Emphasis Preaching Journal

"You are witnesses of these things." The scriptures call us all to be Christ's witnesses. In a law court, a witness is someone who has seen something important, something the court needs to know. The most valued sort of witness is an "eyewitness" -- someone who was right there at the scene of the crime.

Yet, how could we possibly serve as eyewitnesses when it comes to the resurrection? We weren't there! The kind of witness Christ needs us to be is of another sort. Christ needs us to be "character witnesses."

If defense attorneys are angling to undermine the prosecutor's argument, they are likely to call one or more character witnesses: people who know the defendant, who are willing to vouch for that person, to observe how unlikely it is that their esteemed friend or colleague would ever commit a crime.

That's the kind of witnesses we are called to be for Christ. We can't tell firsthand stories about the resurrection -- other than the timeworn, smooth-as-a-piece-of-beach-glass stories that have been passed on across the generations. But we can witness to a personal Christ, a living Lord whom we know, one who has touched our lives and made a difference.