Good morning. We are in the book of John. Our series subtitle is “Bearing Witness.” This morning, our text— John 5:30-47, speaks to the witness of Scripture, of God the Father, God the Spirit, God and Son, as well as other figures in regard to the person, nature, and ministry of Jesus, the Son of God. 

How do we know a truth claim is valid? How do we know someone is speaking truth, and not merely their version of the truth, perceived through their own faulty and frail human lens? In our world, we rely on the witness of other human beings. We speak to their friends, their spouse, their past co-workers, and most importantly, employers. These are people who have seen the person in action, and have an understanding of the character of the person. We are especially convinced when we personally know and trust the character of that reference. The more trustworthy and true the reference source, the more trustworthy and true the candidate. And what is the purpose of seeking out references? References validate or disprove what we’ve seen and heard from the person under scrutiny. But even then, human references are faulty. They see through a lens that is tainted, or even blind, based on their own bias, desires, and motives.

So, how do you check the references of Christ? To whom would you go in order to validate his truth claim? What evidence would you examine to see if whom and what He purports to be is in fact whom and what He is? This is the message of today’s passage. 

Recall with me the context of John 5. Jesus healed a paralytic. As a thank you for his work with the outcast of Israel, the Pharisees questioned him and accused him of sin for working on the Sabbath. Jesus responded, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” The Jews rightfully understood that Jesus was calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. Verse 19, we see Jesus’ defense. He is in solidarity with the Father, for He is also fully God, has life in Himself, and the Father has given all judgement to the Son. Believing the testimony, or word of Jesus is the entrance into eternal life.

We are going to look at our passage today and examine the testimony of Jesus, the witness to Jesus, the glory of Jesus, and the reward of believing Jesus. 

Please stand and turn to John 5. We are going to begin in verse 30.

John 5:30–47

[30] “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. [31] If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. [32] There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. [33] You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. [34] Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. [35] He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. [36] But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. [37] And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, [38] and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. [39] You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, [40] yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. [41] I do not receive glory from people. [42] But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. [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 do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? [45] Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. [46] For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. [47] But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (ESV)

[Pray]

The Testimony of Jesus, The Witness to Jesus, The Glory of Jesus, and The Reward of Jesus.

The Testimony of Jesus

[30] “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. [31] If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. [32] There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. [33] You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. [34] Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. [35] He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. [36] But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.

What was the testimony of Jesus? His testimony was none other than the gospel. Turn to the beginning of the book of John with me. John, in his prologue, revealed to us everything he was going to support in his gospel account of Jesus. 

John 1:1-4 revealed that Jesus was eternal, always with God, and always was God; through Jesus all things were made, and in Him was life, and the light of man. 

So, how does John support these statements thus far in his gospel?

v29: “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Jesus is the Lamb of God.

V40-41: One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew… he found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).

Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One

V49 Nathaniel answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! The King of Israel!”

Son of God, King of Israel.

So far, these are all assertions by people. Jesus hasn’t overtly said anything in John’s gospel—just yet. Look at verse 51

51 And he said to him, “Truly Truly I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

The angels of God will not ascend on, or descend on anything less than God himself! Jesus rightly affirms what has been said of him, openly, with this statement. Furthermore, the title Son of Man is the apocalyptic title of the God-Man in Daniel 7. 

So, identity of Jesus has been established. Now for the testimony. What Has Jesus come to declare. John 3:16-21 — read.

The testimony of Jesus was that he came as the Son of God, as God himself, to bear the wrath of God for the sin of man. He is declaring the world condemned. “Whomever doesn’t believe is condemned already!” The blood of goats and bulls did not atone for sin. It didn’t wash the sinner. Sin is a human problem: it demands a human solution. Jesus is the human solution! Jesus is the propitiation for our sin. What is propitiation? So glad you asked. My buddy Nick defines it like this: wrath bearer. 

If Jesus came to bear wrath, then what you are suggesting is that I deserve the wrath of God. Friends, that was the message the Pharisees received, loud and clear. It was offensive to them. Who is this back-water rabbi who comes and declares us objects of wrath, unless we repent and believe He is the Son of God? 

Can you see the pride? Friends, we must not wait until the end of the sermon for application. Truth can come to us from any source. In fact, what we read in the Bible is that God uses the weak things of the earth to shame the strong. 

1 Corinthians 1:27–31

[27] But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; [28] God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, [29] so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. [30] And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, [31] so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (ESV)

The Pharisees couldn’t accept this plain-john-doe rabbi coming to declare the glories of the Kingdom of God. They wanted someone with wealth, power, prestige, someone who had it all together, who had the charisma they wanted, the power they sought for- that was their picture of the Messiah. So they rejected the Spirit anointed Son of God, Son of Man, and refused his words, his testimony.

Don’t we do this today? We look to the person’s accolades to judge if they’re worth hearing. We don’t listen to the message unless we like the messenger. Instead of listening to the message they bear, and judging it against scripture, we look at the clothes they wear, and judge it against what picture we want to look like. Friends, God is not a respecter of persons. The Spirit speaks more consistently through the weak, the poor, than the strong and rich. Listen to the words, the message, of your brothers and sisters, in whom the Spirit dwells. Humble yourself to hear what the Lord may be saying to you through your church body, your friends. It’s not the person that gives validation to the truth of the message, it is the Spirit.

The testimony of Jesus was this: Israel and all of humanity was cursed under sin. There was and is none righteous. This is what was offensive to the Pharisees and religious leaders. The people of God deserved the wrath of God, and that wrath must be born by the Son of God, which means salvation is received by the Grace of God, through Faith in the Son of God, to the glory of God alone. Jesus was and is the Son of God. That is what he was declaring. That was the testimony of Jesus. 

Next we have the…

The Witness to Jesus

[31] If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. [32] There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. [33] You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. [34] Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. [35] He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. [36] But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. [37] And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, [38] and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. [39] You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, [40] yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

Who all bore witness to Jesus? Jesus, himself, the Son, His works, John the Baptist — God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, Scripture, and Moses.

Jesus stated: “If I alone near witness about myself…” In that statement alone, he confirms that he bears witness to where he has come from. This is laden throughout scripture: Jesus declares again and again, I came from the Father. I will return to the Father. I came down from heaven. I will return to heaven. 

His works bear witness. Who else can heal the lame? Cleanse a leper? Heal the blind? Raise the dead? In Luke 4, Jesus opened the scroll in his first public address, and read from Isaiah and stated:^{18  y}“The Spirit of the Lord ^zis upon me,

because he has anointed me to ^aproclaim good news to the poor. ^bHe has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and ^crecovering of sight to the blind,^dto set at liberty those who are oppressed, ^{19  e}to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Everyone marveled at how gracious his words were, until they realized what it meant - that he was claiming to be the Messiah. Then they began to question his origin. Surely, the Messiah can’t come from Nazareth. Jesus pointed out that a prophet is without honor in their hometown. Then he proceeded to tell them that Elijah only went to the aid of one widow, Elisha cleansed only one leper, and yet what we see from Jesus’ ministry is that he healed countless people with countless disease, and raised Lazarus, and a little girl from the dead. Within minutes, they were seeking to throw him off a cliff. His works bore witness to His deity. 

He stated that if he bore witness alone, his testimony was not true (valid). Jesus wasn’t saying that what he says is false. He is God. He came full of grace and truth (1:14). God is not a man that he should lie (Nu 23:19). But he can do nothing on his own (30). Jesus is in complete solidarity with the Father. They have the same essence, have the same will, and Jesus does nothing apart from the Father.

I stated that the Father and the Holy Spirit bore witness to Jesus. They did so through the ministry of John the Baptist. We read about this in John 2. John came preaching a baptism of repentance for the kingdom was at hand— this meant he was the forerunner of the Messiah! 

He dressed in camel hair, ate grasshoppers, baptized in the Jordan, away from the temple. He was popular with the people, so the Pharisees, being good politicians, had to maintain a degree alignment so the people wouldn’t revolt against the temple. That’s likely what Jesus was referring to in vs 33-36. They were willing to rejoice for a little while in his light… until John revealed the Messiah whom he was proclaiming.

John proclaimed Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and then went to baptize him. We have a more detailed account is in Matt 3. Keep your thumb in John 5 and Turn to Matt 3:13-17

Why would Jesus, the Son of God, need to be baptized by a man? Didn’t Jesus say in this passage he doesn’t receive glory from man? Nor does he receive man’s testimony? Let’s read:

Matt 3:13

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Here we see the witness of the Spirit and the Father to the Sonship of Jesus. The Spirit descended, the Father spoke. Jesus did not bear witness alone, but the other members of the Godhead, the Trinity, bore witness about Him. If the other members of the Trinity did not bear witness about Him, then he would not be part of the Godhead. But God must bear witness to Himself! That is what He delights to do, to point to the beauty and glory of who He is! This is good, Christian! God being self-glorifying is GOOD! WHY? Because HE is the highest good in the universe!

In the movie, Incredibles, Fro-zone sees the great mechanical machine tearing up the city and asks his wife, “Where is my super-suit?” She responds something to the effect of, “We have a date! Don’t think you’re gonna be out galavanting around when we have dinner plans!” His response, “Honey, it’s for the greater good!” She replies, “Greater good? I am your WIFE, I’m the greatest GOOD you EVER gonna get!” 

We laugh, but she was placing herself over the safety and good of the city. Had Fro-zone stayed home, went on his date, we would have been disappointed. He would have done the wrong thing. That would have deleted him from the list of superheroes who acted courageous and righteously. 

However, God does point to Jesus as the greatest good, because He is God—fully God. In Him the fullness of deity was pleased to dwell (Col 1:19). He really is the greatest good. What’s amazing about the gospel is not that man is so great and worthy to be saved, but that the Son of God, the greatest good, came to earth and died for us, so that we might be brought into His glory, and experience the beauty, wonder, majesty of God— that we may behold the greatest good in the universe. 

The Father and Spirit testify and bear witness to Jesus the Son, because they delight to do so. If they didn’t, that would indicate He was not really God. 

There is an amazing book titled, “Delighting in the Trinity” by Michael Reeves. He outlined in his book the delight of the Trinity in itself. It is a wonderful study I hope to do here someday soon.

The Scripture also bore witness. All the law and the prophets pointed to him. Isaiah 53 gave the clearest picture of a Messiah who would come to bear the iniquities of the people. Friends, the old testament was clear: a Messiah was needed. A Savior was needed who could bear the righteous punishment for sin. It clearly states that we all like sheep have gone astray. There is none who are righteous. The gospel is offensive to our pride because it declares our great need and our utter inability to save ourself. We are not the hero. We are the damsel in great distress. We are the city under attack. AND - we all begin as infantry of the enemy, the perpetrators against God, the enemies of God, who need saving. This makes the glory of Jesus even greater, doesn’t it?

Don’t you see the beauty of a God who who not only save you from his enemy, which is the enemy of your soul, but would also save you from yourself?

Let’s speak to this glory…

The Glory of Jesus

[41] I do not receive glory from people. [42] But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. [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 do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

First, we must recognize that we do not add to God’s glory, or the glory of the Son of God. He is not like a struggling fairy, whom is stronger or weaker depending on our praise! We cannot clap him back to life, he has life in Himself. We cannot cross our fingers and strengthen his power by our faith; he upholds the universe by the word of his power!

When he says “I do not receive glory from people,” we must see that his glory is not dependent on our praise. He is worthy of praise, and he receives worship from his creation, but his glory is independent of man. His glory is a shining forth of his essence, as he is the radiance of the glory of God (Heb 1:3). 

But the context here is worship. The phariesees whom he speaks with do not have the love of God within them. They don’t posses what it is, and what they need to worship— love of God. Instead, they love the praise they receive from one another. They love the praise of man. They love to be made much of. They love to be the center. They want to shine forth their own greatness, and want others to see and praise the candle of their light— instead of bask in the greatness of the Son of God, who is like the shining forth of the sun that gives the world its heat.

What do you love, Christian? Whom do you wish to make much of… yourself, or of God? Who gets credit for your good works? Do you want the pat on the back, or do you want people to see how God has changed your heart, how you were once lost and utterly sinful, and how He has saved you, how you deserved His wrath and now you have his mercy. Whom do you love? Do you love your glory, or the glory of Jesus? Because to whom you give glory will determine your reward.The Reward of Jesus.

Listen to the words of Jesus in this passage:

[30] “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

He is judge

[34] Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.

His aim is to save 

[39] You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, [40] yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

Eternal life is found in Him

[45] Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. [46] For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. [47] But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (ESV)

Eternal punishment awaits those who magnify themselves over Jesus. They will be accused by the Law of Moses, under which the world is condemned. Moses wrote of Jesus, and the Pharisees — who should have seen and known, were blinded by their pride and self-aggrandizing heart. 

What you love determines your reward. Do you love the God who sent His Son, in all humility, to come in the lowest of forms, to break us of our pride and arrogance? Do you love the God who testifies to our condition and His salvation? Do you love the Son of God, for whom witness was born by the Father, the Spirit, evidenced by the works of the Son, and pointed to by prophets and scripture? Look, if the Son of God is not appealing to you, then there is no reward that will lure you. “This is eternal life: to know you, and the Christ whom you’ve sent.” John 17:3. If you know Him, then you will desire the reward in verse 24: John 17:24

[24] Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (ESV)

 

Resources:

"Superheroes Can't Save You" by Todd Miles

"Delighting In The Trinity" by Michael Reeves