January 18, 2026

John 1:29-42

 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³² And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³ I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Chosen One.” ³⁵ The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and as he watched Jesus walk by he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” ³⁹ He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. ⁴⁰ One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹ He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). ⁴² He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

Sermon

Can I get a witness? (Now I have a song stuck in my head!)

This week the word that has jumped out at me over and over is

Witness,

          John witnesses to Jesus:

 the one who comes after me, who is greater than me

                   The one who the holy spirit descended on

                   Behold the Lamb of God

          Andrew witnesses to Peter

We have found the Messiah

And in the last verses of John chapter one   

Phillip witnesses to Natheniel

We have found him about whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote,

It seems being a witness to Jesus comes naturally to them. Of course, it was so much easier for them. Jesus was right there with them. And they weren’t living in the bizarre times we are.

Right?

We are living in a time of unparalleled irrationality, of extraordinary brutality, of unprecedented pandemonium. The bad news is so overwhelming, the good news is crowded out.

At least, that’s what I thought. Then I read theologian and author Diana Butler Bass’ Substack post – Witness to the Bad News. And it was so powerful that I knew it needed to be the meat of my sermon today:

They didn’t want to watch, but they did. They saw it all — the soldiers, the mocking, the inhumane power of the state. They followed to the end.

They witnessed injustice, terror, and murder.

Christians witness to the Good News. We remember the witnesses to the resurrection.

But we don’t often think about witnessing to the horror of the execution. Yet that’s part of the story. All four gospel record the witnesses to that evil:

In Matthew:

Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and had provided for him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. (Matthew 27:55-56)

In Mark:

There were also women looking on from a distance; among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. These used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee; and there were many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem. (Mark 15: 40-41)

In Luke:

But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. (Luke 23:49)

In John:

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. (John 19:26)

How easy it would have been to not witness. To stay at home. To run away. To hide. Some of the disciples did that. As Jesus was taken to the hill to hang, they denied him and disappeared. Afraid they might be next, I suppose. Not wanting to see the violence. Unwilling or unable to view the trauma of such a murderous death.

But a few continued on. They followed the torturers through the streets. They cried and cried out. They wiped the victim’s face. They carried the cross. They prayed, they probably swore at the soldiers. They wouldn’t turn around. They wouldn’t be dissuaded. They watched. They saw the Roman soldiers laugh during the nailing and the bleeding; ridicule and taunt the victim as his body broke under the midday sun. Yes, the witnesses watched. And they would tell what they saw.

They watched an innocent man killed by a cruel state. To make an example of troublemakers who taught traitorous things like loving one’s neighbor.

Before there were any witnesses to the risen Christ, there were witnesses to Jesus mocked, tortured, and murdered by the Roman empire.

And that’s part of the Christian call of faithfulness — to stand in witness to the brutality, inhumanity, domination, sin, and evil of the empires of this age. Because, before good news, the news can be very, very bad.

Very bad indeed.

Witnesses watch events unfold, even when hearts break. Even when tempted to look away. Witnessing is more than being a bystander, an onlooker. Witnessing is active — it means bearing testimony what one has seen, to provide evidence of the truth of a thing, no matter how shocking, brutal, or inhumane. Witnesses tell a story.

(Israeli historian Yahuda Bauer’s powerful call to action is inscribed on a wall in the Hall of Witness on the ground floor of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum)

Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.

— United States Holocaust Museum

But witness. With words. With pictures. With your heart.

The line that says: “And that’s part of the Christian call of faithfulness — to stand in witness to the brutality, inhumanity, domination, sin, and evil of the empires of this age. Because, before good news, the news can be very, very bad” really hits me.

Witnesses to the bad news are needed – very much needed. We need the truth to be spoken, even when it’s bad news.

But that’s not the end of the witness. Witness and testifying to the bad news is just the start.

Because the cross isn’t the entire story. There’s still the empty tomb.

But there’s no empty tomb without the cross. And sometimes we need to linger there at the cross and bear witness to the pain and injustice – not bury it in our rush to the empty tomb.

Don’t be afraid to witness. Don’t be afraid to call out injustice, brutality, inhumanity, sin and evil.

Don’t be afraid to witness. Stand and testify to the truth, to the good news and to the bad news.

Can I get a witness!