TWO WITNESSES

Yesterday was Passover. Today is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And this coming Sunday, Christians around the world will celebrate the Lord's victory over death and the grave. He is risen! All of this has happened every year since His resurrection, so why is this year so different? Well, for one thing, we are a year closer to His return! For another, since I have begun writing this blog, I have become much more focused upon the things of the Lord. My life had become like the Dead Sea, with water entering, but having no exit, I had become stagnant. I praise the Lord that the Spirit has magnified Him in my heart and given me this outlet.

I knew that the Bible teaches the necessity of having two witnesses to declare someone guilty (Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:6; Matthew 18:15-19; 2 Corinthians 13:1; etc.). And I knew that Jesus sent His disciples out in pairs to spread the Gospel of the Kingdom (Mark 6:7; Luke 10:1; etc.). But I had never thought of the two unlikely witnesses present at the Crucifixion of our Lord. Among those mocking Jesus were the two being crucified on either side of Him (Matthew 27:44). But later, one of the two thieves crucified next to Jesus rebukes the other, and asks Jesus to remember him when He comes in His kingdom (Luke 23:39-43). What had changed the heart of this man? Perhaps it was the sign hanging over the head of Jesus declaring Him to be the Messiah of Israel, the King of the Jews. Perhaps he decided to "cover all his bases" by seeking the Lord's favor, just in case He actually was the Messiah. No, I believe it was His unbelievable attitude of love and forgiveness toward His executioners. Jesus had earlier asked His Father to forgive them because He knew they didn't know what they were doing (Luke 23:34). Jesus was soul-winning to the very end!

The other witness was not even a Jew. In fact, he was one of the men who were crucifying Him. At the end of the six hour agony of Christ, punctuated by seven recorded quotes demonstrating the character of the One about to die, and the three hours of darkness followed by an earthquake, a Roman Centurion said, "Truly this was the Son of God!" and he glorified God saying, "Certainly this was a righteous man" (Matthew 27:54; Luke 23:47). God had changed the hearts of the thief and the soldier. I wonder what all those standing around thought when they heard the two witnesses? We may never know, but if any came to the same conclusion, we will spend eternity with them!

There is another example where God provides two witnesses to proclaim His Son's glory. In Revelation 11:3-12, God uses two men to witness to the world for 1260 days before they are martyred. When He raises them to life, fear suddenly replaces celebration, especially when they hear Him call them and see them ascend into heaven. Now the question is, since we are all to be witnesses, who are you to join in sharing Christ? The Lord will show you if you are willing to pray for a soul-winning partner. God bless you.