By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher
Text:
John 5:31-47
John
5:39-40
You
search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life;
and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But
you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
(NKJV)
This text records Jesus’
response to the persecution of a group of Jews due to Jesus healing a lame man
on the Sabbath (John
5:16).
Deuteronomy
19:15 sets the standard of the insufficiency of one witness
in accusing one of some iniquity so Jesus presents a fourfold witness. These
legalistic Jews believe they are persecuting a sinner, but they find themselves
persecuting God.
Jesus begins by letting
His accusers know He is aware that His witness of Himself is not sufficient (John
5:31).
Jesus then lets them know there is another man bearing witness of Him, John the
Baptist (John
5:32).
Jesus then reminds them that they inquired of John who bore witness of the
truth but Jesus also tells them He does not receive the testimony of a man (John
5:33-34). John was a burning and shining lamp the Jews were willing
to believe for a while (John
5:35).
However, there are even
greater witnesses of who Jesus was. The first of these is His works (John
5:36).
Then there was the testimony of God the Father, declaring that Jesus was His
Son (John
5:37; Matthew 3:16-17). Finally, there is the testimony in the
Scriptures that speak of Jesus but these legalistic Jews have hardened hearts
and refuse to listen (John
5:38-40).
Jesus does not receive
honor from men but knows these Jews do not have the love of God in them (John
5:41-42). Ironically, these Jews do not receive Jesus despite
the evidence for who He is and instead receive those bearing witness of
themselves which is not true (Deuteronomy
19:15; John 5:43). Jesus questions how they can receive
honor from each other and reject honor that comes from the only God (John
5:44).
It is not Jesus who will accuse these Jews to the Father but Moses in whom they
trust (John
5:45).
Jesus then accuses them of not believing Moses in whom they trust because Moses
wrote of Jesus (Deuteronomy
18:15-19; John 5:46). However, if they do not believe
the teachings of Moses, How can Jesus expect them to believe His words (John
5:47).
Jesus provides a fourfold
witness of His identity to fulfill the legal requirement of Deuteronomy
19:15 requiring the testimony of two or three witnesses to
establish a matter. Jesus’ fourfold witness includes,
- The
testimony of John the Baptist (John
1:29) – John the Baptist was the first to call out
Jesus as the lamb of God who came to save the world, but Jesus does not
seek the testimony of men (John
5:33-34).
- The
works of the Father Jesus was sent to do (John
5:36) – The miracles Jesus performed also bore
witness of who He was for they were unlike anything done previously.
However, even John the Baptist had his doubts and sent messengers to Jesus
from prison with Jesus citing the works he did as a witness to who He was
(Matthew
11:1-5).
- The
Father Himself (Matthew
3:16-17) – If these two witnesses did not
convince people, a thundering voice from heaven declaring Jesus as the Son
of God should.
- The
Scriptures (John
5:39) – As written and documented proof of who He
was, Jesus encourages these Jews to search the scriptures because if they
do, they will discover the scriptures testify about Him.
Jesus presents a solid
case to the Jews persecuting Him with credible witnesses, a track record of
good works, and a documented written history as recorded in the words of the
prophets. However, even a solid fourfold witness does not persuade these Jews
with them vowing to kill him (John
5:16).
Scripture warns us to
avoid false teaching or as Peter states it, destructive heresies (2
Peter 2:1-3). To test a doctrine or teaching we must,
- Does
the teaching align with the mission of the Church to spread the Gospel and
make disciples (Mark
16:15; Matthew 28:19-20) – Spreading the
Gospel message and making Disciples is the mission of the Church and all
teaching should have as its purpose, advancing the mission.
- Does
the teaching glorify God (1
Corinthians 10:31) – Teaching from the pulpit in
the Church must have as its purpose the glorification of God but all too
often it glorifies self and is not based on sound doctrine but the
satisfaction of the itching ears of the congregation (2
Timothy 4:1-5).
- Is
the teaching according to Scripture (Acts
17:10-11) – After he was run out of
Thessalonica, Paul and those with him found themselves in Berea (Acts
17:5-9). In Berea, they encounter a group
of believers who searched the scriptures checking to determine if what
they were hearing was true (Acts
17:10-11). When testing a doctrine we must
follow the example of the Bereans and search scripture to test its truth.
Just like in the early
Church, false teaching is present today. However, in the information age, this
false teaching can spread rapidly, and why we as believers must be even more
diligent in testing all that we hear. The good news is that while false
teaching can spread rapidly in the information age, the good news of the Gospel
can also spread rapidly. The Church must repent of its adoption of false
teaching and with the same diligence begin spreading the good news of the
Gospel.
I want to invite anyone
reading this post who has not prayed for salvation from their sins and to make
Jesus the Lord of their life through the confession of their belief in Jesus as
their Savior to do so now by praying with me,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23)
and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse
me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe
you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now
declare you Lord of my life.
May the Lord challenge,
convict, and bless everyone reading this post.
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