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Read: 1 John 1:1-2
Listen: 1 John 1

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life. 1 John 1:1

The stories of what Jesus did and taught aren’t works of fiction, nor did they float down from heaven for someone to discover. In 1 John, the apostle tells his readers, “We were there!” John says he is passing on what the disciples heard, saw and touched. They were around the table with Jesus, on the road, in the boat and in the garden with him. They were at the foot of the cross and in his empty tomb. John spoke with him, listened to him teach and witnessed his miracles. Simply put, John was with Jesus and wrote down what he experienced (along with three other writers of the gospels).

The testimony of the gospel writers is historically accurate. We know this because of what we see when we compare the gospels to outside (non-Christian) sources. The Jewish historian Josephus mentions Jesus, James and John the Baptist in his first-century writing. Lucian, a Greek-influenced Syrian from the second century, mentions Jesus’s crucifixion and the habits of his followers. Celcus, a second-century Greek philosopher, said Jesus was born in Judea, lived in Egypt, was a miracle worker and used “magic powers.” These references in non-Christian sources mean we can know that Jesus existed, was crucified and, according to many eyewitnesses, came back to life. Our faith is reliable and trustworthy.

TODAY: Pray with gratitude for the reliability of our faith. “Father, thank you for sending Jesus and for giving us the Bible, including 1 John, so that I can know I have eternal life. Help me live with confidence in this truth every day. Amen.” Join us for more conversation about being confident in our salvation on the Beyond the Weekend Podcast.