Acts 3:12-19

¹² When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, “You Israelites,^[a] why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? ¹³ The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant^[b] Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. ¹⁴ But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, ¹⁵ and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. ¹⁶ And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus^[c] has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.

¹⁷ “And now, friends,^[d] I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. ¹⁸ In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah^[e] would suffer. ¹⁹ Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out,

1 John 3:1-7

3 ¹ See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he^[a] is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. ³ And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

Luke 24:36b-48

³⁶ While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”^[a] 37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. ³⁸ He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” ⁴⁰ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.^[b] 41 While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate in their presence.

⁴⁴ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶ and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah^[c] is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses^[d] of these things.

The Subpoena for the Defense
18 April 2021
The Rev Dr Dianne ES Carpenter
Acts 3:12-19; 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48

Last week I mentioned that the trial of Officer Derek Chauvin is now under way.  Charged with 2^nd degree unintentional murder, 2^nd degree manslaughter & 3^rd degree murder for George Floyd’s death in May 2020. The frightening misuse of force and power has brought many people to their feet in protest.

In a recap of last week’s sermon I suggested that A jury will be asked to come to a verdict.  “Beyond a reasonable doubt”….then I stated that the disciples and I believe that Jesus was raised from the dead  “Beyond a shadow of a doubt”

This week there is another “incident”  – the killing of Duante Wright- again a 2^nd degree murder charge… another racism informed trial must be planned…

All four gospels give portions of the account of the official trials of Jesus:  the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus (before Caiaphas or Annas);

__the trial of Jesus at Pilate’s court (according to Luke also briefly at the court of Herod Antipas);

__Pilate’s consideration of the crowd’s opinion to give Barabbas amnesty and condemn Jesus to death; and

Continuing with the Court room theme … I would remind us that we have been Subpoenaed for the Defense as surely as witnesses are being called for trials today and as were present at Jesus’ trial, because the world continues to put Jesus Christ on trial when people are judged by the color of their skin and persecuted and killed.

We have been subpoenaed for the defense to determine whether Jesus was the Messiah or just a Rabbi. If Jesus was the Messiah – woe to those who crucify him still!  He was tried some 1990 years ago by Pontius Pilate who asked “Are You a King?” because it was unlawful for anyone save Caesar to be a King.  You could be crucified for claiming the throne.

Now why w ould I use legal language? – well because language is important.

During his ministry, Jesus called His disciples …. He summoned them …. We are Summoned for jury duty – a responsibility of a citizen.  And I am sure you answer Jesus’ call in your life – watching and waiting to see what Jesus is up to – as His disciples did – listening to him and considering what that might mean for you 

But then Jesus was crucified

Dead and buried….  You may or may not believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that He rose on Easter….  Not having been there in person…. Living in a skeptical age….. But we have these accounts of the resurrected Christ… here say evidence authenticated by tradition and scripture and for some people reason…

With churches on every corner it is overwhelming to the unchurched in our “freedom of religion” nation.  No wonder people say “I am spiritual but not religious”  It is confusing – all the choices today including Buddism, Islam, Uniterianism  Hinduism …humanism…

If you were born before World War II… You were baptized by your parents and confirmed in the faith in your teens.

You came to Sunday School and church with your parents and learned the stories and sang the songs and for the most part most of your friends did the same thing!  I remember saying the Lord’s Prayer in public school during morning exercises,

My biology teacher in High school – Mr. Carboni – was taken aback when one of my classmates objected to a reference to God in relationship to creation because the youth claimed to be an atheist … and he stood out because even the few Jewish children in our school believed in God…

Perhaps you met your spouse at a church youth encounter or dance

And then you left home… Maybe you went to college or one of the military branches…  Maybe you went into the work force and wondered if you were supposed to meet your “significant other” online or at the Local hangout (bowling alley or Bar)

You met people who didn’t describe God the way you did or called God by different names or even openly claimed “there is no God” BUT you had been taught that it was impolite to talk about religion or politics and that we had a separation of church and state!

Perhaps the community of faith became irrelevant for a time

When the stores remained open on Sunday and you were supposed to work on any or every day of the week

Until you started a family of your own and started bringing your children to church.  Then one day you were asked if you were born again!  WHAT!!! What Kind of evangelical, Bible thumping person do you think I am!

I love the Lord and my neighbor as myself… I follow Jesus… I serve on the committees of the church and when they call me I serve on the jury for trials (though that might be scary or inconvenient)

WE ARE GOOD PEOPLE but when it comes to testifying about our faith…   Sometimes … We need to be issued a Subpoena… to be a witness – When was the last time you testified about your Faith in Jesus Christ and him resurrected from the dead because He Lives and has done something wonderful in your life?

While I was writing this sermon I took a break and turned on the TV – right off I heard a commercial – perhaps you have heard it too:

When I saw how well the tooth whitener worked,

how easy it was to use 

“I knew I had to share it with the world.” 

A witness if I ever heard one!

When was the last time you testified about your Faith in Jesus Christ and him resurrected from the dead because He Lives and has done something wonderful in your life?

A subpoena is a legal document that commands a person to appear at a proceeding. It is used to compel the testimony of a witness in a trial.

In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what he or she knows or claims to know.

⁴⁴ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶ and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah^[c] is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses^[d] of these things.

Subpoenaed as a witness – unique position – it is more than being called– summoned- it is being assigned a Holy Responsibility

A witness is called up to the stand to give an account of what they have seen or experienced. This is, what it means to be a witness for our faith. We tell people about what we have seen, and experienced of the love, grace and goodness of God, in our lives and through Scripture.  Everyone’s story is different and everyone has a Story to Tell. 

When I went to Franklin UMC as their pastor I brought my ideas but I also adopted some of their traditions and one of those traditions was to have A Good Friday Service in which lay people from the congregation were invited to speak on each of the Seven Last Words of Christ.  I was there 8 years and I was thrilled to hear the thoughts and testimony of people who had experiences that informed their understanding of Christ’s Words from the cross.  Each year I had only one text to prepare but 6 times 8 means that I heard 48 sermonettes from the people I had come to serve.

We have received a subpoena to testify to the world of God’s great love and forgiveness because we have experienced it.   We are “eye witnesses” or “character witnesses” if not ”expert witnesses.”

Witnesses are usually permitted to testify only what they experienced first-hand. In most cases, they may not testify about something they were told (hearsay). That restriction does not apply to expert witnesses, who may testify only in the area of their expertise.  What is your faith expertise?

*Our mission and call from God is to spread the Good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth.  
Some people say actions speak louder than words… true.

But sometimes only words convey the truth as we know it from our experience…

*We do not testify by our power but by the power of the Holy Spirit and our witness, and it is the work of the Holy Spirit in someone else’s heart not your eloquence or education- that has the power to change lives.

*It means trusting God with the outcome, even in the face of rejection and persecution.

You would testify but:

“But I stammer,” you say. That’s OK. The Holy Spirit doesn’t stammer. He can speak clearly through your halting words.

“But I’m too shy to witness.” Don’t worry about your shyness. Let the Lord speak through you. “I don’t know enough Bible.” No one knows enough Bible. Work at it. While you work at it, tell what you know and leave the results with God.

“What if I make mistakes?” You probably will, and that’s OK, too. The Holy Spirit does not make mistakes, and he can cause people to forget your mistakes.

Perhaps you have one final objection. “I’m afraid it won’t work.” Don’t ever give up on the gospel because you think it won’t work. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would work through your testimony.

Let me leave you with this personal definition: A witness is anyone who cooperates with the Holy Spirit in telling others about Jesus. All God needs is a little cooperation from his people. When he gets it, we can change the world. God invites us to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in telling others about Jesus. This is God’s job description for every Christian. If we will do our part, we may be sure that the Holy Spirit will do his.

Now what are you going to do about it?

I’m asking each person who Hears this message to do two things.

1. Pray that God would give you a chance to witness for Christ this week.
2. Commit to speaking up when God gives you the opportunity you prayed for.

Conclusion

We have the best training resources money can buy, but resources do not reach people. People reach people. Saints, who see the commission, spend time with Christ, seek with conviction, speak with confidence, and share with compassion, can expect a loving God to use their winning witness to save souls.