Last week, we meditated on how Peter and John focused on a man born unable to walk, commanded him, In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk! and stretched out their right hands to lift him up. Yet this man did not go off to the fields or mountains he stood by the apostles Peter and John, becoming a witness to Jesus Christ. I sometimes see deacons who want to leave the church. But as I was nurtured here, my sin became visible and my life was interpreted. So I brought my father and mother to church, and together we rose up in Jesus Christ and became living witnesses. I want us to consider what kind of witnesses we are.
First, we should be witnesses where we are placed.
After the lame man stood up and entered the temple, and this became known, the high priests and Sadducees, filled with jealousy, had Peter and John thrown into prison. But God sent an angel to rescue the apostles and told them to stand in the temple and proclaim this very thing. The first thing the apostles did after leaving prison was to stand in the temple at dawn and preach the word, and they were brought back and made to stand before the council. In the very place where Jesus had been led away two months earlier, Peter did not deny or flee, but stood as a witness to Jesus Christ.
Even if I fail, God repeatedly shows me the same situation to signify that this is the place of my calling. For my salvation, God gives me recurring circumstances, so I must not flee the place of my calling. It is not where I chose to go, but where I was led unwillinglyampmdashmy family is the place where I must stand as a witness. Just as Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, I hope you will believe that I was led by the Holy Spirit, within God#039s choosing and plan, into the hands of the Lord, who brought me into this family.
My father went to prison when I was in high school. After his release, he lived his entire life unemployed, an alcoholic, and homeless. Unable to endure the abuse and drunken rages, my mother left home when I was in my senior year. Truly, my father was someone no one could handle. Yet God entrusted me with him because He trusted me. Because He first saved me, a sinner incapable of doing anything, I could become a witness in a place I didn#039t choose, a place I wanted to leave, a place I wanted to flee from.
God does not leave us alone He gives us community to hold our hands. He places someone beside us, and even in moments when no one is there, the Holy Spirit is with us. When it#039s too hard to even get up, it#039s okay to just sit. Like the beggar sitting at the temple gate, even without doing anything, our very lives are a testimony. For us, bearing the scars of suffering, simply living becomes a testimony in itself.
Second, I should become a witness to Jesus, whom I crucified on the tree.
Because our very existence is a testimony, people keep asking: How did you keep your family? How did you obey your parents? How did you serve your children? How did you come to life? Being asked these questions means I am living a life of witness.
The high priest refers to Jesus as this man and the gospel as your teaching. Accepting this means acknowledging that they nailed God#039s Son to the cross and killed an innocent man. Therefore, they deny it with all their might, again and again. The moment they admit it, they become sinners. So we cannot admit I was wrong we forbid it, again and again. But when there is no one to speak to, it becomes unbearably difficult. When we cannot speak, we put on a mask. Those wearing masks do not testify to Jesus they testify to their own actions, to themselves, living lives of pride and excuses. Our value is not determined by others#039 perceptions, but by whose witness we are. True relationships begin not in the performance of striving to be loved, but in revealing, confessing, acknowledging, and testifying to genuine experienceampmdasheven at the cost of misunderstanding.
Third, we should become witnesses of repentance and forgiveness of sins.
Concerning Jesusampmdashwhom the high priest refused even to mention by nameampmdashPeter and John clearly state, Jesus, whom you crucified on a tree. This is not to condemn but to call them to turn and live. 'Know the One who grants repentance and forgiveness of sins. I too killed Jesus Christ, you too killed Jesus Christ, we are all sinners.'
Repentance is not mere regret but a break with the past. Just as the Israelites who left Egypt did not return after crossing the Red Sea, repentance means a complete severance from the past. Yet this is not achieved by human resolve alone it is possible only through God#039s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit. A witness is not one who boasts of their achievements, but one who acknowledges sin, turns away, and testifies to the fact of having been forgiven. The word witness itself carries the meaning of martyr, signifying one who suffers for their faith. The witness of this age is one who puts to death the pride that insists on self-righteousness. When we confess in obedience, the Holy Spirit testifies for us, empowers us, and exalts us.
This is a community confession.
One elder had hidden the sin of having an affair twice with a married woman throughout his life. However, when his son faced the situation of marrying an older woman who had failed at marriage, he found himself confronted with circumstances he did not desire. At that time, he confessed to future daughter-in-law, She is more righteous than I am, and received public discipline. He then progressed to a place of repentance where he did not repeat that sin, and that process became his testimony, making him a witness who saved many people.
Sisters and brothers,I urge you to obey the word given to you today. Then the Holy Spirit will also testify for us. I pray you will experience the blessing of standing before the Father on the last day, when the Holy Spirit testifies with inexpressible groans, Lord, this person is your son, your daughter.
