²⁷ And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.

¹⁴ Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

Introduction

1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning,^[a] whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. ² This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us.

³⁹ “And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross,^{[a] 40} but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear, ⁴¹ not to the general public,^[b] but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead.

²⁴ This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate.

⁴⁸ You are witnesses of all these things.

² They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples.^{[a] 3} Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honorable Theophilus,

Advice for Elders and Young Men

5 And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you:

¹¹ That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.”

²⁰ We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”