March 10, 2004

THE INFALLIBLE WITNESS

"For this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me" (John 18:37, NIV).

In our flawed, and sometimes corrupt, legal system, witnesses cannot always be relied upon or be trusted. In contrast, Christ's witness is reliable, unimpeachable, and infallible. Under a grueling interrogation by Pilate, Christ unwaveringly testified that He was born for the singular purpose of bearing witness to the truth.

Everything Jesus said was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Through centuries of misrepresentation, innuendoes, and half truths, Satan had succeeded in obscuring the truth about man, God, and salvation. That's why it was necessary for the truth to become incarnate and bear infallible witness to God's character. Christ came to earth for one supreme purpose--"to bear witness to the truth." In His memorable interview with Nicodemus, Jesus emphatically stated, "We speak what We know and testify what We have seen" (John 3:11, NKJV). To the Pharisees, He asserted, "My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going" (John 8:14, NKJV).

Every discourse Jesus gave, every parable He told, every miracle He performed, every sermon He preached was an infallible witness to the truth about God. Christ's followers are called to be trustworthy witnesses of the truth that has set us free. "Christ affirmed that His word was in itself a key which would unlock the mystery to those who were prepared to receive it. It had a self-commending power, and this was the secret of the spread of His kingdom of truth. He desired Pilate to understand that only by receiving and appropriating truth could ruined nature be reconstructed."--Signs of the Times, January 24, 1900.

My Prayer Today: Lord, by Your infallible witness to the truth, I have been set free. May my witness be like Yours. Amen.