TESTIMONY

TESTIMONY

John 1:14 ¶ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John talked about seeing Christ for Himself. John witnessed something and wrote the book of John as part of his testimony. Christ’s birth in Bethlehem was witnessed by various people. The birth of the Savior effected their lives in profound ways. The supposed father of Jesus, Joseph, was a witness of the whole event. He was visited by an angel during Mary’s pregnancy that convinced him of the supernatural nature of Mary’s conception. The angel quoted a verse from Isaiah to Joseph that effected the rest of his life. The scripture was Is. 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” This was a shocking unveiling of a familiar verse to Joseph. It described Mary’s pregnancy as the fulfillment of this prophecy about a virgin birth. The verse also brought out the divine nature of this incredible child. When Christ was born, Joseph beheld His glory for himself.

Other witnesses to this glorious event were the magi from the east. They came from hundreds of miles away after seeing a sign in the heavens. They were reminded of David’s declaration. Psa. 19:1-2 “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.” The heavens were crying out in anticipation of the birth of the King, the wise men not only witnessed the sign in the heavens, they saw the Savior Himself when they came to Bethlehem.

Then who can forget the shepherds. They had an encounter with the angels of God in the fields outside of Bethlehem. Luke 2:10-12 “Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

They found themselves literally running to the stable where Christ was born. From that day on these men were witnesses of what they had seen.

Luke 2:20 “Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.”

Eight days after the birth of Christ, the old man Simeon became a witness. He saw Jesus in the temple at His dedication. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Simeon and he began to prophesy about this child.

Luke 2:29-31 “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,”

Simeon bore witness by the Holy Spirit that this was the promised Savior of the world.

And finally, the greatest of all witnesses, Mary. Mary, of all people knew the supernatural nature of His birth. From the day the angel visited her, she had carried the Son of God in her womb. For nine months she realized the Son Himself was within her. We also have become witnesses to this special birth. Maybe we haven’t seen Him with our eyes but we carry Him inside of us. Just as Mary carried Christ in her womb, not only for the world but also for her own salvation, in the same way, we carry Christ in us. We too are witnesses of a supernatural birth. This birth is spiritual and very personal. It is Christ in us the hope of glory.