If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not 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 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 -- 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 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus answered the religious leaders who now seek to persecute Him for healing on the Sabbath, and also for declaring Himself equal with God.  Jesus said, "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 comments here that the divine will is common to the three Persons of the Trinity; that is, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  This is because they all fully share the same divine nature.  When the Son is said to obey the Father, my study Bible tells us, this is a reference to Jesus' human will, which was assumed at His Incarnation.  He freely aligned His human will in every aspect with the divine will of the Father -- and so we are also called to do the same.

 

 "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 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 -- 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?"  My study Bible asks, how could Christ's witness ever be untrue?  It cannot (see John 8:14).  Rather, Jesus anticipates the argument of the religious leaders and speaks their thoughts (He does the same thing in Luke 4:23).  In Jewish tradition, a valid testimony requires two witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6).  Here Jesus is offering four witnesses to confirm His identity as Messiah and Son of God:  God the Father ("There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. . . . 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"). John the Baptist ("You have sent 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").  Christ's own works ("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").  Finally, the Old Testament Scriptures also testify of Him, through which Moses and others gave testimony (verses 39-47).  

Jesus provides four witnesses to His identity, double the required number of two.  It makes one wonder.  Suppose we had to provide witnesses to our own identity.  One of Christ's witnesses He chooses is the works that He does.  He says they testify to Him, to His identity.  Certainly elsewhere He has testified to the fact that everyone's works testify about them.  "Therefore by their fruits you shall know them," Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 7:15-20).  So, He's not the only one whose works testify to His identity.  What "fruits" do we produce with our lives and our efforts?  Moreover, Jesus speaks of His obedience to the Father, that His works come out of the things the Father has given Him to do.  Do we follow the works Christ would have us do?  Whom do we seek to serve in the things that we do in the world?  It seems like our hearts will to a great extent determine outcomes, or at least the fruits we produce, whether or not they seem "good" to others.  In the Sermon on the Mount, once again, Jesus speaks about where our heart is, and where our treasure is.  "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:19-21).  What do we love; or rather, what is our first love?  What's our top priority, and what do we love the most?  Surely our works, the things we do, will be witness to that love in the heart.  In this particular saying of Jesus, it's often posited that He's speaking about helping those less fortunate, that when we do charitable acts, we have "treasure in heaven" rather than on earth.  But this, also, is testimony by our works, even if only God knows about it.  Thereby we also could say that our Father is witness to who we are.  If we thought more about life in this sense, that our efforts, our work, and the fruits of our own labor testify to who we are, then perhaps we would take more seriously how we spend our time, where we spend our energies, and the purposes to which we dedicate ourselves.  Note that this is not a moralistic argument or framework.  Rather, this question of witness to our labor and the fruits thereof is more of a question about what we love, and what we put first; that is, what it is to which we dedicate ourselves.  It becomes a question not of what others might think, or how the world would judge, but rather where our own loyalties lie --- for it is the things to which we are most loyal that will speak the loudest about ourselves and who we are in our hearts.  There are those who posit that where we place our attention is the place we devote our energies to.  Perhaps this suggests a devotion as well, and a need to chose wisely what we will focus on, what we try to help, to resolve, or even to wonder about.  Attention is perhaps most clearly denoted in prayer, a focus on the One we worship and our relatedness found there.  So, again, this is not so much a moralistic framework as it is a question of devotion, of attention, of care.  Where do we place our efforts and energies?  Jesus says, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24).  In another context, Bob Dylan paraphrases, "Gotta Serve Somebody."  Let us choose whom we serve carefully, for by our fruits we shall be known as well.   Who will be your witnesses?