WE HAVE SEEN


What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life -- and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us -- what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. 
(1 John 1: 1-4 – NAS)

I have always been struck by how earnestly John begins this letter. Biblical scholars place the time of the writing of this letter around A.D. 90. And assuming (as I do) that it was written by the Apostle John, he would by that time have been quite an old man. He had been a young man when he walked with Jesus (possibly even the youngest of the twelve disciples), so almost his entire life had been lived based on what he had seen and heard and experienced in those three momentous years with Jesus.

Sixty years or so is a longish time between an historical event and people “now living” discussing what it was and what it meant. I’ve been recently doing some research on the beginnings of World War II in Europe, and it struck me how quickly something can slide backwards into “historical dust.” The artifacts of such a period become curiousities (although innovation moves much faster for us than it did in the ancient world), and there become fewer and fewer eye witnesses to events as participants age and die off.

By the time this letter was written, such aspects were beginning to sneak in to the community of the followers of Jesus. What a joy it must have been to John to see that the teachings of Jesus could indeed be passed on to others, understood and followed. How exciting it must have been to realize these wonderful things would not pass away.

But there is something about the way he opens this letter that indicates also that other reactions to the teachings of Jesus had begun to creep into the community of believers. I suspect that the distance of time had allowed newer believers to treat many aspects of the life and teaching of Jesus as something “open to interpretation.”

Interpreting scripture was, after all, something that had a long tradition amongst the Jews. In Jesus’ time, it was, in fact, the past-time of the “scribes and Pharisees.” The students of one scholar could argue interpretation with the students of another scholar, and no one felt that they were imposing their personal interpretation on ancient events because there were not witnesses from the days of Moses to tell them otherwise.

It must have distressed John to see that beginning within the communities of believers. For at this time, Gnosticism was beginning to push its way into the church. According to my Ryrie Study Bible, Gnosticism held that (1) knowledge is superior to virtue, (2) the nonliteral sense of Scripture is correct and can be understood only by a select few, (3) evil in the world precludes God’s being the only Creator, (4) the Incarnation is incredible because deity cannot unite itself with anything material such as a body, (5) there is no resurrection of the flesh.

For John, who had walked with Jesus, seen miracles performed by Jesus, watched Him die a horrible death on the cross, and then – wonder of wonders – saw Him again, in the flesh, alive and walking with His followers, even touching Him after the Resurrection, to have newer believers, younger believers coming along and dismissing the heart of John’s life, it must have been a challenge of pain.

At the heart of Jesus’ teachings are the basic commandments “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul and mind, and you should love your neighbor as yourself.” All other commandments grow from that. John new this and heard this from Jesus Himself, so the idea that this core virtue was of less value than “knowledge” would be such a great error. The virtue and power of love greatly exceeds any security that can come from “knowledge.” This is not to say that there’s anything wrong with “knowledge” for it is as much a part of what God has given us as love is. But it is not superior.

It follows then that the idea that the real meaning of scripture can be understood only by a select few would also be something that would disturb John. The idea that everything in scripture is only metaphor to be interpreted would seem silly to John. Imagine it: he hears some young believer influenced by Gnosticism spouting off about how the story of the loaves and fishes being multiplied is just a metaphor for the abundance of the Lord, and all he can remember is the desperation the disciples felt when they realized the huge crowd was hungry and could be a problem, and Jesus blessed five loaves and two fish and then told the Twelve to feed the hundreds, possibly thousands, who had come to hear Him teach. And at the end of the day the disciples had to pick up the left-overs, and there were baskets overflowing. Some metaphor! Lugging around baskets of left-over food in the dusk after a hot day in the sun.

“We have seen, we have heard, we have looked at, and we have touched.”
At the moment, let us skip over the issue of evil and God as the only Creator. For this moment, as John is making his declaration of being an eye witness authority, let us come to the matter of the Incarnation and the resurrection of the flesh.

The denial that God would humble Himself to enter into flesh somehow offended the minds of Gnostics. “God wouldn’t do that!” “How could He be God and yet man?” It’s incredible, impossible. Therefore the entire concept is to be dismissed, in order to preserve the holiness and purity of God.

“Jesus was just a good man. Perhaps THE Good Man. But he wasn’t God.”

The seeming impossibility of divinity becoming human boggles the mind. So many people drop to a “more probable” interpretation. There was nothing divine about Jesus, he was just a human. (Of course, by saying the Incarnation is impossible, such "experts" are saying that there is something God cannot do, thus limiting the very nature of God.)

Again: “We have seen, we have heard, we have looked at, and we have touched.”
There is nothing metaphorical about calling Jesus the Word of Life, nor yet again in calling Him the Son of God.

With every fiber of his being, John knew that what he had seen and heard and touched in those three years when he was a young man was the Real Deal.

God had chosen to become manifest among us, in the flesh and blood. Wonderful things had happened, and we were given something amazing in the life of Jesus. God Himself taught us how to come near to Him, as simply and directly as was possible. So simply and directly that even the littlest child could respond! No special knowledge that required levels of initiation and study. Love.

And John, bursting with the reality of that in his life, has to re-convince newer believers who were being affected by Gnosticism, that he had the authority of an eye witness, that he was not an old fool telling comforting stories, but who did not understand the implications of what “really happened.”

He writes the letter to spill out the wonder and joy he has had all his life because of the things he heard and saw and touched. He knows this joy can be communicated to anyone, if they but listen. The fellowship with Christ Jesus and God the Father is available at all times, ever present for those who believe.

John was willing to stand as a witness and testify to the reality of what he had experienced. Not interpret it. Not present it as a useful metaphor for challenges. He was willing to state, flat-out, that he had witnessed the actions of Jesus Christ.

How willing am I to witness like that? I do it a bit. But often, it feels like I’m just “stating the facts.” I look at what John says here, and am humbled and challenged. “These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.” Do I convey the JOY of knowing the Lord and His actions in my life? Or do I just tell people it is there, but make no effort to infect them with my joy?

These things I have seen, and they are marvelous and wonderful, and there is great joy in knowing that the Lord God is so close at hand! For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. Jesus came that we might have this Life, and have it abundantly.