John 5:31-47
31 If I alone testify in My behalf, My testimony is not
valid and cannot be worth anything. 32 There is Another Who testifies
concerning Me, and I know and am certain that His evidence on My behalf is true
and valid. 33 You yourselves have sent [an inquiry] to John and he has been
a witness to the truth. 34 But I do not receive [a mere] human witness
[the evidence which I accept on My behalf is not from man]; but I simply
mention all these things in order that you may be saved (made and kept safe and
sound). 35 John was the lamp that kept on burning and shining [to show you
the way], and you were willing for a while to delight (sun) yourselves in his
light. 36 But I have as My witness something greater (weightier, higher,
better) than that of John; for the works that the Father has appointed Me to
accomplish and finish, the very same works that I am now doing, are a witness
and proof that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father Who sent Me has
Himself testified concer ning Me. Not
one of you has ever given ear to His voice or seen His form (His face—what He
is like). [You have always been deaf to His voice and blind to the vision of
Him.] 38 And you have not His word (His thought) living in your hearts,
because you do not believe and adhere to and trust in and rely on Him Whom He
has sent. [That is why you do not keep His message living in you, because you
do not believe in the Messenger Whom He has sent.] 39 You search and
investigate and pore over the Scriptures diligently, because you suppose and
trust that you have eternal life through them. And these [very Scriptures]
testify about Me! 40 And still you are not willing [but refuse] to come to
Me, so that you might have life. 41 I receive not glory from men [I crave
no human honor, I look for no mortal fame], 42 But I know you and
recognize and understand that you have not the love of God in you. 43 I
have come in My Father’s name and with His power, and you do not receive Me
[your hearts are
not open to Me, you give Me no welcome]; but if another comes in his own name
and his own power and with no other authority but himself, you will receive him
and give him your approval. 44 How is it possible for you to believe [how
can you learn to believe], you who [are content to seek and] receive praise and
honor and glory from one another, and yet do not seek the praise and honor and
glory which come from Him Who alone is God? 45 Put out of your minds the
thought and do not suppose [as some of you are supposing] that I will accuse
you before the Father. There is one who accuses you—it is Moses, the very one
on whom you have built your hopes [in whom you trust]. 46 For if you
believed and relied on Moses, you would believe and rely on Me, for he wrote
about Me [personally]. 47 But if you do not believe and trust his
writings, how then will you believe and trust My teachings? [How shall you
cleave to and rely on My words?]
Food for thought
Once again Jesus is answering the charges of his
opponents. His opponents are demanding. "What evidence can you give that
your claims are true?" Jesus gives four witnesses:
He first cites John the Baptist who had repeatedly borne
witness to him (Jn. 1:19-20,26; Jn. 1:29; Jn. 1:35-36). He says that John was
the lamp which burns and shines. That was the perfect witness to him. A lamp
bears a borrowed light. It does not light itself; it is lit. John had light.
The function of light is to guide, and John pointed men to Christ. In the
nature of things a lamp burns itself out; in giving light it consumes itself.
John was to decrease while Jesus increased. The true witness burns himself out
for God.
Second, Jesus cites his works as witness, not to point to
himself but to point to the power of God working in him and through
him. At the end of the day, it is
not what we say but what do that prove our worth. Our works, not our words, are
the ultimate proof of what we are.
Third, Jesus points out Scripture as his witness. This
means that there is only one proper way to read the Bible--to read it as all
pointing to Jesus Christ. When we do read Scripture as pointing to Jesus, as
witnessing to Jesus, then many of the things which puzzle us, and sometimes
distress us, are clearly seen as stages on the way, a pointing forward to Jesus
Christ, who is the supreme revelation and by whose light all other revelation
is to be tested. We must read the Bible through the eyes of Jesus. And we must
look at our lives thru the eyes of Jesus.
Fourth, Jesus cites his Father. "And the Father who
sent me has himself testified concerning me." The convictions we have
about the divinity of Jesus are God-given; they are the witness of the Father
in our hearts. As Paul puts it, (1Co 12:3): "And no one can [really] say,
Jesus is [my] Lord, except by and under the power and influence of the Holy
Spirit." Let us treasure our knowledge of Jesus; it is God given.
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