Chain of Custody

Hebrews 2:3-4 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Much has been in the news lately about the chain of custody of ballots, USB drives, voting collection boxes, mail-in ballots, and signature verification. How we conduct elections and how we count the votes are spelled out in State Constitutions and must be followed in order to be in line with the US Constitution. And for legal grounds, the votes must be counted in a way that doesn’t violate a simple rule: observable by both parties.

In a court of law, the State has to prove that the gun being presented as evidence was handled properly from the first contact until it is presented in court. Evidence tampering must not be allowed. All evidence must be verified at each handoff. Evidence is not allowed to sit unsecured. This applies to ballots in an election. They must always be under watch.

The Gospel message, if it is to be believed, must be the message that Jesus spoke, the Apostles heard, the witnesses encountered and then passed along to those who later heard and believed. We want eyewitnesses of the Resurrection. We want to hear the voices of those who heard the sound of wind in the Upper Room. We want the facts, not cleverly invented stories.

I want a surgeon who actually knows how my heart works, not one who is able to spin a wonderful tale of adventure about miniature elves who use buckets to move our blood around the inner canals of our bodies. And I think you would want the same.

How much more in our faith. After all our faith has to do with eternity, not just a few moments on an operating table. And what we get in the Gospel message we receive in the Scriptures meets the standards of chain of custody. Let’s take a look.

Our text tells us that the message they were proclaiming was the message the Lord announced. First hand knowledge. Pretty good evidence in court. How did they know that these were the words? This salvation message was confirmed by those who heard Jesus speak the message. Eye-witness testimony. The author of this letter must have had the ability to interview at least some of those who were present when Jesus spoke. He verified the message, just like the author of Luke-Acts.

But more than that, not only was the message verified by those who heard, but the LORD wasn’t finished testifying. God was not passive in the proclamation of this message. He added His seal of approval by being active in confirming the veracity of the message delivered. He did this by demonstrating His presence with signs, wonders, miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Now I ask you, what more could you want. We can trust the message we have in our hands. It has been verified by reliable sources and God Himself has put His seal on the message. And God continues to put His seal of approval even today. God still changes hearts and lives, answers prayer, encourages the brokenhearted, lifts us the downtrodden and demonstrates the reality of His Kingdom today.