And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. So we have these three witnesses— the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son. And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

1 John 5: 6-12

In the criminal trial system, we read about the weight of evidence pointing to the guilt or innocence of an individual. We hold to the thought that “one witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” But did you know that the quote is from Deuteronomy 19:15?

We believe in the testimony of human beings, but maybe there were some who were challenging John’s authority as an eyewitness of Jesus’ life in the passage above. John refers to Jesus’ initial introduction into the public eye during His baptism by John. While in the water, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and the Father spoke of His approval of His Son. Ultimately, Jesus’ bloody sacrificial death spoke of His identity when followed by His resurrection.

The disciples of Christ made it clear that they “did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”

There is power in the number of witnesses and our faith is not built on a shaky foundation but on the Word of God and the eyeswitnesses Paul recorded in 1 Corinthians 15.