John 3:11 Our Testimony_

Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ‭‭John‬ ‭3:11-12‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Starting with this verse, there is a dramatic shift in the tone of the text. Before, Jesus and Nicodemus were having a conversation – an exchange back and forth that was caught by John as a reporter would catch a news story. Then it shifts to a monologue. I could imagine that Jesus started teaching and John, and Nicodemus, were trying to keep up. What is written here is the result. In the coming verses Jesus explains the need for the sacrificial lamb, faith, and judgement. Jesus knows he’s a stone of stumbling. But if you, Nicodemus, can grasp the reason for why God is intersecting with Israel in this fashion (in me, a man of humble origin, completely outside the Jewish mold of your Messiah) then you will receive what you are looking for.

But first, there’s an interesting twist. We. Where did “we” come from? Among the many interpretations of why Jesus may have said it this way, the one that is the most intriguing is where he, in fact, means: we.

Jesus was a time traveler, but not in a 21st century Science Fiction fashion in which we think of time travel. Faith is incredibly powerful. It grasps something that is true, even if it is not yet present, and it wrestles it into the moment. From the beginning, God allowed men to time travel, so to speak. Salvation was given to Adam and later to Israel in the law. It was in the sacrifice of the lamb. But the lamb did not provide salvation. It was only a symbol that pointed to Christ who is the real lamb and his death as payment for sin. Even though Christ had not yet come, it was a powerful symbol with substance — Israel could believe it to be so, and it was. There was a future event that surely would happen, God says, and you may enjoy its benefits today.

Fast forward from Moses back to Jesus time. He too often accessed the future and brought it to the present. He said “believe on me” before he had even died. He said one must be born of water and the spirit, yet the spirit was not yet given. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and demonstrated that he had the keys of death by raising a little girl and Lazarus from the dead. Yet “death” is an enemy only vanquished at the end (according to Paul in 1 Corinthians and John in Revelation).

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:25-26‬ ‭NIV

He accessed the grace and intent of God and brought it to the present. And in this verse, it is no different. How? you ask.

Christ is the head. The church is the body. A head walking around without legs is an odd sight. Yet, he tells me I am redeemed. A son. An heir. A co-heir with him. I am his brother. He, by his amazing grace, sets me in a place that I should never be. Adam had this place at one time, then gave it up. Christ took it back. And now he shares it with me. I am part of him. And he has gone to prepare a place for me, that where he is, I may be too.

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:2-3

Not when my body is dead, but now, so that while on earth I may be with him where he is. I may see what he sees. And when I see something, I may tell others about it – just like Jesus is doing here with Nicodemus. I can share my experience. Just like you can tell me how awesome your trip to Disneyland was, or the tropical excursion to the Bahamas, I may tell you of heavenly things.

We.

Jesus and his disciples. Jesus and John. Jesus and me. Jesus and us.

Jesus said, “Our testimony.” Each of the disciples had viewed Christ and experienced his saving grace. He didn’t walk around Galilee tossing out empty promises. It was a genuine experience that these men and others who followed him had.

This was a simple switch in pronouns, but it unveils a truth about an experience that the Spirit is inviting us into. And we too will have a testimony of this new birth and the deep effects it has had on our person. We are no longer the same. And when looking at me, it requires faith, not just to believe that what happened to me is true, but that it can happen to you too.