2 Peter 1:16
Peter and the Disciples Were Eyewitnesses to Jesus
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.
Matthew 16:16
Peter Says Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
John 20:24-31
My LORD and My God
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.”
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.
John 21:24-25
John is an Eyewitness Who Wrote About Jesus
24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
Luke 1:1-4
Luke Carefully Researched the Information About Jesus
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 17:24-31
Luke Writes About Paul's Sermon in Athens
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
Eyewitness testimony or testimonies of honest men and women who who carefully investigate things are reasons to believe in the things they say and write...And being an eyewitness is all the more reason to believe in something an honest man tells you...When I think of the different evidences as why we believe in Jesus, I often think of His followers...We are given the four gospels who give us written testimony about Jesus and His teachings...The four different authors and their gospel writings are four of the best reasons to believe in Jesus...These were men who either walked and talked with Jesus or were men who knew the men of those that walked and talked with His Majesty...These men are men who existed, who are anchored in our world at a specific time, and who saw and believed in Jesus...
Sometimes if I think about the specific people who walked with Jesus, as Peter, John, and Thomas did, or who researched Him, as Luke and Paul did, I see this as strong evidence that Jesus walked the earth...Peter, John, Paul, and Luke all wrote about Jesus...And Thomas is a disciple, like many of us knew Him, then doubts Him, then believes again...
Peter, a Disciple of Jesus, wrote that he was an eyewitness to Him...Peter says that he did not follow any clever or made up stories about Jesus, but he actually walked with Him, talked with Him, and was an actual eyewitness to His Majesty...Thomas, another Disciple of Jesus, did not believe that Jesus resurrected after His death...Thomas said that he would not believe in any resurrection story about Jesus unless he personally saw the nail marks in His hands and could put his finger where the nails were that the Romans had nailed into His hands and legs to hold Him to His cross...And Thomas also wanted to put his hand into Jesus' side where the Roman soldiers had speared Him...Then after Thomas sees Jesus with these glorious wounds, He called Him his LORD and his God...
John, still another disciple and eyewitness to Jesus, says that the purpose of him writing His gospel is to tell us that Jesus is the Anointed One...St. John writes that these things are written that we may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in His name...John says that he is the disciple who testifies to these things and was an eyewitness and who wrote them down (in the Gospel According to John)...And St. John says he wrote his gospel so that we would know that the things he wrote about Jesus are true...
Luke was another one who wrote a gospel about Jesus and gives us his account of His life after much careful investigation...Luke tells us that many had undertaken the task to draw up an account about Jesus...So many people were trying to write stories or tell stories about this One Man, who was a Special Teacher...So Jesus must have been special since many were writing accounts and stories about Him...Luke says he personally and carefully investigated everything from the beginning about Jesus, and he too decided to write an orderly account and gospel for Theophilus, so that he could be certain of the things he had been taught about Jesus...
Paul would learn about Jesus and write much about Him in His epistles...Why would Paul spend the rest of his life teaching and writing about Jesus, if he did not believe that He existed and was the Son of God?...And Paul was a believer, who only met Jesus, after His death, on the road to Damascus...
We can see that there were men who knew Jesus and those who wrote about Him, and Peter, John, and Thomas were personal eyewitnesses to Him and believed He did exist and that He was the Messiah, and that He was Divine...And when I read these things and the gospels, I see the history of Jesus in them...And I also see the Spiritual Sacredness in them...The gospels give us both the historicity and the Spirituality of Jesus...
And then there was Stephen who was the first martyr for Jesus, who is written about by Luke in the Acts...Stephen would die for believing in and talking about Jesus...