I John 1:1-4 “Can I Get a  Witness”  8/23/09

The writer of this book according to every early source is the apostle John.  Ireneaus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian and Origen all strongly claim it was John.  There was no other writer ever suggested in the early church for this book.  There are many verbal and theological similarities between this book and the gospel of John.  The writer claimed to be close to Jesus, and certainly John was described as the disciple whom Jesus loved.  John begins his letter saying that they have been a witness to what they have experienced- what they have heard, seen with their eyes, touched with their hands.
Howard Hughes was one of the richest men in the world in the early 1960’s and he was a complete recluse- refusing to even come to court, and buying off writers who wanted to write a biography about him.  A writer named Clifford Irving came up with a scheme to write a fake autobiography about Hughes.  He thought since no one ever talked to Hughes how could they prove it was fake?   McGraw Hill paid $850,000 for the book.  Irving faked Hughe’s signature, faked interviews, and faked the bank account.  He told the police that his interviews were real.  Hughes tried to come out of his reclusiveness to refute Irving, but no one knew for sure it was him.   Hughes said he never even met Irving.  But finally in January of 1972 Irving admitted it all was a hoax and went to prison for 17 months.
            Irving had not seen Howard Hughes- no one would claim that he did see him.  Irving had not heard Hughes speak in person.  Irving had not shaken hands with Howard Hughes, and so his testimony was not valid.   On the other hand, many had seen the apostle John with Jesus.  John said that he had experienced Jesus.

I. HOW HE HAD EXPERIENCED JESUS-

A. HEARD- King Zedekiah asked when he was being attacked by his enemies- “Is there any word from the Lord?” (Jer. 37:17).   When we face the tough times we are not interested in others’ opinions or guesses, but a word from God.  Jesus is the living Word- God in the flesh.

B. SEEN and LOOKED AT- John had seen Jesus- there was no illusion or mirage there.  Many others had seen him as well- and so there is a plural “we” here.  The two words here in Greek are telling.  One word literally means to see with the eyes.  The other word translated “looked at” in the NRSV means to gaze or stare.  It wasn’t just a cursory glance that John was talking about- but he had deeply looked into the person of Jesus.  He had been fascinated with Him, and so thoroughly looked at him.  

C. TOUCHED- When Jesus rose from the dead he told Thomas to put his hands into his side and touch him (Lk. 24:39).  There were some people in the early church who thought that the body was evil and the spirit was good.  They had a hard time thinking about how a good God could become human flesh.  These people were called Docetists.  They believed Jesus was just a phantom- a spirit, and therefore never really died.  John was saying a profound “No!”  He had touched Jesus, and he was no ghost. 
            Touch is an amazing thing.  It is a healing and a powerful thing.  Perhaps you can remember when you first held the hand of someone of the opposite sex in a meaningful way.  I can remember the first time I put my arm around a girl- I was more nervous than an elephant in a minefield.  Older adults in a nursing home enjoy your holding their hand, and human touch.  The Bible speaks of Jesus healing them with his touch.  He would reach out to a leper- and touch those who had not been touched by a human hand in years.   They brought children to Jesus and he laid his hands on their heads.  We are designed to be touched.  Renee Spitz did a study on the “Failure to Thrive Syndrome” pointing out that  infants absolutely need eye contact and physical contact to not become permanently handicapped.  We live in such a busy and cyber society- we like to communicate without touching.  Church is a place where we can look someone in the eye and shake their hand- when no business deal or ulterior motive Is in the works.  We need to reach out to others in Christ’s name.  He has no mouth but our mouths; no feet but our feet; no hands but our hands.  When we hold the hand of the sick, put our hand on the shoulder of the grieving, put our hands to work at GOoDWorks, or touch the hand of the poor- we are touching others for Christ.  Once I knew a man in South Carolina who shook John F. Kennedy’s hand.  He often said, “This is the hand that shook the hand of Kennedy.” One of his grandchildren touched his when he said that and said, “This is the hand that touched the hand that touched the hand of Kennedy.”  If we have experienced the touch of Jesus in our lives, we should pass that touch on. 

II. WE DECLARE TO YOU- Our calling is to declare what we have experienced.  If you have experienced the hope of God in your life, part of your job as a Christian is to declare it- to not keep another’s hope hidden inside of you.  Today too many Christians act like we are embarrassed or ashamed to be Christians.  Maybe it’s because believers mess up, or we’re afraid we will mess up.  But that is a part of the good news.  We all mess up- we all sin and fall short of the glory of God- but there is still hope and forgiveness.  John was certainly not concerned about offending others.  He lived in a time of martyrs.  We do too.  There have been more martyrs the last 100 years than all the other centuries put together.  Think about how you declare the gospel to other people.

A. BY THE WAY YOU LIVE- Being considerate, kind, Christ-like in how you treat other people.

B. BY IDENTIFYING WITH CHRIST- Not being ashamed to

C. BY INVITING- Inviting someone to church or Bible study.  There are Rally Day invitations- it’s a great time to invite someone to our new Sunday School classes. 

D. BY TESTIFYING- Just like John did.  I may not know all the details about doctrine (who does?), or about how to answer every question- but I know that believing in Christ has helped me in my life.  That which I have experienced- I declare to you.  I once was blind but now I see.

E.  DECLARING THE GOOD NEWS- John 3:16- For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

            The Times-Reporter of New Philadelphia, Ohio, reported in September, 1985 a celebration of a New Orleans municipal pool. The party around the pool was held to celebrate the first summer in memory without a drowning at the New Orleans city pool. In honor of the occasion, 200 people gathered, including 100 certified lifeguards. As the party was breaking up and the four lifeguards on duty began to clear the pool, they found a fully dressed body in the deep end. They tried to revive Jerome Moody, 31, but it was too late. He had drowned surrounded by lifeguards celebrating their successful season.   In Chapin, unlike some places in the world- there are many churches- many lifeguards.   But often we are so busy worshipping and celebrating our faith that we do not care to reach out our hands to our neighbors who may not go anywhere at all.

III. THAT OUR JOY MAY BE COMPLETE.

A. THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH- A conference at a Presbyterian church in Omaha. People were given helium filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts. Since they were Presbyterians, they weren't free to say "Hallelujah, Praise the Lord." All through the service balloons ascended, but when it was over 1/3 of the balloons were unreleased. Let your balloon go.

Mark Twain....Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of
a joy you must have somebody to divide it with?

B. WE WERE CREATED TO HAVE GOD’S JOY- C.S. Lewis once said, Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

C. OUR JOY IS COMPLETE WHEN OTHERS EXPERIENCE CHRIST WITH US- the Bible says that the angels rejoice when a soul comes to God.  There also is a real joy when we lead others to God.  When our children are confirmed, when they take part in the activities in the church, and when they go to church after they leave home.  If we have a family member or a co-worker or a neighbor join us in the faith- that is a real joy too.

As a third-century man was anticipating death, he penned these last words to a friend: "It's a bad world, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians--and I am one of them."  There is a joy in teling- declaring to others about our faith and what we have experienced.  But the world needs to hear it.