The witness of Christ

John 5:24-47 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Two Resurrections

²⁵ Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; ²⁷ and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, ²⁹ and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

³⁰ “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

³¹ “If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true. ³² There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.

Witness of John

³³ You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. ³⁴ But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. ³⁵ He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

Witness of Works

³⁶ 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.

Witness of the Father

³⁷ And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. ³⁸ You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.

Witness of the Scripture

³⁹ You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; ⁴⁰ and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. ⁴¹ I do not receive glory from men; ⁴² but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. ⁴³ 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. ⁴⁴ How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? ⁴⁵ Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. ⁴⁶ For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. ⁴⁷ But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

In today’s text Jesus says:  “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true.  There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.”

Witness of John

“You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.  He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.”

John was a man, called to be a forerunner of Christ. In John 1:23 he said of himself, according to the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 40:3:  “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”  So while John was an individual, he was also a type. He was a prophetic voice calling people to repent for the coming of Christ, the Lord. Many prophetic voices had come before him and many have followed, but like Jesus said of himself, “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true,”  if they are true prophets, their testimony points to Christ.

Witness of Works

“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.”

Jesus works are well documented throughout the gospels. The works, like the prophetic words, have also continued even to the present time. In John 14:12-14 Jesus says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.  Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” Mark 16:15-20 says:  “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.  These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.  Even before Jesus came as a man, His works testified about Him. Romans 1:20 says:   Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Witness of the Father

“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 Him whom He sent.  God Himself testifies of who Jesus is. In Matthew 3:17, when Jesus was baptised, God said: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”   In Matthew 17:5, when Jesus was on the mountain with His disciples, God said: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”  In John 6:44 Jesus says: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”  God Himself will testify of Christ, will you listen?

Witness of the Scripture

“You 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.  I do not receive glory from men;  but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.  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.  How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?  Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”  Again, the gospels testify of the life, the works, the death and the resurrection of Christ, but all of scripture, from Genesis to Revelation is a testimony of Christ and God’s plan and desire to redeem people from sin.

Every source of testimony about Christ is in agreement. Anyone who testifies of a different savior than Christ does not speak truth. Anyone who changes the consistent testimony of Christ, in order to update Him or conform what He says to the current culture and society, is either deceived or a deceiver. Again, even today, the testimony of Christ is still being proclaimed throughout the world. As both John and Jesus Himself said, it is time to: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  (Matthew 3:2;4:17)

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, for the testimony of Christ the Redeemer and Lord. May my life and my words also be consistent to testify of Him.  Amen.