I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      In John 5:31-47, Jesus provided some very credible witnesses for Himself to the unbelieving Jews who sought to discredit and destroy Him.

B.      Jesus introduced the topic of the witnesses in John 5:31-32.

                                                             1.      He acknowledged that if He was the only one saying these things about Himself, then His testimony would not be credible (Moses’ Law required at least two witnesses – Heb. 10:28).

                                                             2.      However, there was another witness who testified in the Lord’s favor, and He was God the Father.

                                                             3.      The Father’s testimony was manifested in various indirect ways through other witnesses, and this is the subject of the Lord’s teachings in John 5:33-47.

II.      JOHN THE BAPTIST (JOHN 5:33-35)

A.      Jesus referred to the fact that the Jews had sent for and received John’s testimony about Him (v. 33).

                                                             1.      In John 1:19-27, the Pharisees sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to John, who was in Bethany beyond the Jordan, to ask him who he was.

a.       John confessed that he was not the Christ, Elijah, or “the Prophet” (a reference to Moses’ prophecy in Deut. 18:15 – more on this below).

b.       Instead, John said that he was “a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the LORD’” (a fulfillment of Isa. 40:3).

c.        When they asked John why he was baptizing, John said, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know.  It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

                                                             2.      The next day, John declared that Jesus was the one of whom he had spoken (John 1:29-34).

a.       John announced Jesus by saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

b.       He described Jesus as “a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me,” and “the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.”

c.        At last, he said plainly of Jesus, “And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

B.      Jesus told the Jews that He mentioned John’s witness “that you may be saved” (v. 34-35).

                                                             1.      Even though John was not the greatest witness of Jesus, his testimony was still great and true, and it was intended to prepare the Jews for salvation through Christ.

                                                             2.      Jesus recognized that these Jews had some regard for John (“you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light”), so He was showing them the connection between John and Himself.

a.       Many of the Jews regarded John as a prophet (Matt. 14:5; 21:26).  Jesus wanted them to recognize that John’s prophecies were about Him.

b.       The true light of John in which the Jews had rejoiced was not John’s light at all, but it was actually the light of Jesus Christ (John 1:6-9).

III.   CHRIST’S WORKS (JOHN 5:36)

A.      The works of Christ provided even greater proof that Jesus was sent from the Father than John’s testimony.

                                                             1.      The works to which Jesus referred were the miracles, signs, and wonders that He performed.

a.       When Peter preached the gospel on the Day of Pentecost, he said that Jesus was “a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst” (Acts 2:22).

b.       Such works were only possible through the power of God.  God the Father testified and communicated His endorsement of Jesus through these signs. 

                                                             2.      The event that had prompted this conversation between Jesus and the Jews was when Jesus had healed a paralytic man (John 5:1-9).  This sign should have revealed to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ, but instead they persecuted Him because He healed on a Sabbath (John 5:16).

B.      Today, Christ’s works still bear witness through the Bible so that we may believe.

                                                             1.      The apostle John said of his writings, “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31).

                                                             2.      The greatest sign and witness that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God is His resurrection (Matt. 12:39-40; John 2:22; Rom. 1:4).

IV.    THE FATHER (JOHN 5:37-38)

A.      God the Father bore witness of Jesus indirectly (v. 37).

                                                             1.      Jesus said that the Father bore witness of Him, but these Jews had never heard His voice or seen His form.  How then could have borne witness?

                                                             2.      The answer was that the Father bore His witness through His word, which was delivered through the other witnesses (John the baptist, the Scriptures, and Jesus Himself).  In this way, the Jews had received the indirect witness of the Father without hearing His voice or seeing His form.

B.      The unbelief of the Jews showed that they rejected the witness of the Father (v. 38).

                                                             1.      By rejected Jesus, the unbelieving Jews rejected the Father’s word that Jesus was the Christ.  By rejecting the Father’s word, they rejected the Father and made Him a liar (compare to 1John 1:10).

                                                             2.      Here is a valuable lesson for all of us, for if we reject God’s word in any matter, then we reject Him and do not have His word abiding in us.

V.      THE SCRIPTURES (JOHN 5:39-47)

A.      The Jews believed that the Scriptures held the answer to eternal life, but they were unwilling to accept that Jesus was the answer (vv. 39-40).

                                                             1.      By “Scriptures,” Jesus was referring to the written word of God in the Old Testament.  These writings are replete with prophecies and foreshadows of the Christ, and Jesus fulfilled all of these.

                                                             2.      The message of the Scriptures did indeed lead the Jews to eternal life, but eternal life would only come to them through faith in Jesus Christ.

a.       Notice Galatians 3:24 – “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”

b.       Jesus declared plainly on many occasions that He was the source of eternal life (John 3:16; 4:13-14; 5:24; 6:27, 40, 47, 51; 10:28; 12:50; 17:2-3).  Those who rejected Jesus were rejecting the promise of the Scriptures for eternal life.

B.      Jesus explained that their error was due to seeking glory from men rather than from God (vv. 41-44).

                                                             1.      Jesus did not seek glory from men, for He loved the Father and did not compromise the Father’s truth to gain favor from men.

                                                             2.      However, the unbelieving Jews loved the approval of men more than the approval of God (see John 12:42-43).  Their misplaced love prevented them from understanding the testimony of the Scriptures.

                                                             3.      Because of this, these unbelieving Jews would accept one who came in his own name and conformed to their false ideas rather than accepting Jesus who came in the name of the Father and conformed to the witness of the Scriptures.

C.      Jesus would not have to accuse the unbelieving Jews before God, for the testimony of Moses in the Scriptures would accuse them (vv. 45-47).

                                                             1.      When Jesus said that Moses wrote of Him, He referred to Deuteronomy 18:15, in which Moses stated, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.”

a.       The penalty for rejecting this Prophet was destruction from among God’s people (Deut. 18:18-19; see Acts 3:23 for interpretation).

b.       Both Peter and Stephen referred to this prophecy of Moses when preaching Jesus (Acts 3:20-23; 7:37).

                                                             2.      By rejecting Jesus, these Jews had rejected the witness of the Scriptures and Moses and had placed themselves in violation of the Law.  Even if they had kept every statute perfectly (which they did not), they had violated the Law of Moses by rejecting its ultimate purpose, which was to bring the Jews to Christ.

VI.    CONCLUSION

A.      All of these witnesses and many more are available to us today through the Bible to lead us to faith in Jesus Christ.  If we search the Scriptures, then we will find the answer to eternal life, and that answer is Christ.

B.      Therefore, let us believe the powerful testimony that is before us and share the evidence of the good news with others.