John 5:30-47: The Witnesses

John’s Four Witnesses to Jesus in John 5

Chapter five, verses 30 through 47. Here now God's inspired word. I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me. And I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John and he has borne witness to the truth.

Not that the testimony that I received is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was burning. He was a burning and shining lamp and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing bear witness about me that the father has sent me. And the father who sent me has himself borne witness about me.

His voice you have not heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word binding in you. For you do not believe the one whom he sent. You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life.

It is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people, but I know that you do not have the love of God within you.

Let's pray. Father in heaven,.

I simply ask that you bless the preaching of your word, that we would see Jesus this morning, not the speculations of man, not my opinions, not the ways of the world, but your truth, Lord God. We pray that you would bless it and use it to edify your saints, convict sinners, that they would come to you.

It's in Jesus' name we pray.

Please be seated.

The Courtroom Illustration and the Need for Witnesses

It's a very happy day in the house of the Lord this morning. As many of you know, whether by personal experience in a courtroom or by watching court cases on TV or by reading about legal trials in books, a key component to a trial is the witnesses that an attorney calls to the stand to testify and make his case.

The testimony of an eyewitness is crucial and can make or break a case. In fact, the word of God says, every charge must be established out of the mouth of two or three witnesses. Witnesses are vital, not just to the case and its outcome, but to discovering the actual truth of the matter at hand.

Now, there are three types of witnesses usually in a court case. First, you have a lay witness, and this is the most common type. This is a person who is an eyewitness to an event, who observed something and described what they saw and are willing to testify about it.

Next, you have an expert witness, a person who is a specialist in a particular field or expertise, someone who has extensive experience and specific knowledge, credentials in a specialized area. Brother John is called as an expert witness when it comes to forklift training and OSHA regulations.

He has a special expertise in that field. Finally, you have a character witness. This is someone who knew the plaintiff or the defendant or other people involved in the case and testifies to their character, to their personality, to their temperament.

In each occasion, the witness offers testimony. Testimony is the verbal or written statements of a witness wherein they describe what they see and what they know. And it's used to help determine whether something is true or false.

It's so important that they usually have to swear under oath that what they're saying is true. Eyewitnesses, character witnesses, and expert testimony are considered bona fide legal evidence in a court of law.

And if you're watching a court scene in a movie or a TV show the witness testimony is usually the most exciting and dramatic part of the show, especially when they call the surprise witness. Don't you love the surprise witness?

At the end of the movie that the attorney calls forward at just the right time, everybody gasps. This is when the most decisive and crucial evidence that no one knew about is revealed. And the whole case takes a surprise turn, a twist.

And then the truth comes out and proves or disproves the opposing attorney's whole case. And everyone's shocked. The truth finally comes out and the guilty party is exposed and convicted. Remember this?

You want answers? I want the truth. You can't handle the truth. I know you wanted to say it, all right.

I helped you out.

So now let's take a look at God's word, the word of truth. And in today's study we'll examine the case that Jesus makes and the witnesses he calls to the stand and see if we can handle the truth. In today's passage, Jesus is gonna present four witnesses with four testimonies.

First, we're gonna have the witness of John the Baptist. Next, the witness of Jesus's works. Third, the witness of God the Father. And fourth, the witness of the scriptures. Jesus gives us four witnesses to confirm his identity, to confirm and prove his being sent into the world by the father to the Jews who are opposing him.

Each of these witnesses will confirm his identity, his task and his authority. Now you may say to yourself, well, why does Jesus need to make this case? Well, I'm gonna give you some context. Jesus doesn't need to say this at all, but he chooses to because at the beginning of chapter five, Jesus heals a man who was an invalid for 38 years, but he does so on the Sabbath day.

So Jesus heals an image bearer of God, allows him to walk, does the miraculous, and they're upset.

How dare he?

When the Jews heard this, they persecute him because he healed someone on the Sabbath. He broke the law. It's then that Jesus says in verse 17 and 18, my father is working until now and I am working. This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father and making himself equal with God.

That's the issue. The Jews heard his claim, they knew what it meant, and they charged him with blasphemy. So not only did he heal the law, he's calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.

But what is it about this claim that would make them think that? I like the way Roy Gingrich puts it. He says in this verse, Jesus makes a twofold claim, a claim to unity of essence, co-equality with the father, and a claim to unity of action, cooperation with the father.

He's the same essence as the father and holds the same power and authority. He's not gonna do anything on his own. It's only with God's power. Jesus is saying when you attack me for healing the man on the Sabbath, you are also attacking the father, for I am one with him in essence and one with him in action.

Jesus has unity of essence and unity of action with God the father. That's why they called it blasphemy. And then Jesus goes on to say in verse 21 to 23, for as the father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the son gives life to whom he will.

For the father judges no one but has given all judgment to the son, listen, so that all may honor the son just as they honor the father. Whoever does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him.

So how do you honor God the father? First, by acknowledging that he's God and then bowing down and worshiping him. So now how should you honor the son? By acknowledge him as God and bowing down and worshiping him.

He's one in essence with the father. Jesus here is establishing his divinity. His identity as the son of God is one who could judge humanity, who give life to whomever he wills and be honored as God. So that's the context in which Jesus will now call his four witnesses to the stand to substantiate his claim.

John the Baptist as the First Witness

In verse 31, Jesus says, if I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me. And I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. Now that's not Jesus's first witness.

So before we get to the first witnesses, we need to understand what Jesus is and isn't saying when he does this. He's not saying that his testimony isn't true unless someone confirms it.

He's God.

He doesn't need anybody to confirm his words. What he's saying is this. Since you don't accept my claim as the son of God, as God in the flesh, accept the testimony of God the Father, the one you do know and that you do accept as deity.

When Jesus tells him that there is another who bears witness, the word another in Greek is alos. And it means another of the same kind. Again, Jesus is plainly telling them that he is one in the same essence as God the Father.

The purpose here is to refer them to God the Father to validate Jesus's statements. Jesus is saying, I'm the one being sent. I'm not the sender. The sender is the father whom you claim to believe in. So I'm not making this claim on my own.

Listen to the one who sent me. He's the one who sends me and validates my authority. Now please note again, anything and everything that Jesus says as the son of God is true with or without the testimony of any human being.

He does not need human testimony to validate his words or establish them as true.

He's God.

If all we had was Jesus's witness, we'd have enough. Having multiple witnesses though is a kingdom principle that permeates the entire scripture. Deuteronomy 17 .6, on the evidence of two or three witnesses, the one who is to die shall be put to death.

A person shall not be put to death on the evidence of only one witness. In the New Testament, Paul would tell us in 2 Corinthians 13, every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

Multiple witnesses is a kingdom principle. In fact, in Matthew 18, we're told when we're trying to settle dispute with brothers or sisters, bring two or three witnesses. Witnesses are vital. So right after defending the statement and God is his father, Jesus now calls his first witness to the stand, if you will.

In verse 33, he says, you have sent to John and he has to testify to the truth. Jesus here is speaking of John the Baptist. This is his first human eyewitness. In Mark's gospel and in Luke's gospel, they both begin by telling us about John the Baptist, especially in Luke.

He tells us, he gives extensive details about John, where he was born, how he was born, who his mother and father were, Elizabeth and Zechariah, about him being filled with the Holy Spirit from birth and leaping in his mother's womb, about him being a fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy.

Luke gives specific details. But Mark, different than Luke, quotes the prophet Isaiah. He quotes in the opening line of his gospel, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, behold, I send my messenger before your face.

He will prepare your way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight. So he quotes the Old Testament prophet Isaiah and the messenger that Isaiah is prophesying of that Mark cites, Jesus calls is John the Baptist.

He would serve as the one who prepare the way for the Lord. And like we learned in Sunday school this morning, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, that's the name of Jehovah God, Yahweh. That's what the Old Testament name for God was.

And who did John the Baptist prepare the way for?

Jesus.

He is capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. He is God in the flesh. So the birth of John the Baptist fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah. He's the first human witness of the Christ. He's the messenger that points us to Jesus as Lord, which further identifies Jesus as God.

Matthew two would cite the very same verse. This is why Jesus tells them in verse 34, I say these things so that you may be saved. Salvation, that's a word maybe some people don't realize. Salvation means being saved, rescued from the consequence of your own sin.

Salvation comes through a savior. The one John the Baptist would prepare the way for and point people to. This is why John the Baptist, when he introduces Jesus, says, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

He's our sin bearer. John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the sacrificial lamb, the one who would bear our sin. He would later tell the Pharisees, you yourselves bear witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.

He must increase and I must decrease. John the Baptist continually pointed people away from himself and to Jesus as Messiah. Finally, the Apostle John in the opening paragraph of his gospel also speaks about John the Baptist.

He says, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

John the Baptist was sent into the world to bear witness that Jesus is the light of the world, the Messiah. And Jesus calls him as his first witness in his case, saying, John the Baptist was a light burning and shining.

You were willing to rejoice in his message, in his light, but now one greater than John is here. So do you realize in the opening of all four gospels, they all bear witness to John the Baptist being the forerunner of Jesus who would confirm his deity and confirm him being the Christ.

So in hearing all of those statements and all the testimony issued by John the Baptist, I would say Jesus brought forth a credible witness. He's an eyewitness to the identity, task and authority of Jesus.

So the first witness Jesus brings forth is John the Baptist. Let's take a look at who he calls next. Look at verse 36 in your Bible. But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John.

For the works which the father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I do testify about me that the father has sent me. Here Jesus points us to the works he does for the father as the second witness.

The Works of Jesus as the Second Witness

But what are the works that Jesus is referring to? Well, when it comes to Jesus, there's a mountain of testimony, right? The works of Jesus accomplished would include all of the miracles, all of the teaching he taught, all of the prophecies he fulfilled, his faithful obedience in keeping the law, his crucifixion, his resurrection, and every other thing that Jesus did.

They all testify to who he is. Now, I'm not gonna list everything that Jesus did or attempt to, because the Apostle John says there are many other things that Jesus did where every one of them to be witnesses.

I suppose that the entire world couldn't contain all the books written. So if I tried listing all of those works, this would be a really, really very long sermon. It wouldn't end, and I know you're getting hungry, so we're not gonna do that.

But here's what I want you to do. I want you to pause for a minute and think. Think of all the books in your local library. Now think of all the books in all of the libraries throughout New York. Now think of all the books in all of the libraries throughout the United States, and finally, all the books in all of the libraries throughout the entire world.

And now I want you to think, not big enough. Not big enough. Look at the contrast between every other king that is mentioned in the Old Testament book of 1 and 2 Kings in Jesus. Every king's story ends like this.

1 Kings 11 .41, now the rest of the Acts of Solomon, who wrote Proverbs, right? And all that he did in his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the Acts of Solomon? All his works are contained in a book.

1 Kings 14 .29, now the rest of the Acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? He's got a couple of pages. 1 Kings 15 .23, now all the rest of the Acts of Asa, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

Couple of pages, and on, and on, and on. All their Acts were recorded, written, contained, final. They all fit into a single book, but not Jesus. There aren't enough books to contain the works of Jesus.

Why?

Because Jesus' works are incalculable. Jesus' works are infinite, ongoing, righteous, perfect. All his works are majestic, sacrificial. His works are loving, holy, wise, just, merciful, and they will never fit into anything written by the mere hands of men.

His works bear witness to him being God Almighty in the flesh. He is Emmanuel, God with us. He's not just a king, he's the king of all kings, the Lord of all lords, and his works bear witness to that.

It's Jesus' works that provoke Nicodemus to come to him. Nicodemus appears early in John's Gospel, and he recognizes something. He comes to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you're the teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.

The works Jesus did, the signs and miracles, weighed on Nicodemus' heart enough for him to come to Jesus. He recognized that Jesus was no ordinary man, and Nicodemus was drawn to him because of that. Lastly, I'll point to the Apostle Peter and what he said in his very first sermon in the Book of Acts after the resurrection.

He says, men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst as you yourselves know. They knew it.

This Jesus you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men, but God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Peter's very first sermon points the Jews to the mighty works of Jesus, his wonders, specifically the resurrection.

All the works that Jesus does testify to him being sent by the Father. His works bear witness of it. So, so far, we had the witness of John the Baptist, and now the witnesses of Jesus' works, which cannot be contained in any one book.

They both confirm his identity. Next, Jesus says, we have the witness of God the Father. Verses 37 and 38, and the Father who sent me, he has testified of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form.

You do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe whom he sent. So what exactly is the Father's witness of Jesus? I don't know about you, but I immediately thought of Jesus' baptism, right?

There we see the heavens torn open, the spirit descending on Jesus like a dove, and we hear the Father's voice booming from heaven. This is my son whom I love. With him, I'm well pleased. Could you imagine if we put these two guys in the tank and we heard the voice from heaven?

This is my son whom I, we're blown away. That's a great witness. However, Jesus just said, you've not heard his voice nor seen his form. So I don't think it's his baptism specifically that what Jesus is referring to.

I think the key to God the Father's witness of Jesus lies in his statement, you do not have his word abiding in you.

Why?

You don't believe. And here our theology at Hope Reform Baptist Church will serve us well and help us. We do not shy away from proclaiming man's inability. We don't diminish it. We proclaim it like the scriptures do.

Remember, this whole passage that we're studying was all started because of Jesus healing an invalid. Why is that important? Because the invalid is unable to heal himself. The Jews persecuting Jesus here do not understand who he is.

They are spiritual invalids. They are spiritually blind and spiritually deaf. We read in second Corinthians two, these things that God has revealed to us through the spirit for who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person which is in him.

So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the spirit who is from God that we might understand the things freely given to us.

We interpret spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural man, the man in the flesh is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. If anyone is to understand or comprehend spiritual things, it must be a function of the Holy Spirit.

They must be in the spirit and have the spirit in them abiding and teaching them. Otherwise, these will be mere human words interpreted by mere human wisdom. The spirit here will interpret spiritual truths to those who have the spirit of God.

If you are a natural person in the flesh without the Holy Spirit, you will not accept God's word. No one can see, understand. See what I'm saying? That's what the word see means. No one can see the kingdom of God unless he's born from above.

In other words, new sight follows new birth. You're born, then you see, right? When a child is born, it comes out of the womb. It takes its first breath because it's alive. It doesn't take its first breath to become alive.

The spirit must be residing, abiding in you and bearing witness to the words of God so that you can understand them and believe. Romans 8, 9, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. John would later say the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him, you know him.

Why?

For he dwells in you and will be with you. Even John the Baptist, our first witness, said in John 3, 27, a person cannot receive even one thing unless it's given to him from heaven. We're also given the very helpful testimony of Peter.

When Peter is asked the most important question any human being could ever be asked, Jesus asked Peter, who do you say I am? Peter says, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. Listen to Jesus's response.

Simon, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven, blessed are you. God the Father is the one who reveals Jesus to Peter through the Holy Spirit. Jesus would say, whoever is of God hears the words of God.

The reason you do not believe is because you're not of God. Again, new birth results in new belief. John would later say in one of his epistles, whoever believes in the son of God has this testimony in himself already.

Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his son. Knowing Jesus comes by revelation, not information. It comes through the spirit, not through the flesh.

This is the internal witness of the Holy Spirit, the word abiding in the believer from God the Father. This is the third witness that Jesus is pointing to. And again, the whole passage we're studying was all started because Jesus healed an invalid who was unable to heal himself.

We have to recognize our inability to heal ourselves. We need outside help. The Jews Jesus is speaking to here are spiritual invalids. They are spiritually dead, spiritually deaf, spiritually blind. They cannot heal themselves.

The Holy Spirit is the one who illuminates, illuminates, convicts, and births us. Romans eight would say, for all who are led by the spirit of God are sons of God. Just want to take a quick aside and let you know, being led by the spirit is not some mystical thing as some might think or say.

The phrase being led by the spirit is only used three times in the scriptures. Once of Jesus being led by the spirit into the wilderness and the other two times, it refers to the sanctification of the believer.

The putting to death, the misdeeds of the flesh. Romans eight 13, for if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the spirit, you put the deed to death, the deeds of the body, you will live.

For those who are led by the spirit of God are sons of God. In other words, being led by the Holy Spirit results in holy living, not flopping around on the floor. Okay? See people flopping around on the floor.

That's a spirit.

It's just not the Holy One. If you are led by the spirit, you will bear the fruit of the spirit. You will act like the spirit. Too many people confuse goosebumps with holiness and think they can act any way they like, like the world.

But Paul says, if you live according to the flesh,.

You will die.

But if God's word abides in you, you will live by a holy life. That will serve, again, as a clear witness to the people around you, that you acknowledge Jesus as Lord, because you actually live like he is.

The witness of the Father that Jesus points to comes by belief in Jesus as Lord through the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of his children. To the Jews who are rejecting Jesus, he would say, you do not have his word abiding in you.

How do I know? You don't believe whom he sent. So that's three witnesses. First, we have the witness of John the Baptist. Second, the witness of Jesus's works. And now three, the witness of God the Father, the Holy Spirit residing in us, resulting in belief in Christ.

The Scriptures as the Fourth Witness

Let's take a look at the last witness, the witness of the scriptures. Jesus tells the Jews in verses 39 and 40, you diligently search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life.

It is these that testify about me, and you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life. It's here that Jesus points the Jews to the scriptures and their testimony of him. What we need to realize is that the whole of scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, is the testimony of Jesus Christ.

You're gonna hear the two men come up and bear witness, testimony, to how God's changed their life. Your Bible, your whole Bible, is the testimony of Jesus Christ.

It's God breathed.

It's the word, it's a prophetic word, more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention. You hold in your hand a divine instrument. The very words of God breathe out by him. This should be your most valuable physical possession.

It's in the Bible that we learn that after Jesus was buried and then resurrected, he met two men on the way to Emmaus in Luke 24. Here's how Luke describes it. Jesus starts a conversation with the men, but the men were kept from recognizing him, inability.

They didn't recognize his physical appearance, nor did they recognize him spiritually.

Why?

They needed revelation. And they admitted as much when they said, we hoped he'd be the one to redeem Israel. Enter Jesus. Foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophet has spoken. And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself.

All of the scriptures up to that point in time pointed to Jesus. They testified of him. And here in John, he makes a profound statement in verses 39 and 40. You think that you have eternal life in the scriptures, but it's the scriptures that testify about me.

In other words, the scriptures can't give you life. They can only point you to who can. You need to encounter the living word behind the written word. You need to encounter Jesus, the person, the word made flesh, the son of God, to give you spiritual life.

But the Jews refused to do that.

They wanted the words and the wisdom without the person behind them. They were more concerned about Jesus breaking the law than him being the lawgiver himself, even accusing him of breaking the Sabbath, the law.

A lot of people recognize that as the Tanakh, the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. Law, some people recognize as the 10 Commandments. I want you to understand something. The 10 Commandments are not 10 steps you follow to become a Christian.

They are 10 symptoms that diagnose you as a sinner. You've lied, you've stolen, you've used God's name in vain. You haven't loved God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. You haven't loved your neighbor as yourself.

You are SIN positive. Second, Jesus kept the law. That's one of the works that testified to who he is. We needed a law keeper because we are lawbreakers. And it's because of his works, the works that he came to accomplish.

He says in chapter six, I lose none of all those who come to me, but raise them up on the last day. When the baptismal candidates give their testimonies, they're going to tell you what God did for them, not what they did for God.

Think about what Jesus is telling the Jews in this verse who are rejecting him. How tragic would it be to receive the words of God and not the work of God? To diligently study them, yet not trust in him.

It's very clear the scriptures point to Jesus, but you have to come to him. So in this case, Jesus makes, he gives four witnesses. The witness of John the Baptist, the witness of Jesus' works, the witness of God the Father, his word abiding in us, and finally, the witness of the scriptures.

Let's pray.

The Church as Witnesses and the Call to Baptism

Wait.

Before we do that, I just remembered, I have another witness. Surprise witness. We read Acts chapter one this morning. And verse eight says, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the outer parts of the world.

Surprise.

The disciples that heard that message, and those of you here who have the Holy Spirit living, abiding in you right now, will be witnesses of Jesus as well. The witness of him to the ends of the earth.

You are to carry on the ongoing testimony of Jesus going forward and be his witnesses wherever you go. Now, this shouldn't surprise you that you are his witnesses. You know this already. You are a witness to the fact that God has changed your heart.