That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life
have heard: It is interesting to note John’s use of increasingly stronger evidential words to describe the eyewitness testimony of the apostles to the humanity of Jesus. To hear is not as strong as to see; to see is not as strong as to behold; and to behold is not as strong as to handle. He and the other apostles did all of these things. They heard, saw, beheld, and touched the One who was from all eternity. They heard Him--oh, how they heard Him!--as the Master Teacher of all time and eternity associated with them on a daily basis for three and one-half years. "Never man spake like this man." They listened as He delivered the greatest sermon that ever fell from the lips of man, the Sermon On The Mount, a sermon that has astonished the wisest of men for almost two thousand years. He shared with them the most profound truths in the simplest language. Yes, this God who became man had a voice that could be and was heard.