The Power of Truthful Witnesses

Laurel Bible Church

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We'll be continuing today and really finishing up this chapter. I think we ended up taking four, was it four or five sermons on John chapter five?

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So I'm trying to think if I could do like double that for chapter six. You guys ready? It's been a while.

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We started John chapter five quite a while ago. But we need to park and kind of look at every verse as Jesus is refuting these

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Jews who are trying to kill him, or at least they're plotting to kill him. He makes this stand with a bold proclamation of truth, and he really defends his equality with God the

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Father. He does that in three ways by making truth claims about him as a relationship with the Father, that he is equal with God the

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Father. He talks about eternity and judgment in the two resurrections. And then he concludes this, this is all one response.

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He talks about who are the witnesses to him. And as I was studying this passage, it just,

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I kept thinking about witnesses and testify and testimony and witnesses. And I was thinking about like a court.

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Really what's happening here is it's like the evidence is being presented. And when you think about court, well, there's some definitive ways that a case could be proved.

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Probably two ways I can think of. One would be DNA. So a murderer is convicted or set free based on the evidence of the

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DNA. It's kind of like not subjective, you're not guilty or you're guilty. And another is paternity tests.

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Paternity tests, the finality of that, that you are the father, you are not the father. The power of truthful witnesses and what that means for us.

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So we're gonna start in John chapter five, verse 33. The title of today's sermon is

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The Power of Truthful Witnesses. Please stand with me for the reading of God's word. John chapter five, starting in verse 33 to the end of the chapter.

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This is what the apostle John recorded for us. Witnesses to Jesus, the father and the scripture.

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John chapter five, verse 33. You have sent to John and he has borne witness to the truth.

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But the witness I receive is not from man. But I say these things so that you may be saved.

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He was the lamp that was burning and shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

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But the witness I have is greater than the witness of John. For the works which the father has given me to finish, the very works that I do bear witness about me, that the father has sent me.

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And the father who sent me, he has borne witness about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form.

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And you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe him whom he sent.

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You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. It is these that bear witness about me.

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And you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men, but I know you that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.

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I have come in my father's name and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.

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How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the only

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God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the father. The one who accuses you is

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Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.

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But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?

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You may be seated. The power of truthful witnesses. This passage is about understanding who

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Jesus truly is. And if we're gonna tell others about Jesus, it is critical that we understand the claims he makes to his equality with God the

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Father. Today we're gonna talk about something by way of illustration that's been the subject of countless

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TV shows and family reunions. Paternity tests, paternity tests.

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Chapter five is the ultimate paternity test. We're not going to be dealing with DNA results or surprise reveals today, but we are going to look at the ultimate family connection.

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The relationship between God the Father and Jesus the Son. There's been no shortage of speculation throughout history about who

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Jesus really is. Some folks in his day said he was just a prophet.

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Others thought he was a great teacher. And a few even questioned his sanity. But God the

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Father wasn't about to let the world stay confused. So what does he do? He steps in to give the ultimate testimony.

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And you could say it's his version of a divine paternity test. Have you ever watched one of these talk shows where they reveal the results of a paternity test?

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The ones where the host says, when it comes to little Johnny, you are not the father.

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Usually they're really sad because it shows just the destruction of the family. And in those ones where the guy doesn't end up being the father, in some cases, he's just breaking down crying.

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So as the person hears you're not the father, it's not high fives and happy time. No, it's like just destruction, tears in the eyes.

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You are the father. Well, in those kind of speculation, it's like a spectacle that you get to watch.

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The crowd goes wild. There's a mix of tears. There's cheers. Maybe there's even a few dance moves.

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Today, we're diving into the greatest who's the father moment in history.

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But with a much better ending. Throughout the ages, people have been asking, who is

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Jesus? Some said he was just a carpenter. Others thought he was a prophet.

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And just a few figured he might be a miracle worker. But then God the Father steps onto the scene.

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And with the voice that spoke the universe into existence, he says, this is my son.

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There's no need for a DNA test here. At Jesus's baptism, the heavens opened up and God declared, this is my beloved son with whom

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I am well pleased. At Jesus's baptism, God made it crystal clear when he spoke from heaven saying, this is my beloved son.

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And if that wasn't enough, he did it again at the transfiguration. Just in case anyone missed the memo.

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Just in case anyone still had doubts, God doubled down at the transfiguration when he basically said, let me say it louder for everyone to hear.

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Let me say it louder for the people in the back. This is my son. And if that wasn't enough, we have the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation.

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They're like a divine paternity suit testifying over and over again that Jesus is indeed the son of God.

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Let's not forget the Old Testament, God's own word, where we see time and time again that everything points to Jesus as the son of God, as the

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Messiah. Today we're going to explore how God the Father and the scriptures together make it abundantly clear.

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Jesus isn't just anyone's son. Jesus is the son.

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And this truth isn't just an ancient fact. It's the foundation of our faith and the key to understanding who

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Jesus really is. This is the ultimate family reveal. Today we're going to dig into what it means for God to testify about his son.

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And why this divine declaration is the most important family tie you'll ever be a part of.

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Because when God says, this is my son, you can bet the house on it.

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You can take this to the bank. It's not just a statement. It's the foundation of our faith.

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Jesus defines his equality with God the Father by explaining the witnesses that testify about him.

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John the Baptist testifies to Jesus as the revealed glory of God the Father. Jesus' works testify to his deity.

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God the Father testifies to the preexisting eternality of Jesus as the son of God.

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The Old Testament scriptures testify to Jesus of Nazareth being the anointed one of God and savior of the world, the

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Messiah. In verses 33 through 47, the apostle John records

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Jesus' words to the Jews who were opposing him. So that you can understand, so that you can be prepared to tell others who

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Jesus really is. Four powerful witnesses to Jesus' equality with God.

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Four powerful witnesses to the equality of the son with the father. Number one, John's testimony.

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Number one, John's testimony, verses 33 through 35. Number two,

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Jesus' works, verse 36. Number three, the baptism and transfiguration, verses 37 and 38.

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And then number four, the Bible, verses 39 through 47. Four powerful witnesses to Jesus' equality with God.

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Number one, John's testimony, verses 33 through 35, John's testimony.

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You have sent to John and he has borne witness to the truth. But the witness

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I receive is not from man. But I say these things so that you may be saved.

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He was the lamp that was burning and shining, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

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The apostle John, in describing Jesus, said this.

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The word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the father, full of grace and truth.

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The Messiahship of Jesus removes any other person from the office of the Christ and proves that faith in Jesus is the only pathway to heaven.

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John says we beheld his glory. And this is of humans involved in transcendent circumstances.

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Glory, the idea of being in the presence of transcendent beings, cherubim, angels, divine.

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This is the condition of being bright or shining, brightness, splendor, radiance.

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And John describes the glory. God as the unique, only one of his kind from the father.

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The second person of the triune God, the son became a human man. And what

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John is saying is profound. Essentially, Jesus as God displayed the same fundamental glory as the father.

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John the Baptist testifies to Jesus as the revealed glory of God the father.

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It is true that John the Baptist's witness was not completely adequate. It wasn't adequate for all things.

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However, it was extremely valuable. It was extremely valuable. The Baptist's witness did lead some to the

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Messiah Jesus. At the same time, it was implausible that the son of God would need to rely on a human witness.

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Remember, John the Baptist's own testimony is compared to a lamp. But he merely pointed to the light.

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He himself was not the light. So at the start of his gospel account, the apostle described the witness of John the

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Baptist over a three -day period to three different groups, so that you could see the first of many witnesses that proved

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Jesus is the Messiah. Go back to chapter one, starting in verse 19.

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John chapter one, starting in verse 19. This is the first time we see the witness of John the

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Baptist. John chapter one, a voice in the wilderness, starting in verse 19.

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This is the witness of John when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you?

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And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, I am not the Christ.

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And they asked him, what then, are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are you the prophet?

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And he answered, no. Therefore, they said to him, who are you so that we may give an answer to those who sent us?

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What do you say about yourself? He said, I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness.

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Make straight the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the prophet said. Now when they had been sent from the

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Pharisees, they asked him and said to him, why then are you baptizing if you are not the

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Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, but among you stands one whom you do not know.

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This one is he who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal.

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These things took place in Bethany, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

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That's day one, the first group, and the first claim. Jesus as Messiah is far superior, in every way, to the forerunner ministry of John the

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Baptist. Far superior, in every way, but he continues. Look again at chapter one, continuing in verse 29.

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On the next day, he saw Jesus coming to him and said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

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This is he of whom I said, after me comes a man who has been ahead of me, for he existed before me.

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I did not know him, but so that he might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing with water.

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And John bore witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven.

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He abided on him, and I did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, the one upon whom you see the

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Spirit descending and abiding on him, this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

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And I myself have seen and have borne witness that this is the

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Son of God. That's day two. Day two, the second group and the second claim.

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Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away sin because he is the

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Son of God who baptizes sinners with the Holy Spirit. And then John will continue.

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Look at verse 35. On the next day, John again was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked and said, behold, the

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Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak and follow Jesus.

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And when Jesus turned and noticed them following, he said to them, what do you seek? They said to him,

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Rabbi, which translated means teacher, where are you staying? And he said to them, come and you will see.

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So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the 10th hour. One of the two who heard

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John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother

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Simon and said to him, we have found the Messiah, which translated means Christ. He brought him to Jesus.

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When Jesus looked at him, he said, you are Simon, the son of John. You shall be called

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Cephas, which is translated Peter. That's day three, the third testimony to the

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Baptist disciples. Jesus is the Lamb of God who bore the wrath of God for sinners, and he is the only anointed one of God who is worthy of following.

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The true identity of Jesus is the Messiah, as testified by the numerous eyewitness accounts of the

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Gospels and the New Testament record of his earthly ministry and teaching. Reaching sinners for Christ will never be accomplished by presenting a different version of Christ than what we have right here in this eyewitness account.

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We can't present a worldly version of Jesus that removes his power and true identity.

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The identity of Jesus as the Messiah is so critical for us to understand as believers. When we rightly understand him, we can rightly display him to those who don't know him.

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When we rightly understand him, we have assurance in our own salvation. This is the witness of John the

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Baptist. Jesus is our substitute. Jesus understands our suffering. Jesus is worthy of our praise.

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The claim of John the Baptist is that Jesus is the Lamb of God. May the consequence be that we follow him.

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The purpose of all witness is that people might be saved, which is possible only through faith in Jesus.

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Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.

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Does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. The power of truthful witnesses.

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When the baby Jesus was conceived, God became a man. He was not part man and part

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God. Jesus was truly human and truly God. Before Jesus came into the world, mankind could only know

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God partially in what was revealed through his prophets. Now Jesus, the

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Christ, had come as the complete expression of God in the physical form of man. After Jesus came to earth, mankind could know

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God fully because he became visible in the person of Christ. God became tangible and dwelt with humans.

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There is no lie in him. He is the personification of truth. The Messiah is the perfect expression of God in human form.

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We must never make the mistake that is really common today by people who are making

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Jesus to be something that he's not. We must never make the common mistake people make about Jesus to minimize either his humanity or to minimize his divinity.

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No, Jesus is both truly God and truly man. And that means we dare not sugarcoat or diminish the true

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Jesus of the Bible. These are the truths we must stand on to understand

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Jesus. You have sent to John and he has borne witness to the truth, but the witness

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I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you might be saved.

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He was the lamp that was burning and shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

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Four powerful witnesses to Jesus's equality with God the Father. Number one,

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John's testimony. John the Baptist testified to Jesus as the revealed glory of God the

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Father. Four powerful witnesses to Jesus's equality with God. Number one,

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John's testimony. John the Baptist testified to Jesus as the revealed glory of God the

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Father. And number two, Jesus's works. Verse 36, Jesus's works.

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Go back with me over to chapter five. Verse 36, but the witness

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I have is greater than the witness of John for the works which the

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Father has given me to finish. The very works that I do bear witness about me that the

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Father has sent me. Jesus's works testify to his deity.

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The next appeal to his deity is the testimony of his miracles. And that's works as in plural, plural.

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At this point in the account, we've seen Jesus do three sign wonders. He turned water into wine.

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He healed the royal official's son. And in our context in chapter five, he healed the lame man at the pool of Bethesda.

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John will go on to record seven sign wonders total. But he also reminds his readers that there were more than what was recorded.

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He says, therefore, many other signs Jesus also did in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book.

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The sign wonders are unique in that they relay a spiritual truth that the

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Father had commissioned the Son to do them. So these are, miracles are special.

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They break the natural order, the natural creation. The sign wonders had a spiritual truth connected to it.

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But John's point is that there was many, many other miracles that we just don't have a record of.

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John was recording this fact that the works that Jesus did through the mouth of Jesus, he says, these works are my

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Father's works. Jesus was commissioned by the Father to do these specific works.

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Because they came from the Father, Jesus's works are of greater significance than the witness of John the

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Baptist's words. In this case, the testimony of Jesus's works had fallen on soil that does not produce.

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The Father had witnessed to Jesus, yet the hearers had not heard his voice.

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Not only that, they had not recognized his presence. Jesus says as much in the immediate context of verse 37, you have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form.

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The apostle John also reminds his readers the purpose of the recorded miracles.

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So we know that there's some that weren't recorded, and this is plural, there's many, but we know there's some that were recorded.

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And this is the purpose of the recording. But these have been written, and here's the so that, so that you may believe that Jesus is the

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Christ, the Son of God. And that believing you may have life in his name.

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And Jesus will relay this same truth of his complete and perfect equality with God later in John's gospel.

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It's actually the last year of Jesus's earthly ministry. The apostle recorded this exchange.

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It's John chapter 10. He writes this, at that time the feast of the dedication took place at Jerusalem.

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It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around him and were saying to him, how long will you keep us in suspense?

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If you are the Christ, tell us openly. Jesus answered them,

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I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my father's name, these bear witness of me.

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But you do not believe because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

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And I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish ever.

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And no one will snatch them out of my hand. The father had witnessed to Jesus, yet the hearers had not heard his voice.

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And not only that, they had not recognized his presence. The importance of sharing

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Jesus with others, it matters what you truly understand about him.

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If you truly understand who he is. Imagine you're walking down a street, and you see someone who is clearly in distress.

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They're coughing, weak, struggling to breathe. You recognize the symptoms immediately because you've seen them before.

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In fact, you know exactly what's wrong with them because you had the same illness once. But here's the difference.

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You found a cure. Not just any cure, but the only cure that can save them.

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Now, if you truly understand the gravity of this disease and the power of this cure, wouldn't you rush over to help?

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Wouldn't you do everything in your power to share the cure with them? You wouldn't hesitate, would you?

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You know how serious this is, and you know that without this cure, they're in real danger.

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In the same way, if we truly understand who Jesus is and what he has done for us, how can we not share him with others?

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Jesus is the cure for the disease of sin, a disease that affects every single person.

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If we truly grasp the depth of our own need for him and the incredible grace he offers, then sharing the good news about him becomes not just an option, but a necessity.

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When you know how life -changing, how life -saving Jesus is, you can't keep that to yourself.

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You want others to experience the healing, the hope, and the joy that comes from knowing him.

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Just like with the cure, if we truly understand the problem and the solution, we'll be eager to share it with everyone who needs it.

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There is an urgency and importance of sharing Jesus with others when you truly understand his significance.

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Four powerful witnesses to Jesus's equality with God. Number two,

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Jesus's works. Jesus's miracles testify to his deity.

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Four powerful witnesses to Jesus's equality with God. Number two, Jesus's works.

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Jesus's miracles testify to his deity. And number three, the baptism and transfiguration, verses 37 and 38.

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The baptism and transfiguration. And the Father who sent me, he has borne witness about me.

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You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe him whom he sent.

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God the Father testifies to the pre -existing eternality of Jesus as the

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Son of God. In this section, Jesus is not only talking about the voice of his baptism, based on what he says really right after in verse 39, it seems clear that it is also the testimony of the

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Old Testament scripture. A helpful side note for us,

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I think, is the takeaway here, is that the voice of God is on the same level as the authoritative word of God recorded for all of us.

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This is on the same level as hearing God speak, because this is the word of God.

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Interesting side note. An important side note that we would do well to remember.

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Yeah, it seems clear that in this context, he's relating everything he's talked about up to this point to the

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Old Testament scripture. This section highlights the importance or power of truthful witnesses.

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Sadly, the Jews who were opposed to Jesus never recognized him, and it's because they didn't recognize his true character.

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Jesus is making the connection to the scripture. He says, they don't hear the Father's witness about me, because they don't have

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God's word, the scripture, in their heart. However, there are two events in the life of Jesus of Nazareth where we do have recorded for us circumstances in which

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God did audibly and verbally speak from heaven regarding his son.

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The first is Matthew chapter 3. After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the

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Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And behold, there was a voice out of the heavens saying, this is my beloved son in whom

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I am well pleased. In this section of scripture, all three persons of the

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Trinity are clearly set forth and outlined. The heavenly pronouncement from God the

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Father heard audibly makes a connection to the Old Testament scripture, one we often overlook, unless you have your reference

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Bible open as you're reading. That's why it's such a good thing to have a study Bible. But we hear those words, and sometimes we miss that there's an

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Old Testament connection. God speaking from heaven combined language from the Psalms and the prophet

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Isaiah. So, just think about what he's saying there. This is my beloved son in whom

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I am well pleased. And he's talking about one person. There's one person that's present there,

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Jesus of Nazareth, that he's talking about. He's not talking about John the Baptist. It's not another disciple.

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No, it's Christ. It's Jesus. This is my beloved son in whom

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I am well pleased. So, have that in your mind. Listen to Psalm 2 -7. Psalm 2 -7,

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I will surely tell of the decree of Yahweh. I'm reading from the Legacy Standard Bible.

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He said to me, you are my son, today I have begotten you.

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How about Isaiah 42? Behold my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul is well pleased.

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I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the nations.

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This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Yeah, God is quoting the

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Old Testament Scriptures. He's the author. In retrospect, after the events, all of these prophecies from the

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Old Testament would have been well known to the Jews that were waiting with messianic expectation. They were waiting for the

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Christ to show up. They would have been familiar with these passages. The baptism of Jesus is an example of the

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Father literally testifying about the Son in the historical record in addition to the witness of the

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Old Testament. The Father is expressing the eternal generation of the Son, pre -existing eternality.

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Another example is the transfiguration. Again, recorded for us by the

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Apostle Matthew. We find this in the end of his gospel, maybe midway through,

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Matthew 17. Matthew 17, Levi, the Apostle Matthew records this,

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Jesus brought with him Peter and James and John, his brother, and led them up on a mountain by themselves.

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And he was transfigured before them. And his face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as light.

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And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here.

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If you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.

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While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And behold, a voice out of the cloud said,

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This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him, listen to him.

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So the specific language of, this is my beloved Son, again, speaks to the eternal pre -existence of Jesus, of the

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Son. In verses 37 and 38, Jesus is making the point that this, this is now passing from the witness of the

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Father to the testimony borne of him by the living oracles, the Old Testament.

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Acts 7 says this, this is the one who in the congregation in the wilderness was with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, with our fathers, the one who received living oracles to pass on to you.

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So both the Pharisees and the Sadducees were like strangers to the Father and the Son, as was evidenced by the

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Jews rejecting Jesus to whom all that witness was born. The baptism and the transfiguration are both examples of the

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Father literally testifying about the Son in the historical record in addition to the witness of the

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Old Testament. However, unbelief in the Old Testament scripture is the ultimate issue.

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The apostle Peter, one of the witnesses of the transfiguration, made this connection to the supremacy and the sufficiency of scripture.

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Peter records this. So here's kind of an inside view. He was there, let's hear from him.

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2 Peter chapter 1, he says, For we did not make known to you the power and coming of our

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Lord Jesus Christ, following cleverly devised myths, but being eyewitnesses of his majesty.

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For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory.

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Here it is. This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. And we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.

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And here is the profound statement that we need to let this sink into our hearts.

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The apostle Peter, just talking about hearing a voice from heaven, God the Father speaking, he says,

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And we have as more sure the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

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Know this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture comes by one's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever made by the will of man, but men being moved by the

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Holy Spirit spoke from God. Every single thing that has ever been written that we have recorded for us has been spoken forth by God.

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This is God revealed. This is God inspired. This is God breathed.

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Jesus' eternal generation and pre -existing forever with the Father is vindicated by the verbal and divine announcements from God the

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Father recorded for us. And more vitally, by the testimony of the

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Old Testament, the power of truthful witnesses. In today's passage, the apostle

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John records Jesus' words to the Jews who were opposing him so that you can be prepared to tell others who

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Jesus really is. Four powerful witnesses to Jesus' equality with God. Number three, the baptism and transfiguration.

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The baptism and transfiguration. God the Father testifies to the pre -existing eternality of Jesus as the

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Son. Four powerful witnesses to Jesus' equality with God. The baptism and transfiguration.

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God the Father testifies to the pre -existing eternality of Jesus as the

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Son. And then number four, the Bible. Verses 39 through 47, the

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Bible. You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life.

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It is these that bear witness about me. And you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life.

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I do not receive glory from men, but I know you that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.

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I have come in my Father's name and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.

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How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the only

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God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. The one who accuses you is

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Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed

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Moses, you would believe me. For he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?

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The Old Testament scriptures testify to Jesus of Nazareth being the anointed one of God and Savior of the world.

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He is the Messiah. The Jews did not believe in Jesus through unbelief of God's word.

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Primarily, the scriptures did not dwell in the Jews who were opposing Jesus. The religious leaders knew what the

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Old Testament said, but there was a failure in applying its words to their own hearts.

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In the ultimate irony, the Jews knew the teachings of the scriptures, yet they failed to see the

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Messiah that the scriptures were pointing to. Without taking the scriptures to heart, they were blind.

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In other words, they knew all of the rules and had even invented some of their own.

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But sadly, they missed the Savior. They were so far ingrained in their own religious system that they were refusing to let the true

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Son of God change them. A valuable lesson for us to never become so involved in religion or tradition that you miss

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Jesus. I mean, think about it like this. The Jews who did not believe in Jesus as the

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Messiah did not neglect the scriptures. They didn't neglect the scriptures.

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He says, you searched the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life.

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It is these that bear witness about me. There was a well -known due diligence among the

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Jewish people in studying the Old Testament. The problem was their belief that their head knowledge of the scriptures was sufficient for salvation.

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The Jews had refused to accept the testimony of the Old Testament regarding Jesus, and they failed to see that this was the main purpose of the scriptures.

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The problem is expressed by Jesus. You are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life.

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This was a deliberate rejection of Jesus, who is the source of life, the source of life, not one of many, the only.

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Jesus is essentially declaring to them that they were spiritually dead. The Old Testament testified about the

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Messiah. Jesus as the Messiah did not accept either human witness or human praise.

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I do not receive glory from men. Jesus didn't have official human sanction for his mission, and he didn't need it.

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The reference in verse 42 to the love of God likely is that their lack of love for God is in mind in view of the context.

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The Jews and the religious leaders of the day were really put on a pedestal by people.

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The religious elite enjoyed great prestige in Israel, but their glory meant nothing to Jesus.

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Jesus wasn't concerned with human glory or praise. He was concerned with God's glory.

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And this is a good principle of application for all of us, whether or not, I mean, really think about this, whether or not it's the highest kind of praise, whether or not it's the highest or most prestigious officials in all the world gave approval of our actions.

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If God does not, that is what should concern us, not what is right according to culture and society, because those things will always be changing.

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If God does not approve, that is what is a concern, not what society says.

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If God approves, even when others don't, may we be content in God's approval alone.

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And you're not going to be Mr. Popular at work talking about things of the word of God.

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You know, you're not going to be Mr. Popular when you argue for maybe the life of a newborn baby.

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You know, you're going to be a weird Jesus freak. You might have a few people on your side.

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They might talk behind your back when you're not around. There's a famous saying, God plus one equals majority.

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And if God approves, that's all that matters. You're on the right side if it's what God says.

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If God approves, even when others don't, may we be content in God's approval alone. Yeah, you guys may or may not have heard, but on Wednesday, the

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Supreme Court for the state of Montana passed a bill that children can get abortions without their parents' consent or knowledge.

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That's not California. That's the state of Montana. For the liberal, progressive, you know, good thing for health care, we now can abort babies.

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And a teenager can do that, and their parents don't have to know about it. Actually, their parents don't have a right to know about it.

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And that's the Supreme Court of the state of Montana. That just happened on Wednesday. You know, the truths that we have in the word of God, and whether we're

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Christians or not, make a difference in how we live our lives and whether people can see what, if we, what we believe is real or not.

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We have to truly understand what Jesus is saying here. Jesus is

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God. Be careful. This is really, for us as believers, this is the cure.

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There is no other hope to give anybody. The political reform and all the stuff that's going on with the book, banning and, you know, some of these other things, and election fraud, all of those things,

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I'll tell you right now, are a huge waste of time. Because ultimately, a lot of the folks that are involved in that are going to churches where they don't preach the

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Bible anymore. They tell you funny stories when you show up. Topical preaching that doesn't exhort sin, doesn't tell people who

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Jesus really is, and it's popular, they love it, and just give me more and more of that.

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That pastor is not going to go down and stand with you when you're trying to get a book, you know, not put into the school district that shows pornographic material to children.

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Because it's not their thing. It's not my thing. I don't really do that. The word of God matters.

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If God does not approve it, that's what should matter to us. And if God approves it, even if the world says no, we know we're in a good place because we're content in God's approval.

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God plus one equals majority. The Jews who were opposing Jesus entirely missed it, that it was

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God the father himself who sanctioned the mission of Jesus the son. I have come in my father's name and you do not receive me.

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If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. The Jews prided themselves on being the true descendants and the followers or the ancestors of Moses.

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In other words, they were obsessed with trying to follow every one of the law of Moses's commandments really to the letter.

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They had created over 600 additional rules just to correctly follow the 10 commandments given by God.

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And we have a record here of Jesus giving them a very specific warning that Moses would accuse them.

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And that would have made them furious. What he's saying here is so inflammatory. Jesus's point is if they had been true followers of Moses, they would now be true followers of him.

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And Jesus makes the connection to the Old Testament Scripture, the power of truthful witnesses.

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Moses wrote about Jesus. He's making that point to them. And they would have understood that Moses wrote about the

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Messiah. They just don't believe that he is the Messiah. Moses wrote this in Genesis 3.

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This is really the first example of the gospel in the Bible. Genesis 3 .15, and I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed.

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He shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel. Regarding the

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Messiah to come, Moses writes this in Numbers 24. I see him, but not now.

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I behold him, but not near. A star shall come forth from Jacob. A scepter shall rise from Israel and shall crush through the forehead of Moab and tear down all the sons of Sheth.

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Many, many writings of Jesus in the Old Testament, but this is specific to the writing of Moses.

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He also wrote this in Deuteronomy 18. Yahweh, your God, will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers, you shall listen to him.

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Moses wrote about Jesus. However, the religious leaders refused to believe

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Jesus when he came, and Jesus gives the reason for their unbelief. They were more concerned with human praise than with the praise of Yahweh.

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How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the only

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God? When Jesus, the true Messiah, made this strong appeal to Moses, he would have been touching on an extremely sore point.

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This is an exposed nerve. You know, these people loved the

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Torah. They loved the first five books of the Old Testament, the law. They loved the law of Moses. It is true that there are a few specific references in the

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Torah to the Messiah, but one of the main points of the Old Testament scripture was to prepare the way for the coming deliverer.

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It described the Lord's Messiah. Jesus says, for if you believe Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.

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In all their study of the Old Testament, these religious Jews had missed the main point. Jesus, as the true

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Messiah, was directly telling them that they did not actually believe what

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Moses wrote. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?

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All of their devotion to the study of the Old Testament was ultimately of little value because they did not really believe what it said.

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It would have been impossible outside of God's will for devout religious Jews to grasp this distinction.

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Knowledge of the scripture does not equal salvation. However, without the scripture, the

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Jews stood no chance of believing the truth of what Jesus was saying. Knowledge of the scripture doesn't equal salvation, but knowledge of the scripture points you to the only person who has the power of salvation,

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Jesus Christ. The Old Testament gives witness to the Christ Jesus who gives eternal salvation.

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Imagine walking through a dimly lit hallway, and ahead of you, you see a shadow on the wall.

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The shadow is long and dark, and it's moving toward you. You can make out the shape, it looks like a person.

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The closer you get, the clearer the shadow becomes. But the shadow isn't the person.

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It's just a reflection. It's a preview of what's to come. Finally, you turn the corner, and there stands the person casting the shadow.

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Suddenly, everything makes sense. The shadow was just a hint, a glimpse of the reality that was approaching.

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In the same way, the Old Testament is like that shadow on the wall. Throughout its pages, we see glimpses of something greater, hints of a coming

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Savior. The sacrifices, the prophets, the king, the temple, they all cast shadows that point to someone far greater,

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Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ. When we read the stories of the Old Testament, we see the shadow of Jesus in so many places.

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We see him in the Passover lamb, who was just a sign of salvation, the blood of the lamb, a sign of salvation.

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We see him in the story of Abraham and Isaac, where God provides a substitute sacrifice.

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We see him in the prophecies of Isaiah, describing a suffering servant who would bear the sins of many.

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But just as the shadow isn't the full reality, the Old Testament isn't the complete picture.

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It's leading us to the true substance, to the person of Jesus. When Jesus came, he fulfilled what the

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Old Testament foreshadowed. He is the Lamb of God, the ultimate sacrifice, the true king, and the promised

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Savior. The Old Testament testified about Jesus long before he walked the earth.

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It prepared the way, casting a shadow of what was to come. And when Jesus arrived, he brought the light that revealed the full truth of God's plan of salvation.

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Everything in the Old Testament leads to and is fulfilled in the person of Jesus.

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Four powerful witnesses to Jesus's equality with God. Number four, the

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Bible. The Old Testament scriptures testify to Jesus of Nazareth being the anointed one of God and Savior of the world, the

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Christ. Four powerful witnesses to Jesus's equality with God. Number four, the

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Bible. The Old Testament scriptures testify to Jesus of Nazareth being the anointed one of God and Savior of the world, the

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Christ. He is the Christ. The power of truthful witnesses regarding Jesus as the

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Christ and why we should share this truth with others. The question is at hand, is

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Jesus of Nazareth truly the Christ? Is he truly the Son of God?

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Imagine you're in a courtroom. The case being tried is the most important in history.

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Is Jesus the Son of God? The evidence has been presented. Now it's time for the witnesses to testify.

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One by one, witnesses take the stand. And these are the people who have seen, who have heard, who have experienced the truth about Jesus.

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They've seen his miracles, heard his teachings, and some have even witnessed his resurrection.

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Their testimonies are powerful and compelling because they speak from personal experience.

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They aren't just repeating something they heard. They are sharing what they know to be true.

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Now imagine if these witnesses chose not to speak. Imagine if out of fear, doubt, or indifference, they decided to remain silent.

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The jury representing the world would never hear the truth. The case would be left unproven, and countless lives could be affected by the lack of truth being shared.

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As believers, we are like those witnesses in the courtroom. We know the truth about Jesus.

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We've experienced his love, his grace, and his power in our lives. You are called to testify, to share what you know to be true.

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Our testimony has the power to change lives, to lead others to the truth of who

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Jesus is. But if we remain silent, if we choose not to share our testimony, we are withholding the truth from those who need to hear it.

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The world is filled with people who are searching for answers, who are longing for hope.

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Our testimony can be the key that opens the door to their salvation. Just as in a courtroom, truthful witnesses are crucial to the outcome of the case.

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Your truthful witness about Jesus is crucial to the spiritual outcome for those around us, for all of those that God has sovereignly placed in your life.

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When we speak up, we share the truth about Jesus being the Christ. We become instruments in God's hands, helping to bring others to the knowledge of the truth, the importance of being a truthful witness for Jesus.

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It highlights the power of your testimony, the power of your testimony in leading others to the truth and the responsibility that you have to share that truth.

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In verses 33 through 47, the apostle John records Jesus's words to the

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Jews who were opposing him, so that you can be prepared to tell others who Jesus truly is.

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Four powerful witnesses to Jesus's equality with God. Number one, John's testimony, verses 33 through 35.

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John the Baptist testified to Jesus as the revealed glory of God the

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Father. Number two, Jesus's works, verse 36. Jesus's miracles testify to his deity.

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Number three, the baptism and transfiguration, verses 37 and 38. God the

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Father testifies to the pre -existing eternality of Jesus as the

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Son. And then number four, the Bible, verses 39 through 47. The Old Testament scriptures testify to Jesus of Nazareth being the anointed one of God and savior of the world, the

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Christ. This passage is about understanding who Jesus truly is.

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If we're going to tell others about Jesus, it is critical that we understand the claims he makes to his equality with God the