Now a witness is someone
who is able to report on what he has seen and heard. There's the
story of the old codger who was called to give testimony of a
night-time car theft, and the defence attorney asked..."Are you
sure this is the man who stole your car?" And the old man
answered..."Yes, I saw him very clearly". So the lawyer
said..."Now you are 80 yrs. old and I'm sure your eyesight is
not as good as it used to be. Just how far can you really see at
night?" And the old man replied..."I can see the
stars...is that far enough?"
When we want to prove
something, we need to have reliable witnesses, and so to finish up
this last section from the fifth chapter of John we have one final
bit of evidence concerning our Lord's eternal relationship with
Father God, and that is...
(e) Jesus' fourfold
witness, 5.31-47
1. First we have the
witness of the prophet, vss. 31-35, 10.39-42
Back in v. 30 Jesus had
said..."I can of My own Self do nothing...". Simply put,
Jesus does nothing independent of God, because He came as the Son of
God to do the will of God. But He also realized that the Jews were
not about to take Him at at His own word. In fact, they had a right
to expect competent testimony from others who could prove Jesus'
claim to be Who He is.
Now John the Baptist had
become very popular, very quickly, and he was widely known and
accepted as a prophet. In fact, we still refer to him as the last of
the Old Testament-style prophets. He had become a local phenomenon,
and it was clear that he had no personl ambitions. In fact, if you
will recall, he turned his own followers over to Jesus..."the
Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world", (1.29). He
testified of the supremacy of Jesus as the only cure for the sin
problem. He knew that Jesus was on a spiritual mission that somehow
involved the salvation of mankind from a lost eternity, and he knew,
and testified, that Jesus was the Son of God, 1.33,34. He was a good
and trustworthy witness.
2. Secondly we see the
proof of His works, vss. 36, 10.36-38
Did you ever see a dog
climb a tree? Well I have, and I have the picture to prove it! And
Jesus had His own works to prove He was Who He said He was, starting
with His turning the water into wine, right up to His eventual
physical return to glory. But you know, there are still people who
have missed, and who do miss the obvious, 10.39. His miracles don't
just result in healing, they prove Jesus' true heritage; they give
His spiritual qualifications; they identify Him as The Son of God,
with unlimited power and boundless love!
3. Next we have the
witness of the Preeminent One Himself, vss. 37, 38
"And the Father
Himself, Which hath sent Me, hath borne witness of Me; and
see Matthew 3.16,
17..."This is My Beloved Son, in whom I Am well pleased!"
This is pretty clear,
isn't it? But here is the irony...Jesus Is the Son of God in the
flesh; and the voice of God, confirming Who He is; and the Jews, not
only refusing to believe, but falsely accusiing the Very One they
claimed to worship and to serve. How's that for spiritual ignorance?
4. Finally, we have the
prophecy of the word of God itself
We see in these last few
verses, three things that we need to take note-of...
(a) First, there is the
main Figure of scripture, and that is, of course, Jesus Himself, v.
39. Page after page, starting in Genesis, bears witness of Him.
I've always said that when you study God's word, look for Jesus
anywhere and everywhere. Oh, you'll not always find Him mentioned by
name, but He's there, and we need to connect with Him through that
written word. If not, then chuck your bibles out because they don't
mean a thing without Jesus at the very core!
(b) Secondly, we see the
main focus of scripture, vss. 39-40...eternal life! The second
birth! Moving from the state of lostness to the state of salvation,
rich and free! From a state of spiritual sickness to a state of
spiritual health!
You know, the details of
scripture can be studied through a microscope and still the meaning
can elude us. Those Jews knew how many letters were in all the
Hebrew Law, and yet they wouldn't allow that same word to generate
faith in their hearts. They knew the word of God, but they were
completely ignorant of the God of the word! In fact, just like a lot
of people today, those Jews were determined to disbelieve, no matter
how much evidence was presented. And that brings us to the last
detail of this chapter...
(f) and that
is...our failure, vss. 40-47; the will nots, the have nots
and the believe nots.
...you will not come,
v.40;
...you will not honour,
v.41;
...you do not have the
love of God, v.42;
...you do not receive,
v.43; and
...you do not believe,
vss. 44, 46 and 47.
These are the very
words of our Lord folks, offered for your most cautious
consideration, and mine!
(Credit for the basis of
this outline, to The Open Bible, KJV, 1985,
Thomas Nelson, Inc)
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