What is a Witness?

Witnesses by God's choice

Jesus had spent hours teaching the disciples who they were. God's servants, my friends, beloved children, disciples - they were people connected to God. At moments they seemed to understand, but not completely. At the beginning of the book of Acts, just before he was about to leave them, he chose to remind them they were to be "witnesses." Throughout the rest of the book of Acts their experiences with Jesus and the words they had heard from Jesus were their constant story.

Most occurrences of the word 'witness' in the book of Acts refer to the role the eleven apostles had as 'legal witnesses' of Jesus' death and resurrection. At the end of the book, Paul uses the word of himself because he also had heard and seen the resurrected Jesus. But in Acts 1:8, when Jesus uses the term, he quotes Isaiah where the word applies broadly to all God's people. It applies to God's witnessing community.

Three things stand out in this scene:

1. First, being a witness is not something any of these people chose. Rather it is something God chose for them. These were God's chosen people; these were the disciples Jesus chose. We often talk about being a witness or witnessing as if it were something we could choose or not choose; it is not.
2. Second, what made them witnesses was not something they did or practiced or earned; it was something they were. Their connection or identification with God made them witnesses. That does not mean that witness is passive. We bear witness, and we can even bear false witness. There were specific things Israel did and did not do which affected their testimony as witnesses.
3. A third observation is that being a witness is first "so that" we may know God and then "so that" others may know God. Being a witness is about knowing God, seeing his steadfast love, experiencing his work in creation, hearing his voice. Being a witness is not something directed only toward others, although it has implications for those around us. Being a witness begins by being grounded in a relationship with God. A witness is someone who sees and hears God.

In the broad context of scripture witness is a legal term. The Old Testament law talks about the number of witnesses it takes to establish the truth of a claim and it warns against bearing false witness. Often there is little distinction between witnesses and their testimony. Someone who knows or sees (or even something like a pile of stones which marks) is a witness. In some texts it is God himself who is a witness. God sees us clearly; he knows the truth about what we are and what we do. In the Old Testament, witness is an active identity whether conscious or unconscious.

In the New Testament witness continues to have an active sense. The disciples were witnesses and were often intentional about bearing witness. They openly and publicly testified about what they had learned and seen while with Jesus. But their witness was much more than their words; it was a whole way of life. Martos is the Greek word for witness from which we get the word martyr. As the early Christian gave up their lives for what they had seen, the word martyr began to mean "one who chooses to suffer or die for his or her beliefs." To be a witness involves giving one's whole life and even giving up one's life for something one has seen and heard.

"Witness-ship" is a mark borne by those who get near God. There is something so powerful about God's character that it is impossible to get near what he is doing without being marked. The closer we get the more profound the mark. Moses's face shone as a result of spending time in God's presence. The disciples became transformed people and the officials noted they had been with Jesus. It is impossible to live with hearts and minds focused on God without bearing signs of his presence. A witness is someone who has seen something.

Every Christian, then, is a witness. The act of seeing something, or we might say understanding something, is central to becoming a Christian. Regardless of how the conversion process comes about, we as believers have come to see Jesus as our Savior and Lord. We recognize a need for a Savior. In faith we have at least a faint, blurry image of ourselves at a murder scene because every Christian claims his or her own place on the edge of the crowd which crucified Jesus. And like Mary, Peter, John, Paul and others, every Christian, through the power of the Holy Spirit, has encountered the risen Christ.

Not only have Christians seen God at work in historic acts, but if they keep their eyes open they keep seeing him at work today. They see God still at work in their lives, in their friend's lives and in the world around them. They experience God doing things that they long for but can't make happen regardless of how hard they try. They experience God's forgiveness and love. They see themselves as creatures in need of that forgiveness and love. They see themselves honestly - badly screwed up AND loved by God. In this sense Christianity is a historical faith but not just a historian's faith. Again and again, our identity as witnesses calls us to look closely for the God who is already looking for us. To draw closer and closer in an intimate examination of what he is doing in our lives and in lives around us.

Unfortunately not all witnesses look carefully for God's activity. In Isaiah God's people neither hear nor see very well, yet still God calls them his witnesses. Throughout the Old Testament, God performed mighty and miraculous works in the midst of his people. They often missed his presence and activity. They often looked for some new sign. They rarely responded in complete, faithful obedience and yet their association with God still made them witnesses. Those who act blind and deaf can still be witnesses. Their testimony may not be true and accurate, but they are witnesses none the less. God in his grace continues to cherish us as his witnesses even when we mess things up.

So we are witnesses by God's choice. We can not help but be witnesses when we are identified with God. And we are witnesses so that we can know God. But there is another "so that" to witness. We are witnesses "so that" others can also know God.

God's people, his witnesses play a central role in God's plan. They are the evidence of God's work - not just in Isaiah's heavenly court but day to day. Scripture tells the story of a people so we can learn about God. How do we know God's love is steadfast? - By looking at the story of God's people. How do we know God keeps his promises? - By looking at his people. How does the world hear about God's salvation? - By hearing the testimony of God's people. Much of the testimony of God's people comes to us from the written pages of scripture. But what makes that testimony alive? It is the way in which written words are confirmed over and over again in the lives of God's people here and now. For better or worse, God has made his people vessels of the message of his love, ambassadors of his kingdom, lights on a hill, salt in society. God has made his people his witnesses.