John 5:31-47:

Confirmation of the

Claims of Jesus Christ

By Dr. Hal Harless

Foundation Fellowship of Greenville, TX

September 13, 2009

 

I.  Introduction

A.  Please turn to John 5:31. 

B.  While you are turning.... 

            A young American engineer was sent to Ireland by his company to work in a new electronics plant.  It was a two-year assignment that he had accepted because it would enable him to earn enough to marry his long-time girlfriend.  She had a job near her home in Tennessee, and their plan was to pool their resources and put a down payment on a house when he returned.  They corresponded often, but as the lonely weeks went by, she began expressing doubts that he was being true to her, exposed as he was to comely Irish lasses.

            The young engineer wrote back, declaring with some passion that he was paying absolutely no attention to the local girls.  "I admit," he wrote, "that sometimes I’m tempted.  But I fight it.  I’m keeping myself for you."

            In the next mail, the engineer received a package.  It contained a note from his girl and a harmonica.  "I’m sending this to you," she wrote, "so you can learn to play it and have something to take your mind off those girls."  The engineer replied, "Thanks for the harmonica.  I’m practicing on it every night and thinking of you."

            At the end of his two-year stint, the engineer was transferred back to company headquarters.  He took the first plane to Tennessee to be reunited with his girl.  Her whole family was with her, but as he rushed forward to embrace her, she held up a restraining hand and said sternly, "Just hold on there a minute, Billy Bob.  Before any serious kissin’ and huggin’ gets started here, let me hear you play that harmonica!"[1]

 

What do you accept for evidence?  Jesus Christ has made some remarkable claims.  Now, He is going to present His case why, according to the Jewish laws of evidence, He should be believed.

II.  Exposition

A.  Background

1.  We are still in Jesus' public ministry (John 2:1-12:36a).

2.  Jesus' cure of a paralyzed man had ignited a controversy centered around two charges:

a.  That Jesus broke the Sabbath (John 5:9b-17).

b.  And that He claimed to be equal with God (John 5:18).

3.  In the third discourse, we had the claims of Christ in answer to these charges (John 5:19-30).

4.  This week, we will have the confirmation of those claims (John 5:31-47).

B.  Exposition: confirmation of Jesus' claims (John 5:31-47)

1.  The principle of two or more witnesses (John 5:31-32)

                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 (John 5:31-32).

 

a.  "If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true."

1)  Jesus acknowledged the principal that the testimony of only one witness was not valid. 

a)  The principal in Jewish law is that "on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed" (Deut 19:15). 

b)  "True" is used in the sense of "valid" (CJB, HCSB, NIV, NLT). 

2)  Testimony is an important theme in John's gospel.  Seventy-seven of one hundred thirty-six times that "testify" or "testimony" are used in the NT are in John.[2]

b.  "There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true."

1)  However, Jesus claimed that He had another witness. 

2)  In fact, He had four other witnesses:

a)  John the Baptist

b)  Jesus' works

c)  God the Father

d)  Scriptures. 

3)  Again, "true" is used in the sense of "valid" (CJB, HCSB, NIV).

2.  The witnesses (John 5:33-47)

a.  John the Baptist (John 5:33-35)

                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 (John 5:33-35).

 

1)  "You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth."

a)  First, Jesus cited the witness of John the Baptist when the deputation from the Jewish leaders came to him. 

b)  This was recorded in John 1:19-27. 

c)  This has been translated, "In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true" (NLT).

2)  "But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved."

a)  Jesus pointed out that He did not rely on mere human testimony even that of John. 

b)  However, He cited John the Baptist in order to fulfill the laws of evidence and so convince some to trust in Him and so be saved. 

i)  This has been translated, "Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved" (NLT). 

ii)  John has already pointed out in the prologue that John the Baptist "came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him" (John 1:7).

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

a)  Jesus gave a moving tribute to John the Baptist and noted that they also had for a while held him in high esteem.

i)  At another time, Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!" (Matt 11:11; see Luke 7:28). 

ii)  As one translation has it, "John was a lamp that gave off brilliant light.  For a time you enjoyed the pleasure of his light" (GWN). 

b)  John the Baptist had been exceedingly popular for a time in Judea, "People from the whole Judean countryside and all of Jerusalem were going out to him, and he was baptizing them in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins" (Mark 1:5 NET). 

i)  This placed the religious authorities in a difficult position:

²³ When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?"  ²⁴ Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.  ²⁵ The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?"  And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?'  ²⁶ But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet."  ²⁷ And answering Jesus, they said, "We do not know."  He also said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things" (Matt 21:23-27; see also Mark 11:27-33; Luke 20:1-8).

 

ii)  This was their Achilles heel and Jesus used it well.

c)  John the Baptist testified to Jesus Christ.

b.  Jesus' works (John 5:36)

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 (John 5:36).

 

1)  Moreover, Jesus asserted that, beyond John the Baptist's testimony, His miracles testified that God the Father had sent Him. 

a)  The Gk. word translated "has given" is a perfect tense verb. 

b)  God the Father gave these works to Christ in the eternal past. 

c)  The translations "the deeds I am now doing" (NET), or "I am doing" (NIV) correctly capture the meaning of the present tense. 

d)  Nicodemus understood that "no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him" (John 3:2). 

2)  This is in keeping with John's emphasis that miracles are signs pointing to who Jesus is.

3)  Jesus' miracles testify to Himself.

c.  God the Father (John 5:37-38)

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 (John 5:37-38).

 

1)  "And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me."

a)  Next, Jesus cited the testimony of God the Father. 

i)  The rabbis believed in the bat qol or voice from heaven. 

ii)  God the Father had directly testified concerning His Son, Jesus Christ:

(a)  At His baptism, "this is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased" (Matt 3:17; see also Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22).

(b)  At His transfiguration, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased" (Matt 17:15; see also Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35). 

(c)  When Jesus will pray, "'Father, glorify Your name.'  Then a voice came out of heaven: 'I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again'" (John 12:28). 

iii)  John would later write that "if we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater" (1 John 5:9).

iv)  God the Father testifies to Jesus Christ. 

2)  "You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form."

a)  The Jewish leaders might have responded that the testimony of God was problematic since God is invisible and does not commonly speak audibly. 

i)  Jesus conceded this for the sake of argument. 

ii)  John has already said as much in the prologue, "No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him" (John 1:18). 

b)  Had they know Jesus Christ; they would have known the invisible God.

3)  "You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent."

a)  However, the Lord pointed out that the real problem was not that they had not heard God's voice, but that God's word that He had spoken did not have a lasting effect in their lives.

b)  This was evidenced by their unbelieving reaction to Him.

d.  The Scriptures (John 5:39-47)

1)  The Scriptures testify to Jesus (John 5:39-40).

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 (John 5:39-40).

 

a)  "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me."

i)  Finally, Jesus mentioned the Jewish reverence for the Scriptures and claimed that those same Scriptures testified about Him. 

(a)  The phrase "search the Scriptures" is a rabbinical technical term for Bible study.[3] 

(b)  This has been translated, "pore over the Scriptures" (HCSB), "diligently study the Scriptures" (NIV), or "study the scriptures thoroughly" (NET). 

(c)  The Gk. word translated "search" is a present tense verb, "You are always searching the Scriptures" (NTET). 

ii)  The Jews looked to the Scriptures for eternal life. 

(a)  Rabbi Gamaliel said, "ONE WHO HAS ACQUIRED UNTO HIMSELF A GOOD NAME, HAS ACQUIRED [IT] FOR HIMSELF; ONE WHO HAS ACQUIRED UNTO HIMSELF WORDS OF TORAH, HAS ACQUIRED FOR HIMSELF THE LIFE OF THE WORLD TO COME."[4] 

(b)  Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said, "GREAT IS TORAH FOR IT GIVES LIFE, UNTO THOSE THAT PRACTISE IT, IN THIS WORLD, AND IN THE WORLD TO COME."[5]

iii)  "These testify about Me"--Josh McDowell cataloged 332 prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus Christ at His first coming.[6] 

(a)  Mathematician Peter Stoner calculated the odds of eight key prophecies at 1 in 10¹⁷.  10¹⁷ silver dollars would cover the surface of Texas two feet deep.[7] 

(b)  When Stoner calculated the odds of 48 prophecies, it was found to be to be 1 in 10¹⁵⁷.[8] 

(c)  Christian Victory Publishing Company offers a $1,000 reward if one can find anyone, living or dead other than Jesus, who fulfilled only half of the prophecies in Messiah in Both Testaments by Fred John Meldau.[9] 

(d)  In addition, Daniel 9:24-27 predicted the precise date of the Triumphal Entry.[10] 

(e)  Jesus Christ is the grand theme of the Bible.

b)  "And you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life."

i)  However, Jesus noted the two-fold irony:

(a)  They looked for life in the Scripture that pointed to Him,

(b)  They were unwilling to come to the One that Scripture pointed to in order to find life. 

ii)  Knowledge of Scripture will not save you; only trust in Jesus Christ alone can do that.

2)  Receiving glory from men impedes faith (John 5:41-44).

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? (John 5:41-44).

 

a)  "I do not receive glory from men."

i)  Jesus was uninterested in human glory. 

ii)  This has been translated, "I do not accept praise from people" (NET).

b)  "But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves."

i)  Jesus knew that the Jewish leaders did not truly love God.  This has been translated, "But I know what kind of people you are.  You don't have any love for God" (GW).[11] 

ii)  This is yet another instance where Jesus "did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man" (John 2:25).

c)  "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."

i)  Jesus marked the irony that, while the Jewish leaders would not receive Him when He in fact came in God the Father's name, they would receive one who came in his own name. 

(a)  The messianic Ps 118 pronounces a blessing on the Messiah, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD" (bārûk habā' bĕšēm 'ādônay) (Ps 118:26). 

(b)  Jesus has just argued that, as the Son of God, He takes no independent action from the Father. 

(c)  This has been translated, "I have come with the authority my Father has given me, but you don't accept me. If someone else comes with his own authority, you will accept him" (GW).

ii)  Jesus' complaint has proved valid and Judaism has been plagued with false messiahs.[12] 

(a)  A good example of this was the false Messiah, Simon Bar Kokhba, who led the second Jewish revolt against Rome (AD 132-136).[13]  Even the great Rabbi Akiba said of Bar Kokhba, "This is the King Messiah."[14]  After a revolt of two and a half to three and a half years, Bar Kokhba was killed.[15]  The rabbis made a play on his name changing Bar Kokhba ("Son of the Star," see Num 24:17) to Bar Koziba ("Son of the lie").[16]  Bar Kokhba was not the first, nor was he the last of the pseudo-messiahs. 

(b)  There was Theudas[17] (AD 44)

(c)  Menahem ben Judah[18] (AD 70)

(d)  Moses of Crete (AD 440)

(e)  Ishak ben Ya'qub al-Isfahani

(f)  Yudghan al-Ra'i (8^th c. AD)

(g)  Sherini (c. AD 720)

(h)  David Alrui (c. 1160)

(i)  Abraham Abulafia (1240-1291)

(j)  Moses Botarel of Cisneros (c. 1413)

(k)  Shabbethai Zebi (1626-1676)

(l)  Jacob Frank (1726-1791)

(m)  Moses Hayyim Luzzatto (1707-1747), and many others. 

(n)  Some have believed that the Hasidic rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994) was the messiah although the Chabad Lubavitcher movement appears to have now backed away from that position. 

(o)  Of course, the ultimate example will be the antichrist.

d)  "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?"

i)  Jesus taught that seeking to receive glory from each other and not God made faith impossible. 

ii)  How many are hindered from faith today because they are worried about people's opinions?

3)  Moses will accuse unbelievers (John 5:45-47).

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? (John 5:45-47).

 

a)  "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."

i)  Jesus informed them that Moses would be their accuser.

(a)  The Gk. grammar indicates that they were thinking that Jesus was their accuser, and He is commanding them to "stop thinking that" (NTET).[19] 

(b)  The Gk. word translated "accuse" and "accuses" is "nearly always [used] as [a] legal t[echnical] t[erm]: bring charges in court."[20]

b)  "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me."

i)  Jesus noted that Moses wrote prophetically about Him even though the Jewish leaders did not believe his testimony. 

(a)  The condition is second-class, i.e., "if and it is not the case." 

(b)  Moses wrote the Protoevangelium, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel" (Gen 3:15). 

(c)  Moses wrote the promise that "in you all the families of the earth will be blessed" (Gen 12:3; see also Gen 18:18; 22:18; 28:14). 

(d)  Moses penned the promise of "Shiloh," "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples" (Gen 49:10). 

(e)  The star prophecy was recorded by Moses, "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel" (Num 24:17). 

(f)  The final thing that Moses wrote about Jesus Christ was the prediction of a prophet like Moses, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him" (Deut 18:15). 

(g)  What God said next must have sent a chill down the spine of all who heard Him:

¹⁸ I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. ¹⁹ It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him (Deut 18:18-19).

 

(h)  Indeed, Moses does accuse them and God affirms that they will answer for rejecting Jesus.

c)  "But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

i)  Therefore, by rejecting Jesus, they were guilty of rejecting also Moses' testimony.

(a)  This "if" is a first-class condition, "if and it is true" or "since" (NTET); it is a fact that they do not believe Moses' writings, the Torah.[21] 

(b)  Truly is it written that "He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11). 

(c)  The Gk. word translated "words" (rhēma) means "spoken word." 

(d)  Thus, the translation that reads, "what I say" (NIV). 

ii)  If they do not hear Jesus Christ's words and believe God the Father who sent Him, they do not have eternal life and will come into judgment (John 5:24).

iii)  The Scriptures testify to Jesus.

II.  Applications

A.  The claims of Jesus Christ are confirmed by the testimony of four witnesses besides Himself:

1.  John the Baptist.

2.  Jesus' works.

3.  God the Father.

4.  The Scriptures.

B.  This says to us ...

1.  Jesus Christ is the grand theme of the Bible.

2.  We must focus on receiving praise from God, not human beings, if our faith is to grow.

3.  Only faith in Christ alone can give us life.