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"I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
- John 5:30-47
In yesterday's reading, Jesus was speaking to the leadership after having healed a paralytic man, telling him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." Jesus was accused of breaking the Sabbath, and also of making Himself equal with God, after He said, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."
"I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me." My study bible has an important note here regarding the theology we are given in John's Gospel: "The divine will is common to the Persons of the Trinity, for all share the same divine energy. In their manifestation in the world, however, all energy originates in the Father, being communicated through the Son in the Holy Spirit. Here there is a sense that the Son obeys the Father. This is because, in His human nature, the Son has human energy -- including human will -- which He offers to God the Father as the source of all. This is His won will which must do the will of the Father."
"If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light." In some sense, Jesus here begins a classic "defense" in Judaism, according to tradition. My study bible points out that tradition requires two witnesses for a valid testimony (Deut. 17:6). Jesus begins here with His first witness, John the Baptist. In the kind of poetic irony we find in the Gospels, Jesus offers John as His witness, but in effect it's an offer simply out of grace: "I say these things that you may be saved." And Jesus offers His own testimony to the holiness -- the light -- of John the Baptist.
"But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me." The second witness to His testimony are the works themselves that Jesus does, like healing the paralytic by the Sheep Gate, for which they now accuse Him.
"And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe." The Father is yet another witness; in a sense, Jesus began with this witness when He said earlier, "If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true."
"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." Finally, a fourth witness, the Scriptures themselves.
"But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?" Here's an important way in which we understand Jesus. He doesn't need the testimony of men for Himself because His honor doesn't come from other men, from other people (anthropon, the Greek word translated as "men" is both male and female; a closer meaning is "human beings" or "people"). Christ's honor comes from the Father. But what links those who can know Him to the truth about Him is the love of God. Here He contrasts the difference between honoring God in the heart (and therefore, those who come in the Father's name) with honoring the praise of men -- those who receive honor from one another.
"Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?" Jesus offers another witness: Moses. But this time it is a witness who accuses Jesus' accusers. Through the Scriptures, Moses testifies to Jesus, for "he wrote about Me." But if they don't believe Moses' writings, then how are they going to believe what He says?
In yesterday's reflection, we pondered the meanings of Jesus' constant admonitions that so much depends on how we hear, whether or not we can hear what He's truly saying. In today's reading, Jesus' words take "hearing" to another level. What is testimony? What is witnessing? How do we know when we are hearing true witness, and how do we hear the truth in the words of the witness and the testimony? Here Jesus gives us four witnesses to His truth, His identity. Those who are the experts in religious and spiritual tradition, in Scripture, He says, cannot hear these witnesses, and therefore they cannot truly hear Him. They cannot accept His word. But it starts with the love of God: whatever and whoever comes in the Father's name becomes a part of that love. So hearing is linked to faith, and faith comes from love. It all comes down to what we choose in the heart, what we truly love and what we place first in our love. From there, other meanings and values are formed, and what we hold as truth becomes shaped. Elsewhere Jesus teaches that all the Law and the Prophets are summed up in two commandments: to love God with one's heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love neighbor as oneself. Right relatedness to God places us in right relationship to neighbor. In today's reading -- as elsewhere in the Gospels -- Jesus contrasts the love of the praise of men and the honor of men with those who put the honor that comes from God first. So we are offered an exchange. It all depends on what we put first. What do you love most? Which honor really matters first to you?
