Reflect: There are two key points in these two verses. The first is that The Spirit will testify
about Jesus. The second is that Jesus says, “you must testify about me.” The word testify in the
Greek is marturĕō. It means to bear and give witness. This has the same root word as martyr. We are to give witness, share the hope of Jesus even if we have to suffer a bit to do so. In verse 26, Jesus reminds us that the Advocate (the Holy Spirit) will be testifying with you too.
The Greek word Advocate, paraklētŏs, is made up of the participial form of the verb "to call" and the preposition "beside" and thus means one who has been summoned or called to the side of
another--literally, an "advocate" or, by extension, a helper or legal representative in a trial or other arena of judgment. You are not alone in sharing your story or testifying about Jesus, but the words “you also must testify” in verse 27, makes it pretty clear you aren’t to hide it either. Jesus is depending on you to share your faith. Thom Rainer, in his book, The Unchurched Next Door, reported 70% of unchurched people proclaim they have never been invited to church in their whole lives. The Apostle Paul writes in Philemon 1:6: “I pray you may be active in sharing yourfaith , so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” In other words, don’t keep your faith and relationship with Jesus a secret. The people in your circle of life need to hear. If it’s not you, then who?
