Testimony
Read John 5:31-46.
When I was growing up, we occasionally had Sunday evening services at my home church. And, a lot of the time, that service consisted of singing ("Any requests tonight?") and testimony time. I once visited another church with a friend on a Sunday evening and their church also used the bulk of the Sunday evening service for testimony time. (I've learned since becoming a pastor how much time and work it takes to prepare one sermon...so testimony time was the pastor's way of getting out of preparing another sermon!) One thing I remember about testimony time, however, is that pretty consistently our testimonies were about us. Me. What God has done for me.
Jesus has another idea about what a testimony should be. In fact, even though he could boast about himself, he says to do so would invalidate his own testimony. He is reliant upon others to testify about him. Who are these "others"?
First, Jesus says John testified about him. We know John prepared the way. He pointed others toward his cousin. He called Jesus "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). But, oddly enough, Jesus says of all the witnesses about him, John's is the least important because it was (by necessity) only temporary.
The next witness is found in the works Jesus is doing. His actions do, in fact, speak louder than his words because the things he was doing—healing, teaching, caring—were the sorts of things the savior, the Messiah, was supposed to do. In fact, Jesus says another witness (the Scriptures) would tell them that if they really took time to understand them. He even goes so far as to say that if they don't see in the Scriptures a witness of him, then they've read the Scriptures in vain. (This is also where the discussion about Moses, at the end of this section, comes in. In his writings, Moses looked ahead to the Messiah. What he experienced was a foreshadowing of all that was to come.)
The final, ultimate witness is the Father himself. God the Father has authorized and authenticated Jesus' ministry. God himself points toward Jesus with his witness. We know that the Father's voice echoed at Jesus' baptism (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22) and at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35). Yet, as is hinted at in both accounts, Jesus says the people there have not heard the Father's voice (5:37; see also John 12). They can only "hear" the Father's testimony about Jesus if they choose to believe in him. It's a leap of faith, a witness they can only gain by trusting in the one the witness is about.
Here's the point: every valid testimony points to Jesus. Every good word or faithful witness should point to Jesus. He's the one who is worth being talked about, and he's the one whom our faith's experience gives evidence to. In our testimonies, do we talk more about ourselves and what God has done for me, or do we talk more about the wonder that Jesus is, and all the ways he is beautiful, faithful, sustaining and the reason we live? Testimony about ourselves (even if we couch it in Jesus talk) is not worth our time. But a witness about Jesus is something that everyone will be drawn to.
Let's do what we do and say what we say not to bring glory or attention to ourselves, or even our churches. Let's put the spotlight on Jesus.
When I was growing up, we occasionally had Sunday evening services at my home church. And, a lot of the time, that service consisted of singing ("Any requests tonight?") and testimony time. I once visited another church with a friend on a Sunday evening and their church also used the bulk of the Sunday evening service for testimony time. (I've learned since becoming a pastor how much time and work it takes to prepare one sermon...so testimony time was the pastor's way of getting out of preparing another sermon!) One thing I remember about testimony time, however, is that pretty consistently our testimonies were about us. Me. What God has done for me.
Jesus has another idea about what a testimony should be. In fact, even though he could boast about himself, he says to do so would invalidate his own testimony. He is reliant upon others to testify about him. Who are these "others"?
First, Jesus says John testified about him. We know John prepared the way. He pointed others toward his cousin. He called Jesus "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). But, oddly enough, Jesus says of all the witnesses about him, John's is the least important because it was (by necessity) only temporary.
The next witness is found in the works Jesus is doing. His actions do, in fact, speak louder than his words because the things he was doing—healing, teaching, caring—were the sorts of things the savior, the Messiah, was supposed to do. In fact, Jesus says another witness (the Scriptures) would tell them that if they really took time to understand them. He even goes so far as to say that if they don't see in the Scriptures a witness of him, then they've read the Scriptures in vain. (This is also where the discussion about Moses, at the end of this section, comes in. In his writings, Moses looked ahead to the Messiah. What he experienced was a foreshadowing of all that was to come.)
The final, ultimate witness is the Father himself. God the Father has authorized and authenticated Jesus' ministry. God himself points toward Jesus with his witness. We know that the Father's voice echoed at Jesus' baptism (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22) and at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35). Yet, as is hinted at in both accounts, Jesus says the people there have not heard the Father's voice (5:37; see also John 12). They can only "hear" the Father's testimony about Jesus if they choose to believe in him. It's a leap of faith, a witness they can only gain by trusting in the one the witness is about.
Here's the point: every valid testimony points to Jesus. Every good word or faithful witness should point to Jesus. He's the one who is worth being talked about, and he's the one whom our faith's experience gives evidence to. In our testimonies, do we talk more about ourselves and what God has done for me, or do we talk more about the wonder that Jesus is, and all the ways he is beautiful, faithful, sustaining and the reason we live? Testimony about ourselves (even if we couch it in Jesus talk) is not worth our time. But a witness about Jesus is something that everyone will be drawn to.
Let's do what we do and say what we say not to bring glory or attention to ourselves, or even our churches. Let's put the spotlight on Jesus.
Telling our story with Jesus as the central Person and purpose of that testimony is always the right way. We should always point to Him.
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