John 5:31-47

October 27, 2013 Well finish the fifth chapter of John today where Jesus has been charged with committing the crime of blasphemy. The Jews wanted to kill Him for saying He was equal with God, so He says something that is really the backbone of His argument: The Son can do nothing of Himself (:19). All the verses that follow stick with this theme and show the union between Jesus and the Father: I can of my own self do nothing (:30). Now we come to verse 31 and its important to remember that His theme hasnt changed. The Son is one with the Father and equal in every way. They have the same nature and the same abilities and the same plan. This is why its impossible for the Son to do something contrary to what the Father desires. Verse 31 continues this: If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. 32There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. If the Son bears an independent witness then its not a true one. He could say whatever they want Him to say but it wouldnt be right. As the Son He must say only what the Father says. Look at John 8 for clarity: Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. 13The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. 14Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. 15Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. 16And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. 17It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. 18I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. 19 Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also (Jn. 8:12-19). See the union? Jesus counts Himself as one of the two witnesses and There is another that beareth witness of me. These two have the same story and for either to change would be a lie.

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Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. 34But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. 35He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. They sought and believed Johns witness to the truth. He was a prophet, a voice in the wilderness which preached the coming Lord. They rejoiced because they receive honor from men (:44), but they refuse to believe the greater witness:
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But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. This whole confrontation began when Jesus healed a man. Rather than persecuting Him they should have worshipped. Or at the very least they should have diligently sought to understand who He was and how He got that power. But it seems the more He does in regard to miracles the more they hate Him. Even when He raises Lazarus they only want to kill Lazarus too! (Jn. 12:9-11). He proves the truth over and over but they only loath Him for it. But many believe when they see the signs. For the disciples in Cana it only took turning the water to wine (Jn. 2:11). Nicodemus saw what He did at the Passover and eventually he seems to believe (Jn. 7:51; 19:39-42). There are countless others who saw and believed and likely just as many who saw and did not. But Jesus claims these miracles testify that He is the Son of God. And this was something that was predicted in the Old Testament: Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing (Is. 35:4-6). Jesus later defines when this prophecy was fulfilled: Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me (Mt. 11:2-6). But its not just miracles that prove His testimony:

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And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me.

This takes us back to His baptism: Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 16And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Mt. 3:13-17). The Father witnessed to Christ at His baptism. But look at what He says next: Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. 38And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. He accuses them of three things here: they are (1) deaf, (2) blind, (3) and the word doesnt abide in them. What does it mean that the word doesnt abide? In Greek its (menonta) and it means to stay or wait. 1 You get the idea of a soldier who stands fast in battle or for someone to stay at home. Hes saying, The word doesnt stay in you. Their hearts have no way to retain the good seed. They have no capacity and its evident because they dont believe: For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind (Jn. 9:39). They could not hear the Father speaking from heaven. They had never seen even His shape. They didnt know Him even when He was standing right in the middle of them (Jn. 1:26)! So this charge of blasphemy has nothing to do with His testimony. He told them who He was, John witnessed to it, the miracles witnessed to it, and the Father witnessed to it from heaven. But they couldnt hear or see and they didnt have the word of God abiding within them, so they could not believe. The fault was all their own.
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Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
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http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=menonta&la=greek#lexicon

How insulted would they have been to be told to search the Scriptures? This is something theyd been doing all their lives. But they werent looking for the right things, were they? They thought the Scriptures themselves would give them eternal life. In the immediate context, they thought keeping the Sabbath would save them. Moses gave a long list of things we can do to make God happy and if we do them Hell let us into heaven. No; Jesus says, you think you find eternal life in them. But they are they which testify of Me. In other words, The long lists and regulations wont save you; they only point to Me. The whole point of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, the history books, the prophets, the Proverbs, and the Psalms is to show us Christ.
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And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

Heres their problem: its not that they dont read enough. They wont come to Him. It is their free-will exercised. They have not the word abiding within them. They are deaf and blind and in no need of Him. And so, they will not have life.
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I receive not honour from men.

Their desire was to get honor from men, but it wasnt His:
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But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. 43I am come in my Fathers name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. 44How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? They didnt love God; they loved the praise of men. When the Father praised the Son they rejected it and had no use for it. He came in the Fathers name and they hated Him for it. But if He could have come with a letter of approval from men, if He had only been able to keep their commandments and follow their rules, they would accept Him too. This is why they cant accept Him though: He comes only with praise from God and they dont care about that.
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Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. Notice how Hes turned the tables on them: the accusers are now the accused! This is the ultimate condemnation for them. They may not care about John or Jesus, but Moses is the one they trust. But they dont really believe him either do they?

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For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

It should have been obvious that He came to fulfill all of Moses. They should have seen more in the types and shadows and eagerly embraced Him when He fulfilled them. But theyre stuck in a ritualistic, fleshly interpretation of the Law and they cant see the very Substance standing before them. If they dont believe Moses, how will they ever believe Him? Theres one main point of application that runs through this text: God reveals Christ through the Old Testament. People want to know why its still important to study since were in the New Testament; its important because we see the shadows of heavenly things on every page! We learn what it means that Christ is our offering and our priest. We understand what it means that He gives us access to God. We really know the meaning of grace in relation to a wrathful, dreadful, and unbending God. newgracebaptistchurch.wordpress.com