2 Peter 1:12-21
12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
John 20:24-31
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
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.”
The Purpose of John's Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
1 John 1:1-4
The Incarnation of the Word of Life
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
Luke 1:1-4
Introduction to the Gospel According to Luke
1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
Acts 3:11-16
11 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.
Is Jesus real?...Is He alive today?...To believe these questions and believe in Him, He must be a Real Figure, a Real Man, whom people saw when He was on earth...Then you have to believe that the authors who were writing about Him, and were writing about Jesus, the Son of God wrote about Him as to what He really did...So for one to believe, you have to believe that these gospel stories and the epistles of the New Testament that are true and about the Truth...
An eyewitness is a person or persons who have personally seen something happen and so can give a first-hand description of it...And there were people who were eyewitness to Jesus, and who witnessed Jesus' spoken word, His teachings, and His healings...The New Testament is both historically and spiritually true...The New Testament Books brings the Truth into the Light...And it shows the Light as Truth...
The Disciple Peter writes, in his second epistle, that the people following Jesus did not follow cleverly devised stories when they were told you about the coming of our LORD Jesus Christ in power, but they were actual eyewitnesses of His Majesty...So Peter is saying he and the other Disciples were eyewitnesses to the things that Jesus did and were there when He was teaching...The stories were not cleverly devised, but just simple stories of Truth...In the Acts, Luke writes that Peter said that men of Israel had killed the Author of Life, but God raised Him from the dead...Peter says they (the Disciples and other) were witnesses of this...Luke also wrote in his introduction to his gospel that many had undertaken to draw up an account of the things about Jesus and that have been fulfilled and did happen among us in Israel, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were the eyewitnesses and servants of the word of Jesus...
John wrote that the purpose of him writing his gospel was to tell us about Jesus...Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His Disciples, which are not recorded in his gospel...But these were written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name...Then John writes in his second epistle that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life...The Word of Life appeared; we have seen it and we testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us...We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us...And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ...
So we see that Peter and John personal say that they have seen Jesus, touched Jesus, and were eyewitnesses to the His Majesty, the Author of Life and the Word of Life, the Son of God...We see that Luke believed in Jesus because of all the research that he did and to talking to some of the first eyewitnesses of Jesus...
Another Disciple who would not believe, in the fact that Jesus had resurrected from the dead, was the Disciple Thomas...And Thomas was with Jesus all along...He was dubbed the name, Doubting Thomas...The other Disciples had saw Jesus after His death, but Thomas was not there on that particular resurrection appearance made by Jesus...So he said to the other Disciples, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”...A week later His disciples were in the house again, and this time Thomas was with them...Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”...Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see My hands...Reach out your hand and put it into My side...Stop doubting and believe.”...Thomas said to Him, “My LORD and My God!”...Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”...
Faith and Truth comes to life in the gospels and the New Testament...There is a Son of God who is real and was witnessed by many, and therefore there is a Living God, His Father, who is alive and well...The one of faith is invited to read and trust and believe these books and to trust and believe in Jesus...