There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true

 

 "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 

 

Our recent readings in this chapter follow Christ's healing of a man who had an infirmity for thirty-eight years, telling him to take up his bed and walk.  The religious authorities called this a violation of the Sabbath, and have accused Christ of making Himself equal with God in His statements that followed.   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 explains that the divine will is common to the three Persons of the Trinity -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- for all fully share the same divine nature.  When the Son is said to obey the Father, this refers to His human will, which Christ assumed at His Incarnation.  Jesus freely aligns His human will in every aspect with the divine will of the Father -- and we are called to follow His example and do likewise.  

"If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true."   My study Bible asks, how could Christ's witness ever be untrue?  It cannot.  But what Jesus is doing here is anticipating the argument with the religious authorities and speaking their thoughts to them.  He does the same thing in Luke 4:23.  He is preparing the ground for offering witnesses to His authority.

 

"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?"  In Jewish tradition, a valid testimony requires two witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6).  In this passage, Jesus is offering four witnesses to confirm His identity as Messiah and as Son of God, as my study Bible explains it.  He begins with God the Father ("There is another who bears witness of Me . . ." and also verses 37-38.   Then, John the Baptist (verses 33-35), Christ's works He does (verse 36), and the Old Testament Scriptures, through which Moses and others gave testimony (verses 39-47).

 

 Following Jesus' offering of witnesses and witnessing to the religious leaders regarding His identity, we might ask ourselves what witnesses of us?  Are there things we do that bear witness to the truth or reality of the person inside?  When we pray, do we find a kind of witnessing in our encounters with God, or with our faith?  In the midst of worship, there are times when I find myself confronting things I've done in the past, or aspects of my life that seem to come before God.  Certain people who have hurt me very deeply have come to mind -- and I have found that it is only right inside the depth of the worship service that I feel the capacity to forgive and to know my love for that person.  These things seem to form some kind of witnessing about the person that I am, what is in the heart.  Our "outward signs" or works can either be good witnesses or not, but that depends upon whether they come from the heart or they are meant as a cover for what is in the heart.  And certainly doing things to elicit praise from others doesn't necessarily say anything about us, except that we desire that outcome.  Jesus asks these leaders, "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?" John's Gospel calls us to this depth because it reaches into the meanings and underpinnings of our relationship to God, of the heart.  Just as Jesus reveals identity through relationship, in some sense, so we can consider our walk with God, our desire for communion, and call this a kind of testimony about ourselves.  Jesus reveals His closeness with God the Father:  "There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true."  He says that the works that the Father has given Him to do are ways in which there is testimony that bears witness that He is sent from the Father.  Who sends us to do our works?  Are we inspired through our prayer or our love of God?  In a certain sense, Jesus states here that it is the very judgment of these religious leaders that reveals their lack of love for God:  " 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."   He also mentions the Scriptures and Moses, who bear witness to Christ, but both also reveal the truth about the religious leaders.  They don't truly have faith in either, for otherwise they would recognize Christ, whom both Moses and Scriptures speak about and witness to.  Moses and the Scriptures have long formed a basis by which we also measure our own choices, actions, character -- but especially we study Scripture because it helps to shape us, it gives us an outlook, a lens to look through.  It also gives us an orientation toward God that helps shape our character, and asks us to question ourselves, our hearts, and make changes that are desirable.  Scripture is called the word of God, even the "breath of God" in some traditions, making a poetic allusion to the Spirit (in the Greek of the text the same word means "breath" and "spirit" in John 3:8).  We look to the witnesses Christ names for Himself as also the things that give us testimony that helps us to gauge who we are, and to find ways to grow in character and inner life in a good way.  We seek to be "like Christ," to adopt a mindfulness of God and the things of God, so that what we do -- again, like Christ -- testifies to who we are.  Just as Christ links witnessing about Himself to the love of God in all of these examples, so let us seek also to understand what in our lives and relationships testifies to who we are.  Jesus says of John the Baptist, "He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light."  The true Light is Christ (John 1:4-5).  But we may reflect that light, just as did John the Baptist, and kindle it within ourselves, so that its illumination testifies to all (Matthew 5:16).