In the midst
of a world that enjoys such dishonesty, Jesus presents himself to his church as
“the faithful and true witness” [1]
who disciplines his church in love.[2]
This gives us cause to listen to what he has witnessed, and adjust our lives to
line up with his testimony.
First, Jesus is
“the witness”. He is a witness
of how the church is doing, and so we must consider that he knows all about us,
sees it all, and will tell us what he witnesses for himself. He is also a
witness of what a church is, and so he can testify to us about what our church
should look like. We can trust that he is the best witness to how we are doing,
and to what we are going to be, and will tell us what he wants us to do to
follow him from where we are, to where he is taking us.
Second, Jesus is
“the true witness”. Anyone who
has been burned by a false witness has reason to praise Jesus Christ that he
is, and can only be, the true witness. Others may see things that are not
there, but Jesus sees only what is there. Others may cloud their testimony
about us with false judgments, misunderstandings, and deliberate misrepresentations,
but Jesus will only testify to what is true, because he is “him who is true”.[3]
Third, Jesus is
“the faithful witness”. Human witnesses may know the truth about a
situation, but not be faithful to communicate that truth. They may look for
ways to use the truth to their advantage. They may know a story is not true,
but say nothing in our defense. They may know what is true, and yet speak only
of the things that put their preferred “side” in the best light.
In contrast, Jesus
is faithful to himself, faithful to his Father, faithful to the Triunity of
God, faithful to the holiness and righteousness of who he is, and faithful to
his church. He cannot be otherwise. Jesus is faithful to relate to his church
by what he witnesses for himself. Nothing bad will go unaddressed, and nothing
good will be missed or forgotten.[4]
His faithfulness to care for his church in truth makes him the very best
witness we could ever hope to find.
Many of God’s
servants have fallen prey to false witnesses. How could it be otherwise, since
the only way a charge could be brought against Jesus was if people lied about
him?[5]
The book of Revelation makes clear that the church will face false witnesses,
the deceptions of the red dragon, the dishonesty of the world, and the
hypocrisy of the apostate church. Jesus said that the world would be full of
deceivers, that many would be deceived,[6]
and even friends and families would turn against those who received him.[7]
With such a
bleak picture, how does the church keep going? By looking to the True and
Faithful Witness, repenting of what he rebukes, renewing our first love in what
he commends, and keeping our eyes fixed on him instead of those who are against
him.[8] In
the Great Judgment, the only witness God will hear is his own Son. Those who
have not been ashamed to trust in Jesus here can be sure that he will not be
ashamed to welcome us into the eternal home of the Triune God and their forever
family.[9]
From my heart,
Monte
© 2013 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
[1]
“‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and
true witness’” (Revelation 3:14)
[2]
“Those whom I love, I reprove and
discipline, so be zealous and repent” (Revelation 3:19).
[3]
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so
that we may know him who is true; and we are
in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (I John 5:20)
[4]
The letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 make this abundantly
clear.
[5]
59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were
seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death,
60 but they found none, though
many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward 61 and said, “This man said, ‘I am
able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’”
(Matthew 26)
[6]
Matthew 24:5,11
[7]
Matthew 10:21; Mark 13:12; Luke 21:16
[8]
Hebrews 12:1-3
[9]
Hebrews 2:11
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