Many Witnesses

    1. More Than One Witness:

          (Read: John 5:31-40)

        Jesus said: “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.” Jesus knew anyone could “claim” to be something and it was important people had proof of the truth!

        Luke, the disciple, writes to Theophilus about Jesus rising from the dead by many infallible proofs!

        In the same careful way, God entrusted the writing of His Words to more than one person. This provides neat ‘infallible proofs’! We talked about these in previous lessons.

        False religions trust their one leader to write their own “Bible”: This is a big danger! You cannot just have one person’s word on things. They could easily lie or write inaccurate information, and no one would know any different!

        Like the court systems, more than one witness to establish truth goes as far back as Bible times! In the book of Deuteronomy, God says that no one should be put to death on trial based on one person’s testimony but rather by 2 or 3 witnesses.

        II Corinthians tells us: “…In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established…” In this way, God stayed faithful to His Word! God used many people not only one. Jesus does not need a witness to prove truth, but he knows man does need a witness system that works. Can you think of a witness that he used specifically to prepare the way of his coming? That’s why he sent John the Baptist! (John 1)

        When we go by one person’s word about something, we are trusting in man and not God!

God knew that more than one witness was important for us to know that His Word was not a man-written work!

2. First-hand events and fulfillment:

       The Bible is unique! One man prophesied the future then died, and another man witnessed that prophecy come true and testified about it!

Most of the books in the Bible were written from first-hand events. How much more believable is something if it’s written down as the event unfolds, rather than hundreds of years later? Think of Moses writing about the Red Sea crossing! He was there! And he saw the parting of the waters! Isn’t that awesome!? And what about Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John who saw Jesus after he arose and wrote about his resurrection! Isn’t that something that they were there to see it!?

3. Varieties of the same thing!

        Just like this elephant is only one complete elephant, it is made up of a lot of pieces! Think about how many put this together to create it! It was overseen by an art teacher! Each child was given the same materials, and all put it together in their own style, and different perspectives!

            The writers of the Bible have different writing styles too! They all have different lifestyles and abilities. Each writer’s personalities and talents shine through in each book of the Bible. Some are more creative and artistic, some are more mechanical and hands-on, some are detailed.  

God created humans to learn in different ways! Some people may identify with certain books that don’t appeal to another person! There’s something for everyone, so that every personality can find the Truth in a way that personally ministers to them! Yet each writer, no matter how different, points to 1 thing! Jesus! And his salvation!

        In over a 1,500-year span, God used 40 men to pen His inspired Word. Because of the different personalities and experiences of the men He used, things are presented a bit differently (the gospels, for example - written by 4 different men, with 4 different themes, but 1 truth), And everything as a whole work still agrees! This not only shows order, but a big word called credibility! This is proof something is the real deal when more than one person says the same thing!

        No one man had enough knowledge in one lifetime to write what God wanted. It took many and took time to explain the Truth and wisdom where we understand it.

        There is so much wisdom even after 80 years of faithful daily reading that man can find new wisdom and new lessons each time the Bible is read. Never in one lifetime could any man fully comprehend all the knowledge the Bible contains!

1. Witnesses: You need more than 1.

2. Unity out of Diversity.

3. First-hand events and fulfilled prophecies.

4. Varieties of the same thing are important.