This sermon was preached on Sunday 14th April 2024 at St Peter and St Paul Church, Langham.

Readings: 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36-48

Have you ever watched a witness protection film? You know the classic story. The main character is a key witness to an event, maybe a crime, or other evidence which is needed in some sort of legal case. To protect them from being eliminated as a witness, they go into a witness protection programme. My favourite witness protection film is Sister Act, where Whoopi Goldberg goes into hiding as Sister Mary Clarence in a catholic convent in San Francisco after witnessing a murder. If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out. Dame Maggie Smith plays the Reverend Mother.

If you watch any legal drama, and I know that quite a few of us do, you understand the importance the witness plays in giving evidence in the trial. The testimony of a witness can be the key to throwing a case wide open, or even the basis for a conviction. Being a witness is incredibly important to the case. But even away from the court, the role of a witness is significant in signing other legal documentation from witnessing a marriage or witnessing a passport application. The role of a witness is key to many aspects of life.

It’s a great honour to play the role of witness, but also comes with great responsibility. A witness has a part to play, and they hold a great responsibility in doing it, as one can see in a trial, or you might see in a marriage as wedding season approaches.

Well, I’ve got some news for you. You are witnesses! Great…Witnesses of what? You are witnesses of Jesus Christ. In our Gospel reading, we see Jesus talking with his disciples. He is talking about all the things that have happened, and how they can be seen in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms, which is a Jewish way of referring to the three parts of the Old Testament. Jesus then says to his disciples:

‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day,and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.’[1]

Luke 24:46-48

‘You are witnesses of these things.’[2] What things? You are witnesses that Jesus suffered and died on the cross, rose from the dead on the third day, and that in his name is found forgiveness for sins. In the words of the famous Christian author, Lee Strobel, you are witnesses in the Case for Christ. As witnesses of Christ, we have the role and responsibility to proclaim to others about what we have seen or heard.

You might say, but we didn’t directly witness Jesus’ resurrection. So, what are we sharing today as Christ’s witnesses? Well, ask yourselves, what are your own experiences of seeing and hearing God in your lives? Think about your own experience of God’s love in your lives. As John writes in his epistle, ‘See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.’[3] We might not be direct witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection, but we can testify that Jesus is alive today through how he loves us. God loves us and has made us his children. We are loved and held by him. We are children with a heavenly father who watches over us and tends to our every need. This is what we testify. This is what we have witnessed in our own lives. This is witness that we are called to share with others. Share how God loves you and has made you his child.

As a final point for being a witness to Christ, note how in a courtroom, witnesses called to the stand are to give direct answers only. They do not try to explain how the evidence links to the case. The seemly share their testimony, and let their testimony stand for itself in the trial. As Christians, we do not need to understand how everything works together, or come up with elaborate arguments to explain complex doctrine. We simply share our testimony that God loves us, and in his love, died and rose for us to forgive our sins and brings us back to his love. This is our story. This is what we witness and share. So let us be the witness that Christ has called us to be.

Amen. 

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[1] Luke 24:46-48 [NRSV].

[2] Luke 24:48 [NRSV].

[3] John 3:1 [NRSV].