1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

6 So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

34 Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵ but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. ³⁶ You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. ³⁷ You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

39 "We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, ⁴⁰ but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. ⁴¹ He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. ⁴⁵ The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. ⁴⁶ For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." ⁴⁸ So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

b) PRAYER

Purpose of the Sermon:

1. As we heard read in Acts 1: Jesus last words were to instruct his people to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth

7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

2. What does it mean, "And you shall be my witnesses"?

a. The various words meaning "witness" occurs an unbelievable 167 times in the New Testament.

b. Yet I think it is another term that we have not really taken time to study or understand

c. It is a term used by Jesus, Paul and John in describing one of the major features of the Christian life

I. Definition:

witness wit˘nis,

noun someone who sees or has personal knowledge of an event, etc; someone who gives evidence; someone whose signature confirms the genuineness of a document, or of a signature already added; (something that is) proof or evidence of anything; knowledge brought in proof; testimony of a fact.

verb to have direct knowledge of; (loosely) to see; (of a place or period) to live through; to give testimony to; to attest; to act as legal witness of; to sign, to add one's signature in confirmation of the genuineness of (a document, another's signature, etc); to show; to evince (archaic).

to give evidence; (with to) to confirm, attest to.

1. Sometimes you have to have a witness when you sign a legal document. Why?

a) The police are often on the TV and radio asking for witnesses to a particular incident, crime, car accident

(1) Why? Want to know what happened, the truth

2. In our passage last week (I John 1:1-7) we read of how John and the apostles were first hand witnesses of Jesus, and proclaimed what they saw, heard and experienced

I JOHN 1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life— 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

A. GREEK is martys

1. In normal usage it means:

1. Legal Witness to Facts. The proper sphere of the terms is the legal one, e.g., in trials or legal transactions. What is signified is personal testimony to events, relations, persons, etc. The verb may mean "to come forward as a witness,"

2. As we are going to see from several scriptures, we as christians are called to "come forward as witnesses"

2. Witness to Facts, Truths, and Views. The whole group finds a more general use. In so doing, it may still refer to facts of which there is direct personal knowledge. But it may also refer to truths or views which are proclaimed with conviction but cannot be verified empirically. Aristotle makes this distinction between witness as objective statement and witness as personal conviction. He also refers to witness to future events, which by its very nature is based on faith rather than fact. 1

3. The apostles were direct witnesses of Jesus, but we too are able to be witnesses, based on our personal faith and convictions, as well as to the future events we believe are going to take place

4. Before we take a look at our role as witnesses, lets have a quick look at some biblical examples of witnesses, and see how they were witnesses, what they were witnesses, of and why.

II. EVIDENCE OF TRUTH IS VITAL

A. For human being to know of God, God has to reveal himself

1. As Paul tells us in I Corinthians 2:14-15

14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment:

B. God has in many different ways chosen to make himself know

1. What are some ways God has revealed himself?

a) Creation

b) Written word

c) Prophets

d) Israel

Hebrews 1:1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.

III. WHAT IS THE MAIN THING GOD WANTS WITNESSED TO?

A. What Did John focus on in I John 1:

1. Who Jesus was, his life, and the eternal life he brought

B. What do we read in our scripture today

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

1. Christians are to be, through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus' witnesses all around the world

a) The church is to give evidence of Jesus, of who he was, and what he has done, and what he is offering mankind

C. One of the meanings of the word witness, is "to testify"

1. The New Testament, is the New Witness or Testimony, or legal declaration of the will of God

2. God wants testimony, evidence, witnessing to the truth that Jesus was his Son, and died for our salvation, to give us a relationship with the Father, and eternal life free of sin and death

a) This is what we are to testify and stand as witnesses of

D. ACTS 10:34-43

34 Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵ but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. ³⁶ You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. ³⁷ You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

1. These are the matters God wants borne witness to

a) V 36 telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

b) Of all he did in his life, his doing good and healing

(1) These acts themselves bear witness to God's willingness and power to heal, to deal with pain and suffering, the problems and flaws in our lives

(2) They show that God is a saving God, a God of rescue, of salvation, who cares for and loves us and wants to give us eternal spiritual healing and salvation

c) Vse 38 refers to his casting out of demons,

d) This proved, testified that Jesus had authority over Satan and evil

e) The apostles also bore witness to his raising Lazuras from the dead, bore witness, proved that he had the power over death

ACTS 10: 39 "We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, ⁴⁰ but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.

2. The apostles were witnesses of all these things Jesus did, and most importantly his death and resurrection

a) The ultimate means of our salvation is witnessed to, evidence was provided of its reality

ACTTS 10:41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

b) They were specially, and deliberately chosen to witness his resurrection

c) Not only were they chosen to see and experience the resurrected Jesus, they were commanded to bear witness, to testify to who Jesus was, what he accomplished, and that he is the one God has appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

 

ACTS 10: 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

d) Not only do the apostles and the church today testify of Jesus, the prophets before him, also give evidence, and testify about him, and the forgiveness that those who put their faith in him, receive

e) We read in John 1:6-18 of how John the Baptist was sent "as a witness to testify" about Jesus, "the true light" who "was coming into the world"

f) God himself and the Holy Spirit gave witness to who Jesus was, and Jesus himself is called the true, faithful witness, in Revelation 1:

3. God has done a thorough job of giving evidence, of witnessing to Jesus as Saviour and Lord

a) And we are privileged to be called to continue that witness

4. We often read about, or see on TV witnesses in court in the USA refusing to give evidence, pleading the 5^th amendment

a) As christians we have no 5^th amendment right to withold evidence that may be disadvantageous, or embarrasing or uncomfortable

b) We are not to hold the light we have been so blessed to receive

c) We are to speak out, and give our testimony, our evidence, our experience and knowledge of Jesus to those around us

E. In the next part of our passage (Acts 10:44-48), we are shown that witnessing leads to convincing of new people of the truth, and leads many to believe

ACTS 10: 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. ⁴⁵ The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. ⁴⁶ For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." ⁴⁸ So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

F. This, and many other passages show the importance of witnessing for Jesus, witnessing about Jesus, so that the Church can Grow

1. This is why many churches have "testimonies" in services and evangelistic campaigns, and stress personal witnessing. It isn't something they have invented, but is solidly based on scripture

2. It is a vital part of the communicating of the gospel that we mustn't neglect

CONCLUSION:

A. It is God's will that mankind know of him and salvation through his Son Jesus

1. God stepped into human history to reveal himself, and accomplish what was needed for our salvation

2. God has provided many witnesses who saw and experienced the life and saving deeds of Jesus

3. Just as Stephen and Paul were witnesses who didn't actually see and experience Jesus life on earth, we too are called to bear witness of Jesus;

B. TO BE EFFECTIVE WITNESSES, We can do TWO things;

1. First we need to listen to and point to the witnesses God has provided before us;

a) We need to hear and be convicted by the evidence, the testimony of the prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus himself, the Father and the Holy Spirit

b) We need to study the scriptures that contain this testimony

(1) Hebrew 11:1 tells us we are surrounded by a great crowd of witnesses

c) We need to pray that God and His Spirit will continue to bear witness deep into our hearts and minds of Jesus and his salvation

d) We need to actively live the new life that results from faith in Jesus, so that we can experience the truth in a practical way

2. By studying, praying, knowing and living the truth, we can then bear witness to our personal experience of Jesus and salvation through him

a) As Michael Green writes about those in the New Testament Church who hadn't been present with Jesus;

They could bear their witness; that is all. They had two things to say. First, that they had believed, and had found the claims of the divine Teacher to be true in their own lives and experience. Second, they could give the evidence on which they had committed themselves.

...And when you believe the witness and see for yourself, you are no longer a 'disciple at second hand'; you are a disciple are first hand, every bit as much in touch with the Divine Teacher as the historical contemporary on whose testimony you believed. 'He that believes on the Son of God, has the witness in himself.'  2

b) The last phrase is from I John 5:10

9 We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. ¹⁰ Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

c) We are to have the witness and testimony of Jesus in our hearts so that we are not mere second hand witnesses, but so we can speak genuinely and personally of him to others.

d) As we read in Act 1:8 we are called to be Jesus' witnesses to the ends of the earth.

e) We are called to do as Peter did in Acts 10, to point to the other witnesses of Jesus we have recorded in the Bible, and to "to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead ^"

APPENDIX

A. Scriptures:

1. John Baptist a witness to Jesus

JOHN 1:

6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. ⁸ He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. ⁹ The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’" ¹⁶ From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

2. The disciples to be witnesses

MATTHEW 10

16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

17 "Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, ²⁰ for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

LUKE 21:

12 "But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. ¹³ This will result in your being witnesses to them. ¹⁴ But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. ¹⁵ For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. ¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷ All men will hate you because of me. ¹⁸ But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ By standing firm you will gain life.

LUKE 24:

36 And while they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst. 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. 38 And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." 40 [And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.] 41 And while they still could not believe it for joy and were marveling, He said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" 42 And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; 43 and He took it and ate it before them.

44 Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 "You are witnesses of these things. 49 "And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."

ACTS 1:

1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

6 So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

ACTS 10:

34 Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵ but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. ³⁶ You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. ³⁷ You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

39 "We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, ⁴⁰ but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. ⁴¹ He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. ⁴⁵ The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. ⁴⁶ For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." ⁴⁸ So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

3. Paul

Acts 22: ¹⁵ You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’

17 "When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance ¹⁸ and saw the Lord speaking. ‘Quick!’ he said to me. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’

B. Meaning

mavrtu", mavrturo", oJ dat. pl. mavrtusin (Pind., Hdt.+; inscr., pap., LXX, Philo, Joseph.) witness.

1. lit., in the legal sense Ac 7:58; Mt 18:16; 2 Cor 13:1; 1 Ti 5:19 3

B. Use in Nonbiblical Greek.

1. Legal Witness to Facts. The proper sphere of the terms is the legal one, e.g., in trials or legal transactions. What is signified is personal testimony to events, relations, persons, etc. The verb may mean "to come forward as a witness," but with the dative it can mean testifying for somebody, and with the accusative, peréŒ and genitive, or a hoŒti clause, it may denote giving witness to something specific. martyréŒa signifies both the act and the actual witness. The more objective martyŒrion comes into more general use for anything that may be adduced to confirm a fact or statement.

2. Witness to Facts, Truths, and Views. The whole group finds a more general use. In so doing, it may still refer to facts of which there is direct personal knowledge. But it may also refer to truths or views which are proclaimed with conviction but cannot be verified empirically. Aristotle makes this distinction between witness as objective statement and witness as personal conviction. He also refers to witness to future events, which by its very nature is based on faith rather than fact.

3. Application of the General Use in the Sense of Witness to Facts. Along these lines appeal is made to the gods as witnesses to oaths, treaties, etc. Another common use is for the witness of the senses. We also find instances of the citing of impersonal witnesses. The poverty of Socrates is a witness that he is not a philosopher for gain.

4. Application of the General Use in the Sense of Witness to Truths or Views. Plato offer many instances of this kind of witness in respect of such matters as happiness, homosexuality, etc. The life of Socrates in particular is a witness to the truth of his teaching. In Epictetus the philosopher is the divinely called witness to practical wisdom not only by his teaching but above all by his equanimity in misfortune and affliction. The use is not technical, however, for health bears witness to the truth of the Stoic lifestyle, and while death may be a witness to truth, it does not have to be, for Epictetus does not call Socrates a maŒrtys.

The prophets have to preach whether they are heard or not, and the righteous maintain their integrity even in persecution (Ps. 44:22).

1. Occurrence. maŒrtys occurs 34 times in the NT, 13 of which are in Acts and nine in Paul (none in John). There are 76 instances of martyreéŒn, 33 of which are in John, eleven in Acts, eight each in Paul and Hebrews, and ten in 1 and 3 John. martyréŒa is found 37 times, 14 of which are in John, seven in 1 and 3 John, and nine in Revelation. martyŒrion occurs 20 times, nine of which are in the Synoptics and six in Paul. A noteworthy fact is that martyreéŒn occurs 47 times in the Johannine writings, and martyréŒa 30 times, but maŒrtys and martyŒrion not at all in the Gospel.

2. maŒrtys.

a. General Use: Witness to Facts.

e. maŒrtys in the Johannine Writings. Of the Johannine writings, only Revelation uses maŒrtys. Jesus himself is the maŒrtys in 1:5 and 3:14, the two prophets are witnesses in 11:3, Antipas is a witness in 2:13, and there is reference to the blood of "martyrs" in 17:6. In all these instances death is involved, but "martyrdom" here clearly involves bearing witness to the truth as well as dying (cf. Acts 22:20). Jesus is the faithful and true witness not simply as the one who is crucified but as the one who passes on his martyréŒa or testimony (Rev. 1:2) and who has borne witness to the truth (Jn. 18:37). 4

3. martyreŒoµ.

a. The Human Declaration of Facts. martyreéŒn is not used in the NT for legal witness, but it often connotes the declaration or confirmation of facts or events (cf. Mt. 23:31; Rom. 10:2; Gal. 4:15; 1 Cor. 15:15; Acts 22:5; Jn. 2:25; 2 Cor. 8:3, etc.). The event is a future one in Jn. 13:21, and the fact is a general fact of experience in Jn. 4:44.

b. The Good Report. In the absolute, martyreéŒn means "to give (or receive) a good report" (Lk. 4:22; Acts 6:3; 1 Tim. 5:10). The thought is always that the person (s) can be vouched for on the basis of direct observation.

e. Special Johannine Use. In John witness is especially the witness that is given, not specifically to the facts of Jesus’ history, but to the person of Jesus (Jn. 1:15; 5:31ff.; 8:13ff.) as the eternal Son of God (1:15, 34). Thus the Baptist has come to bear witness to the incarnate Logos as the light (1:8; cf. 8:12). As the Son, Jesus is the truth, so that to witness to the truth is to witness to him (3:26; 5:32-33). Witness is given to him by the Baptist (1:7-8), by Scripture (5:39), by God (5:32), by his works (5:36), by himself (8:13-14), and later by the Spirit (15:26) and by his disciples (15:27). The three that bear witness in 1 Jn. 5:7 seem to be baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the Spirit, though possibly with an allusion to Jn. 19:34-35. Witness in John is confession. To be sure, the author of John and 1 John stresses eyewitness (1 Jn. 1:1-2). But the witness is also a witness of Christ’s glory (Jn. 1:14; 1 Jn. 5:9-10). Hence witness can still be given even by those who are not eyewitnesses, i.e., by those who confess who Jesus was and what he signified. The term is in no way reserved for those who are put to death for their witness. Nor is this true of martyreéŒn in the four instances in Revelation, in which martyreéŒn means bearing witness to the prophetic word (1:2; 22:20) or bearing witness to the threat which protects the prophecy (22:18).

4. martyréŒa.

a. Outside the Johannine Writings. Of the seven instances outside the Johannine writings, six are religiously neutral, e.g., for court witness in Mk. 14:55, a good report in 1 Tim. 3:7, and the witness of the pagan poet in Tit. 1:13. The exception is Acts 22:18, where Paul’s martyréŒa is evangelistic witness.

b. In the Johannine Writings. In contrast, a Christian use dominates the 30 instances in the Johannine material. Human witness is at issue in Jn. 8:17, a good report in 3 Jn. 12, and the testimony of men in 1 Jn. 5:9, but elsewhere the reference is to evangelistic witness to the nature and significance of Christ. This is the active bearing of witness in Jn. 1:7 and Rev. 11:7, but in all the other instances it is the witness that is given, e.g., by the Baptist (Jn. 1:19), by Jesus (3:11 etc.), by God (5:32), or by the author (19:35). God’s witness is also the point in 1 Jn. 5:9ff. "Having the witness" is a distinctive phrase in 1 Jn. 5:10 and Rev. 6:9; 12:17; 19:10. Revelation also speaks about the witness of Jesus (1:2, 9; 12:17; 19:10; 20:4), which is identical to the word of God. In 1:2 the testimony of Jesus refers to the book, and this is perhaps the point in 19:10 as well: the testimony of Jesus is their witness as Christian prophets. Elsewhere this testimony is revelation in general. Because of this witness the author is exiled (1:9), the martyrs are slain (6:9), and the dragon fights against them (12:17). The special use of martyréŒa ŐIeµsouŒ as a formula for the gospel is perhaps linked with the fact that Jesus is the faithful witness even to the point of death (cf. 1 Tim. 6:13). The term "witness" is thus beginning to take on a martyrological nuance. "Having the witness" in Revelation supports this, for it always applies to those who suffer for their testimony. Similarly, the witness of the two prophets is oral testimony sealed by death (and cf. 12:11). martyréŒa undoubtedly means evangelistic confession and not just the testimony of blood. But it is the specific evangelistic confession that culminates in death.

Heb. 12:1, "(a cloud) of witnesses," here of those mentioned in chapt. 11, those whose lives and actions testified to the worth and effect of faith, and whose faith received witness in Scripture; 1 Pet. 5:1.¶ 9

1. martus or martur (mavrtu" , (3144)) (whence Eng., martyr, one who bears witness by his death) denotes one who can or does aver what he has seen or heard or knows; it is used (a) of God, Rom. 1:9; 2 Cor. 1:23; Phil. 1:8; 1 Thess. 2:5, 10 (2nd part); (b) of Christ, Rev. 1:5; 3:14; (c) of those who witness for Christ by their death, Acts 22:20; Rev. 2:13; Rev. 17:6; (d) of the interpreters of God’s counsels, yet to witness in Jerusalem in the times of the Antichrist, Rev. 11:3; (e) in a forensic sense, Matt. 18:16; 26:65; Mark 14:63; Acts 6:13; 7:58; 2 Cor. 13:1; 1 Tim. 5:19; Heb. 10:28; (f) in a historical sense, Luke 11:48; 24:48; Acts 1:8, 22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39, 41; 13:31; 22:15; 26:16; 1 Thess. 2:10 (1st part); 1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 2:2; Heb. 12:1, "(a cloud) of witnesses," here of those mentioned in chapt. 11, those whose lives and actions testified to the worth and effect of faith, and whose faith received witness in Scripture; 1 Pet. 5:1.¶10

1. martureoµ (marturevw , (3140)) denotes (I) to be a martus (see A, No. 1), or to bear witness to, sometimes rendered to testify 11

1. martureoµ (marturevw , (3140)), for which see Witness, is frequently rendered to bear witness, to witness, in the R.V., where A.V. renders it to testify, John 2:25; 3:11, 32; 5:39; 15:26; 21:24; 1 Cor. 15:15; Heb. 7:17; 11:4; John 4:14; 5:9; 3 John 3. In the following, however, the R.V., like the A.V., has the rendering to testify, John 4:39, 44; 7:7; 13:21; Acts 26:5; Rev. 22:16, 18, 20.  5

C. Comment

The Absolute became our contemporary; God became man for thirty years or so, on order to bring us to a new dimension of life, through knowing him. But how can you demonstrate so staggering a claim? How can you bring it home to others? The answer is by witness. You can listen to the witness to himself which Jesus, the Teacher, brings; you can allow its inherent truth to convince you, and bring you to faith in him, and so to this new quality of life he came to make available for men. There is, after all, nothing more ultimate than the Divine Teacher to which you can appeal in order to validate his message. What is required is faith in the witness he brings.

That, surely, is why the person of Jesus is brought so strongly into relief as the content of 'the witness' in this gospel [John]. 6

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