The Proof

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

THE PROOF

Matt 17:9-13

9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."  10 The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?" 11 Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands."  13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

NIV

We know from Luke’s gospel that when Zechariah was in the temple an angel appeared to him and told him he would have a son and he would be a great preacher preparing the way for the Lord in the spirit of Elijah.

Luke 1:11-17

11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.   16 Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

NIV

This is what Jesus was referring to when he told his disciples that Elijah has already come. From the text we also see the disciples understood what he meant, even though they did not have Luke’s gospel as we do to verify that fact. They had Jesus right there with them to explain all things. They had just witnessed the transfiguration of their Lord and surely that had given them all the proof they would ever need that he was the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. They were the needed two or three witnesses needed for any legal matter to be settled.

Heb 10:27-28

 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

NIV

This has to been one of the reasons Jesus took the three with him to witness to his being the Christ.  They were told not to tell anyone until he was raised from the dead. We cannot be sure of their understanding about his being raised from the dead. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, and most likely so did the disciples, but that does not mean they thought it would be in the physical sense that Jesus came back from the dead, although he was in a glorified state. Nevertheless after he did raise from the dead, this event they witnessed was surely evidence enough for them they had been in the present of the Christ. Proof verified by their own experience. We have been told through his conversation with Thomas that we are blessed who believe, yet have not seen, and have not had proof verified by our own experience.

John 20:28-29

28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 

NIV

However, can we say we have had no experience to prove Jesus is the Christ? Surely we have not physically seen him transfigured as the disciples did in order to have the proof needed for them to preach all they did and bring so many people to believe in Christ Jesus. But we have had so much proof of our own to know, without a shadow of doubt, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. We have the verified proof written by the three who witnessed who he really is. When we consider that after seeing the crowds wanting to crucify Jesus, what did they have to gain personally by spreading the message, testifying to what they have witnessed and known to be true. Many of them, including Peter were crucified as well later in their lives. John alone was able to live out his days in old age, and that too was for the purpose of God, as he was given that great vision of what is yet to come. He could record it for future generations, being a witness of the truth. Still it comes back to us, to our needed proof. There has to be some reason we believe without actually seeing as the disciples did. Yes, we are blessed because we believe and yet have not seen, but do we not have any proof at all? Surely we have experienced the conviction of the Spirit, first and foremost. This should be proof alone. If it were not for the conviction of the Spirit we would not be a believer. We simply cannot believe on our own, we cannot turn from our wicked ways because we decide on our own accord. Some people might be religious, but not actual believers as a result of the conviction of the Spirit. We need only see how religious the Pharisees were, but they did not believe in Jesus as the Christ, to understand how people today can even be church attenders but not actually be true believers as a result of the Spirit’s conviction. Nevertheless, still after the experience of the Spirit’s work in our lives, we have countless other experiences of the hand of God in our lives. We have the proof of his healing, his provisions and his directions for our lives. Over and over again he shows us all the proof we could ever need. We have the recorded experiences of the men who walked the earth with him. That alone should be enough, but the fact remains, without the Spirit to guide us through this record, the Bible, we cannot see the truth within it. Without our experience with the Spirit and his gifts we cannot discern the truth, nor can we discern who is preaching the truth. Those who do not experience the Spirits guidance are deceived by false teachers, false preachers and false doctrine. Although we have not seen we have seen the proof.