Briefing: In law enforcement, what kind of witness testimony what holds more weight, a firsthand account, a secondhand account or when you personally see it for yourself?

Dispatch (Assignment): Read John 20:1-9.

On the Street: The scriptures are full of accounts where people saw and believed. It is also filled with stories of people who saw and still did not believe.

Jesus’ disciples were no exception. After Jesus’ resurrection Thomas told the disciples that he would not believe it until he personally put his hands in the holes in Jesus’ hands where He had been pierced with the nails. In this passage we see where John rushes to the empty tomb and sees that Jesus was not there. John 20:8 (NIV), “Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.”

Law enforcement officers have a hard time believing without being able to see the evidence. I pray the mathematical proof in one of our previous devotionals, titled Proof, was enough to convince you Jesus is who He claimed to be.

Don’t misunderstand, it is ok to ask question and dig for answers. The Bible is full of proof. I challenge you to do your own research and seek answers to the questions you have. As a modern day American, there is no excuse not to know God. Our access to God’s Word (the Bible) is greater than any other people in the history of the world. Read and believe.

Remember that it is not with our eyes that we believe, it is with our hearts that we believe. Proof is not always in what you see. “That if you confess with our mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Romans 9:9-10.

Investigational Resources: Hebrews 12:13-14.

Officer Safety Principle: Believe.

from The Gospel of John Through the Eyes of a Cop
©by Charles Gilliland. Used by permission.
Click here to check out the entire Through the Eyes of a Cop series!