6.9.25 ~ Need a Witness

Good morning!

We had a wonderful 11 days and a powerful conclusion to the Ft. Walton trip. Once again, I was given permission and the privilege of filling the pulpit at Grace Church, to close out our Pentecost-Whole health trip.

Yesterday morning's service: 'Preparation of the bride in the wilderness' (Deut. 29:5,6; 8:3; Acts 7:36)

We learned, during the counting of the omer, that God has called us, as His bride, to be a witness/martus to the world around us. It doesn't take long to recognize the word 'martyr' standing up (pun intended) in the word 'martus'. What is more difficult to see is the how the biblical definition of a witness: one who stakes his life on the claim of truth, compares to how we view living our lives in Messiah as a witness today.  Perhaps we need to bring back the tradition of placing our hand on the Bible in a court of law and swearing before God and men that you will tell the truth and nothing but the truth, on pain of eternal death...I'm not being serious for many reasons, but our 'yes' being 'yes' and our 'no' being 'no' is directly connected with martus (Matt. 5:37).

"And you are witnesses/martus of these things" (Lk. 24:48)

In our contemporary religious circles, we often think of “witness” as just a personal testimony.  We “witness” to the truth in our lives by telling our story of our initial experience of salvation, through the redemptive work of our Messiah, Yeshua.  But this is not completely what the gospel writer had in mind.  As Sargent Friday on the TV show, 'Dragnet' would always say, 'Just the facts ma'am, just the facts'; facts that were clearly known by everyone.

Luke is not focused on my personal spiritual encounter.  He is concerned with the historical record – what really happened in the public arena. Luke wants a witness to observable events (Acts 1:22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39;  etc.).  When Yeshua says to these two men, on the road to Emmaeus, “You are witnesses,” He means that they know all about the actual, publicly-acknowledged events of His crucifixion and death and now, they are witnesses to His actual, physical resurrection.  This is not an inward, personal, spiritual encounter.  This is flesh and blood reality.  This is the stuff that makes witnesses into martyrs.

Much of contemporary religion seems content to claim nothing more than the inner spiritual encounter with the Lord to guarantee them a reservation in the sweet by and by. However, the disciples message is about what really happened...so much so that they were willing to become martyrs for the truth (Rev. 2:13; 12:11). Unfortunately, too many are divorced from observable, publicly-acknowledged facts of encounters like this one in Luke 24. Resultantly, too much of todays denominational world deteriorates into my religious feelings.

Coupled with the facts of history, the complete gospel message becomes the single, compelling message for all Mankind.  It’s not good enough to just believe what I feel. If Yeshua  really rose from the dead, as the record demonstrates, then He has a claim on every blood bought believer on the planet (1 Cor. 6:19,20; 7:23). Which begs to ask the personal question: Does my faith rest on the record or are am I content to have a religious experience?

If you believe that these events really happened, then it is impossible not to witness/martus to the facts. If the record is true, all those who refuse to believe put themselves in a precarious position (Rom. 1:18; Psa. 2:12). They are like the man who claims the Holocaust never happened or that the Covid vaccine was a lifesaving creation. Those who don't do what Scripture tells us to do are foolish, playing games with their own souls. The final question that I ask myself this morning is: "Will I let those foolish ones die in disbelief, or will I set the record straight with my witness/martus?

Happy 9th day of counting towards the first fruit of the wine!

Shalom,
Alan