Article • Witness and Testimony
Scripture had a word for this work long before the internet did. It called such a person a witness.
Primary Texts
Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Matthew 5:14-16; John 14:6; Psalm 34:8
Central Truth
A witness points away from himself to Jesus Christ.
What an Influencer Trades On
Today the word influencer describes someone who has built an audience and earned enough credibility that people listen to what he says. Influencers recommend products, ideas, lifestyles, and experiences, and their effectiveness rests on one thing, which is trust. People hear the testimony, weigh the recommendation, and act, because they believe the person speaking.
That gives me a useful picture of something far more serious. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I want my life and my words to move people toward Him.
The Commission Christ Gave
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV)
Christ begins with His own authority. All power in heaven and in earth is already His, and the commission rests on that fact rather than on the ability of the men He is sending.
What “Teach All Nations” Means
The King James reads “teach all nations,” and the Greek verb behind it is mathēteuō. It carries more than the English word teach now suggests to us. It means to make a disciple of a person, to bring that person into the place of a learner who follows Jesus Christ. The older English word teach covered exactly that ground.
The same verb is used of Joseph of Arimathaea, who “also himself was Jesus’ disciple” (Matthew 27:57, KJV), of the scribe “instructed unto the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 13:52, KJV), and of Paul and Barnabas at Derbe, where they preached the gospel “and had taught many” (Acts 14:21, KJV). In each place it describes a person being made a follower, not a person merely being informed.
There is a second word in the commission worth seeing. “Teach all nations” is mathēteuō. “Teaching them to observe all things” is a different verb, didaskō, which is ordinary instruction. So the Lord commands both. Men are to be made disciples, and disciples are then to be taught to obey everything Christ commanded.
That settles what my influence is for. Christ sent His people out to make disciples, and an audience was never the assignment.
The Word Christ Used for the Work
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 (KJV)
The Greek behind “witnesses” is martys, a man who gives testimony to what he has seen, heard, or knows to be true. A witness in a court is asked what he saw, and nothing else. His standing does not settle the case; his testimony does.
That is the influence I want to have. I want my testimony to point away from myself and straight to Jesus Christ. Notice also that the power for it comes from the Holy Ghost, not from platform or personality.
An Ambassador Carries Another Man’s Name
“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”
2 Corinthians 5:20 (KJV)
An ambassador does not represent himself. He represents the one who sent him. He carries a message he did not write, on the authority of a government that is not his own, and he is trusted exactly to the degree that he delivers it without alteration. So my work is to represent Jesus Christ and His gospel faithfully, and to keep my own name out of it.
Light That Points Somewhere
“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16 (KJV)
Notice where the glory lands in that passage. Men see the good works, and they glorify the Father which is in heaven. The light is doing its work when the attention comes to rest on God.
Why I Use the Phrase
When I call myself a Jesus influencer, I am not putting Jesus Christ forward as a product to be marketed. He is Lord. He is Savior. He is the Son of God. And this is what He said of Himself:
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
John 14:6 (KJV)
My calling is to use whatever influence God gives me to tell people who Jesus Christ is, what He has done, and why they can trust Him.
A Prayer
My prayer is that through my testimony, my love for Jesus Christ, the way I treat people, and the Word of God I proclaim, men and women will be moved to obey the invitation of the psalm:
“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
Psalm 34:8 (KJV)
So, Lord, make me a Jesus influencer. Give me courage to speak Your truth, humility to represent You faithfully, love for the people in front of me, and the power of Your Holy Spirit to be a faithful witness. Let everything I say and do point people toward Jesus Christ. Amen.
Salvation is only through a personal relationship with God the Father by grace through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. At the moment of saving faith, the believer is instantly and permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who regenerates, seals, leads, guides, empowers, and sanctifies in their walk with God.
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Related Teaching
You Shall Be My Witnesses: Acts 1:8 and Water Baptism
Renew the Mind, Change the Life
“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (KJV)
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