the facts on our side.

We accept the truths of the Scripture by faith, but please be encouraged to realize that it is not a blind faith.  It is not a faith that is contrary to reason.  It is a faith that is true to the evidence.

Dr. Luke said of Jesus in Acts 1:3 – “To them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”

The NIV adds the word convincing before proofs.  The word for proofs means proofs that are positive, sure signs, indubitable (without a doubt) evidence. 

We never have to shrink back from testifying and proclaiming the truth about Jesus.  It is based on firsthand, eyewitness, indisputable proof that can stand up to the full scrutiny of any courtroom.

Paul Thompson

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