Wednesday 7th May 2008
There’s a lot about ‘witnesses’ in this opening chapter of Luke’s second book, Acts. The apostles had been commissioned as witnesses to Jesus, charged to carry his message not only to their own homeland but to ‘the ends of the earth’ (v.8) - though they were to wait until they had received the power of the Holy Spirit to enable them to do it. The words above, spoken by Peter, concern a replacement for Judas. The 12 had become the 11, and it was necessary, he felt, that the gap in the apostolic ranks should be filled.
The possible candidates were limited to those who had ‘accompanied us throughout the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us . . . from his baptism by John until the day he was taken up from us’ (v.22).
That tells us that there were more ‘disciples’ of Jesus, right from the early days, than the 12 chosen ‘apostles’. From the ranks of these men and women one must be chosen to make up the apostolic team. There was really only one qualification - the one chosen must be a ‘witness’ to Jesus.
We know from everyday experience what a ‘witness’ is - someone who has seen or experienced something for themselves, and is prepared to speak publicly about it. Witnesses in a law court are not asked to speculate or draw conclusions, nor to try to pass on other people’s reports or opinions. They must bear witness to what they have personally experienced, which in practice means seen or heard.
In the specific case here, in the upper room, the witness must be someone who actually saw Jesus, heard him preach, observed his miracles and mighty acts and - crucially - saw him risen from the dead. They cast lots, and ‘the lot fell on Matthias’ (v.26).
We speak in our diocese about ‘Sharing Life’. Of course, the ‘life’ we share is not ours but the life of the risen Christ. To share that, we too must be witnesses - and as we have seen, a witness is one with first-hand experience.
It is only those who have themselves been touched by the risen Lord who can effectively ‘share his life’ with others. We aren’t passing on second-hand experiences, other people’s stories, opinions or speculation. We are making public our private experience.
It’s just as well that the disciples in the upper room didn’t decide that their faith was a ‘private matter’, too embarrassing to speak to anyone else about. Had they done so, the last apostle might have toppled off his perch some time in the late first century wondering whether he shouldn’t have told somebody that Jesus came back from the dead.