¹ We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. ² This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. ³ We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴ We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.

Touched Him

John begins his letter by reminding his readers that he was there. He was there. He walked with Jesus. He heard the words come out of Christ’s mouth. He ate with him, laughed with him, cried with him. He touched Jesus’ skin.

Paul couldn’t say that. Billy Graham couldn’t make that claim. Mother Theresa never experienced Jesus in that way.

But John did.

I wonder if John got tired of some of typical questions people probably asked him. “What did Jesus look like?” “Did he have an accent?” “Was he funny?” “Did he smell different?” Let’s face it, I’m sure John was asked questions like that all the time. At the time of this writing, John was living in Ephesus. That entire church family was in the same boat as we are: they had never seen Jesus in real life. They would have had the same questions as we would have.

And yet, like Peter, or the other Gospel writers, John never bothers to answer these questions in writing. I have no idea if he took the time to answer them through spoken word, but he never wrote down the answers to those questions. It’s pretty clear that it wasn’t a priority for these early church writers, or for God himself.

Yet, I can’t help but be curious. Yes, some of you more spiritual types will be quick to point out to me that we see Jesus everyday. The poor, the mistreated, the prisoner, the widow. As Jesus pointed out, when we minister to these people, we are ministering to him. He looks back at us through their eyes. And yes, it’s true, that Jesus is with me everyday. The Spirit resides within me, and I live every moment with Christ in my life.

But, just back away from the spiritual talk for a minute and just consider what it must have been like for John. As he writes these words, the death and resurrection of Jesus is fifty years ago. John is around eighty years old. And yet, the memories of walking with Jesus are as sharp and as vivid as if they happened yesterday. Talk about “awe” moments.

There’s a confidence we can talk from that. The teachings of Jesus are not three or four or even five generations old. They are still fresh. When we listen to John, or Peter, or some of the other New Testament writers, we are hearing first hand accounts of what Jesus did and said. That’s fairly rare in historical accounts.

My prayer: Lord, thank you for people like John. As he begins this letter, he reminds us of his first hand experience with you. It must have been so incredible. And so, while we cannot experience that ourselves, we can know what it was like through the eyes of John. I find that incredible. It builds my faith knowing that I am hearing from someone who was there. Someone who walked with you. Speak to me through his words. Amen.

Until tomorrow.