The Twelve apostles had been eyewitnesses to the miracles of Jesus and those that followed would be so in “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria”, and “the uttermost parts of the earth”. The Apostles had heard with their own ears and seen with their own eyes all that Jesus had said and done. Matthias, who replaced Judas. had been a follower of Jesus from the Lord’s baptism until his ascension (Acts 1:21-22).
Although we were not eyewitnesses to those events, we accept the reliability of the evidence of the apostles. However, if we are to give credible witness to the life and power of the Lord Jesus, we need to witness to some degree the Lord’s power at work in and through our own lives.
We preach and teach the inspired record of the apostles, which is well and good. But if we have our own experiences of what Jesus did during his life on earth, we are able to add our own personal witness to his saving power — his forgiveness of our sins, his gift to us of the Holy Spirit, and our Lord’s healing power — to mention but a few things.
Our experience added to that of the apostles, is important. I love the inspired narratives of the Gospels and The Acts of the Apostles, and have been blessed to have experienced some things that they did, which makes me an up-to-date eyewitness. I’m sure that my readers could add their witness to mine and perhaps more than mine. The Bible is evidence enough for the believer, but our own eyewitness to those around us adds relevance to the power of Jesus today.
Peter the apostle wrote of himself, James and John, as eyewitnesses to the Lord’s glory, on Mt Transfiguration. None of us can match that! (The other nine disciples were not present and so could not.) But with words inspired by the New Testament and spoken in the Spirit of God and our willingness to witness the saving and healing power of Jesus in our own lives, we can make a strong case that will bring conviction to the hearts of many.
They may have heard of the Good News, but we have experienced it!