The Witness of Prophets and Apostles

.... Through the witness of creation, through the word of the prophets, through John the Baptist, the testimony came of who Jesus is; through His words and deeds and the miracles He performed, more of His testimony was revealed to us.
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.... Through all of these things, God was revealing His Son to mankind; and Jesus in turn was a testimony of the Father – of who He is and of what He is like – for He always did those things that pleased Him:

.... "Then said I, "Behold, I come: in the scroll of the book it is written of Me. I delight to do Your will, O My God, and Your law is within My heart."

(Psalm 40:7-8 - 993 B.C.)

.... One day, after teaching the people, Jesus went up on a mountain alone, where He continued all night in prayer to God. The next morning He chose twelve of His followers, whom He would call ‘apostles’, to be with Him and to learn from Him in a special way.
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.... These twelve had known Jesus from the days of John the Baptist, and now they would continue with Him in His trials. They became special witnesses of His life, death, and resurrection, and of all that He would mean to us. Later, some of them wrote books or letters to tell of their experience with Jesus, and we still have their writings today. They’ve been compiled into the book we call The New Testament. ..

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.... Through the writings of the apostles, we see the life of Jesus as He lived among us. He was mighty in power, for God was with Him; but He was also hungry, thirsty, and tired as other men; He shared in their sadness, joys, and all other emotions. At times He was righteously angry and at times He rejoiced in His spirit. There were times of plenty and times of difficulty. But in every episode of His life they became His witnesses – not only of His power but of His character, for they constantly saw His personality in action:

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.... "Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples."

(Isaiah 8:16 - 732 B.C.)

... Most importantly for us, Jesus made Himself vulnerable when He came among mankind. He was beset with human weakness, just as we. He was even tempted in every possible way – yet He never yielded, because He trusted in the Father and relied on the Father's grace for the power to overcome temptation.
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.... Through this, Jesus passed every test that mankind had ever failed – and therefore God has highly exalted Him. And for the same reason He has compassion on us when we are tempted, and He offers us His power and support in our own times of need.
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... So in every way, Jesus became a living example and a model for us all. As we become Christians and grow in Him, we’ll find that our own thoughts and attitudes – our very character from within us – will start to become more like His:

.... "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher."

(Luke 6:40 - 28 A.D.)

.... The apostles were learning about His life, but soon they would discover His ultimate purpose: to save mankind from our sins through His death, then to bestow on us a new life in the staggering purpose that was about to be fulfilled in Him.

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