“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God …” (Revelation 3:14).

Eyewitness accounts can differ, whether in the minor details of an event or in the major elements. Juries in court are often called on to determine who is recounting the scene accurately. Depending on the witness, the account can be skewed toward one perspective at the expense of another. One person, in protecting himself or herself or someone else, may shade the facts. Scripture warns against believing the first rendition of a story without cross-examination: “The first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him” (Pr 18:17). How often do we believe what a person says, only to later hear the “other side of the story”? Who can you believe without question? Whose word settles any matter without even the slightest fear of disputation? There is only one: Jesus Christ, the “faithful and true Witness.”

If Jesus were just a man and not God, then at some point fallen human nature would render Him unfaithful to His own words. If He were not God in the flesh, then He would be subject to the same truism mouthed of every other human being: “No one is perfect.” Everyone is flawed at some level. At the level of His flaw, if He were not God, He would become a hypocrite and couldn’t be trusted. Moreover, since He is considered the greatest teacher and moral revolutionary who ever existed, how could we possibly know which of His words could be trusted as a faithful witness of God and His truth, and which of His words reflected some moral deficit at some level, no matter how miniscule it might seem in view of His otherwise greatness? In truth, we would simply not know, and would need, for our own integrity’s sake, to cross-examine the teachings of Christ with the philosophies and teachings of other so-called great teachers of morality and spirituality.

Against all this, the apostle Paul proclaims (if we might adapt his apt words), “May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written” (Rom 3:4). Because Jesus is God, then any cross-examination is pre-empted with the truth that Jesus is the Word of God, the Logos (John 1:1, 14). He is truth defined (John 14:6). Therefore, whatever the Lord Jesus Christ says about God is faithful and true. He does not spin things, but speaks of God straightforwardly. Jesus asserted confidently to Pilate, “For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37). We can trust every word Christ says without ever fearing He will lead us astray.

Lord, I believe You even when tempted by the misleading voices of this world.