Ye shall be witnesses unto me.
—Acts 1:8
A true witness is one who sees and knows. (See Acts 26:16.) The apostles were thus competent witnesses of the things they recorded, because they saw and heard the things of which they spoke and wrote. They were likewise credible witnesses in that they had no interest to deceive, and suffered great hardship and even death, for the sake of their testimony.
As witnesses, we follow a goodly succession. The prophets of old are “a cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) to the faithfulness of God. Christ is spoken of as “the faithful witness” (Revelation 1:5) because of faithfulness in declaring the truth of God, and sealing His testimony with His blood. “The [Holy] Spirit itself beareth witness” (Romans 8:16) by producing in us the graces of Christ.