Bible Study Series: John 5:31-47. Whose testimony about Jesus is secure and valid?
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Let’s begin.
Scripture: John 5:31-47
31 If I testified about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is someone else testifying about me, and I know that the testimony which he testifies about me is true. 33 You have sent messengers to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34 But I do not accept human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was the burning and shining lamp, and you wanted to celebrate for a time in his light. 36 But I have a testimony greater than that of John, for the works which the Father has granted to me so that I complete them—these very works which I do—testify about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father—the one who has sent me—has testified about me. You neither hear his voice at any time nor have you perceived his appearance, 38 and you do not have his message remaining in you because you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You examine the Scriptures because in them you think you have eternal life. And they too are the ones which testify about me. 40 Yet you do not want to come to me so that you may have life.
41 I do not accept the glory from people. 42 But I have known you: you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not accept me. If another person comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How are you able to believe, when you accept the glory from others and do not seek the glory from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before my Father; the one who is accusing you is Moses, in whom you have hoped. 46 For if you believe Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:31-47)
Comments:
Remember that Jesus is still speaking to the Jerusalem establishment, a hostile focus group. When Jesus speaks about witnesses, it is as if the establishment had just demanded that he produce them, to establish his authority.
31-32:
“testify … testimony”: “The theme of witness … pervades the whole Gospel. The witness to the truth of God’s self-revelation in the Word is manifold: it comprises the witness of the Father (5:32, 37; 8:18), of the Son 8:14, 18), of the Spirit (15:26); the witness of the works of Christ (5:36; 10:25), the witness of the scriptures (5:39), the witness of the disciples (15:27), including the disciple whom Jesus loved (19:35; 21:24). The purpose of this manifold witness, as of John’s witness, is ‘that all might believe’: it is the purpose for which the Gospel itself was written (20:31)” (Bruce, comment on 1:6-8). The terms “witness” or “testimony” carries a legal meaning “of testifying or bearing witness to the true state of affairs by one who has sufficient knowledge or superior position” (Klink, comment on 1:7).
Klink translates the word “true” (as in “not true”), seen in v. 31, as “not sufficient.” Jesus is not dealing with the truth or falseness of his message, but its sufficiency if it has only one witness, Jesus alone (comment on v. 31). That’s excellent.
If I were to stand up in court and tell the audience how awesome I am, then my testimony is based on self-interest. Jesus tells us the best way in the next verse and then vv. 32, 36-40, 43. Deut. 19:15 says that an accusation must be established by two or three witnesses, so in the eyes of Jesus’s accusers his self-testimony would not stand, so Jesus appeals to his Father and the works he does (Mounce, comments on v. 31).
In John 8:14, in contrast, Jesus declares that his self-testimony is valid. However, the two settings are different. And in 8:16, his other witness is the Father, and that is good enough for the context there, because there are two witnesses.
In v. 32, Jesus is referring to the Father; his testimony is greater than John’s testimony.
Borchert reminds us of the testimony that backs up Jesus: “They are John (5:33), the works (not ‘work,’ the Greek is plural) of Jesus (5:36), the Father (5:37), and the Scriptures (5:39), particularly the laws of Moses (5:45). But before they are introduced separately, Jesus reminds his listeners that he has already indicated to them that there has been a joint testimony present in all his discussions” (comments on vv. 31-32).
33-35:
The Jerusalem establishment sent a commission to investigate John (1:19-28) and grilled him to identify himself. John testified to the truth—the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
“truth”:
Remember these verses? Here is John’s testimony about Jesus:
26 In reply, John said, “I baptize you in water; someone stands in our midst whom you do not know, 27 the one coming after me, of whom I am unworthy to unbind the strap of his sandal. … 29 The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the whole world! 30 He is the one about whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who outranks me because he is ahead of me!’ 31 I myself did not know him, but in order that he may be manifest to Israel, for this reason I came baptizing in water.” 32 Further, John testified, saying: “I saw the Spirit like a dove coming down from heaven and remained on him. 33 I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize in water—he told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit coming down and remaining upon him—this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit!’ 34 And I saw and testify that this one is the Son of God.” (John 1:26-27, 29-34)
So Jesus is the Son of God who baptizes in the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit remained on him.
However, Jesus does not receive John’s testimony, ultimately, because John is of the earth—not ungodly or worldly—because he was a burning and shining lamp, like a lamp sitting in a dark world, the kosmos. Light is another word for truth, and John testified to the truth in the above long excerpt. However, John is still not the greatest witness or testifier in the universe. This honor goes to Jesus’s Father. So Klink suggests we translate the phrase “human testimony” as “from a man,” which is what the Greek literally says. So this means that Jesus does not accept John’s testimony (comment on v. 34). Perhaps, but only if we mean that Jesus does not accept John’s testimony in the ultimate sense, because the Father’s backing is infinitely superior to John’s. But John’s testimony was still very strong and accurate and useful.
Jesus says that he is speaking these words and healing people so that the Jerusalem establishment may be saved.
“saved”:
What Is the Source of Salvation?
How Do We Respond to God’s Salvation?
36-38:
Jesus does the works that the Father gave him to do; he obeys the Father. These works are greater than John’s words. His works which he accomplishes, directed and originating from the Father, testify about him. Remember: Jesus did not want to stand up in public and preach that he is awesome; if he did, then his testimony would be useless and perhaps even self-serving. He has a stronger witness to his credibility than his or John’s words. His witness are the works—miracles, like healing the ill or lame man on the Sabbath. These works prove that the Father sent him. Nicodemus’s testimony, speaking to Jesus: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do the signs which you do, unless God was with him.” However, Klink see the “works” as the entire mission of Jesus, not just isolated signs (comment on v. 36). That’s insightful.
The Jerusalem establishment has never heard the Father’s voice nor seen his appearance or form—though the Word itself has tabernacle among them (1:14)—so they are unable to perceive the One who sent the Son, and the Father sent his Son, and the miraculous works demonstrate this. More importantly, the Son’s character reveals his Father. “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). So the establishment is spiritually obtuse and dead inside.
The one thing the Jerusalem establishment can claim is that they devoured the Torah (first five books of the Bible), but do they really understand it? No, Jesus says, because they do not believe in the one whom the Father has sent. They do not believe in the Son, the sent one. They read that God thundered down the Torah on Mt. Sinai, beginning in Exod. 19, but the establishment themselves never heard this voice or seen God’s appearance.
“word”: it is the noun logos, and see v. 24 for more comments. In the context here, it means the Torah.
These verses in John’s first epistle are relevant:
9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. (1 John 5:9-10, NIV)
God’s testimony about the Son is greater than anyone else’s or even the greater works that the Son does.
39-40:
Jesus acknowledges that the establishment searched, examine, or investigated (all three verbs are good translations of the one Greek verb) the Scriptures or writings of Moses, but they are missing some points in the Torah that they cannot see—the Son, the one sent by the Father. They believe that in searching the writings of Moses, they would somehow acquire life eternal, but their beliefs are shortsighted.
Hillel, a rabbi who lived a little before before Jesus ministered, said that the more one studies the law, the more he has life. He also said that the law is so great that when a man gains its words, he has life right now and life in the age to come (m. ‘Abot. 2:8 and 6:7; HT: Mounce, comment on v. 39).
It is one thing to obey the Torah and acquire righteousness—right living by the law—but this is not the source of eternal life. The source is a relationship with the Father. And now the Son has been sent and the establishment can have eternal life only through him, to be in conformity to the Son, and after his resurrection and ascension, they can be born again by the Spirit and enter the kingdom and live on a higher plain than the law of Moses. 17 “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only and unique God, who is in the bosom of the Father—that one has made him known” (John 1:17-18). Only Jesus has truly made God known, because he was in the bosom, which speaks of intimacy, of the Father. Now the Father has sent him and is making the Father known. The Torah comes up short.
Jesus is standing right there calling to them and inviting them to come to him, but they do not want to come. If they did, then they would have eternal life and be saved. It seems like the they have plenty of free will to resist the call and invitation of the gospel, proclaimed by Jesus himself.
“eternal life”: see v. 24 for more comments.
Fulfillment, as noted below, is more than just a quotation of a verse in the OT and transplanted to the NT, though there are plenty of verses like that.
Carson is right: “What is at stake is a comprehensive hermeneutical [interpretive] key. By predictive prophecy, by type, by revelatory event and by anticipatory statute, what we call the Old Testament is understood to point to Christ, his ministry, his teaching, his death and resurrection” (comment on vv. 39-40). A revelatory event presumably means parting the Red Sea or the thunder and lightning at Mt. Sinai. Anticipatory statute is a law that point to the redemptive work of Christ, like the laws regulating the Day of Atonement.
The Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 from a NT Perspective
But this is my interpretation of Carson’s words, and I may be off target.
41:
Simply put, Jesus does not receive the glory or honor of people. “People could be translated as “men,” but the context is generic, so I use the generic word “people.” The Jerusalem establishment accept the glory or honor of people. First-century people of Israel lived in an honor and shame society, and the people decided who had honor or shame after a verbal contest. Jesus does not want even to get involved in this contest, because people do not have reliable honor that they can bestow on him. In the end, many will push for his crucifixion. Jesus must stay laser-focused on his Father, not on the populace and the establishment.
42-43:
In v. 38, Jesus said that the establishment does not have the word in them. Now he says that they do not have the love agapē (pronounced ah-gah-pay) of God in them. Why not? How can he tell? Because he has come in the name of the Father, whom the establishment claimed to know him through the law of Moses, though they would not call him “Father,” four decades before the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70. Recall verse 18, above: … “the Jews [Jerusalem establishment] sought him all the more to kill him, not only because he loosened up the Sabbath, but also because he was saying that God was his own Father, thus making himself equal to God” (John 5:18).
Klink suggests we translate the phrase “love of God in yourselves” (subjective) as “the love for God in yourselves” (objective). (Bruce agrees, comment on vv. 41, 42). Either translation works. However, I like the parallel with v. 38, which says they did not have the word abiding in them. So they were bereft of the word and love. Therefore, maybe we can say they did not have the love of God in them because they were blinded, so they did not have the love for God.
Do I Really Know God? He Is Love
Coming in his Father’s name means that he was the Father’s ambassador. He was the Father’s perfect representative. (Heb. 1:1-4). The name stood in for the person’s character and entire person. Let’s develop this thought, so it can apply to you.
What’s in a name?
You carry your earthly father’s name. If he is dysfunctional, his name is a disadvantage. If he is functional and impacting society for the better, then his name is an advantage. In Jesus’s case, he has the highest status in the universe, next to the Father (Col. 1:15-20). He is exalted above every principality and power (Matt. 28:18; Eph. 1:20-23; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8). His character is perfection itself. His authority and power are absolute, under the Father. In his name you are seated in the heavenly places with Christ (Eph. 2:6; Col. 3:1). Now down here on earth you walk and live as an ambassador in his name, in his stead, for he is no longer living on earth, so you have to represent him down here. We are his ambassadors who stand in for his name (2 Cor. 5:20). The good news is that he did not leave you without power and authority. He gave you his. Now you represent him in his name—his person, power and authority. Therefore under his authority we have his full authority to preach the gospel and set people free from bondages and satanic spirits and heal them of diseases.
So who is coming in his own name? Bruce points out that several messianic pretenders appeared before the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70.
5 “For many shall come in my name saying, ‘I am the Christ!’ and will lead many astray. … At that time if someone says to you, ‘Look!’ Here is the Christ!’ or ‘Here he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets shall arise and produce great signs and wonders in order to deceive many, and if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:5, 23-24).
Matt 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 and 17 in Parallel Columns Are Finally Clear
44:
Jesus asks the Jerusalem establishment how they can believe when they receive the honor and glory from other people and not seek the glory and honor of the only God. They cannot believe, not deeply or fully or accurately. They are distracted by the opinions of others.
45:
Jesus is talking about final judgment here (note the future tense of “accuse”), but also about finding the cause of the establishment’s unbelief here and now. Moses himself will accuse and is accusing them, even they have placed their hope in him. By living by the law of Moses, they have hope for the next age, for life eternal. But they are looking to him without true knowledge. Mounce cites popular Jewish belief that Moses was appointed to serve as an advocate and intercede for the people of God (comment on vv. 45-46).
All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. (Rom. 2:12, NIV)
Instead, according to Jesus, Moses will accuse them. How will he do this? Jesus answers this question in the next two verses.
Jesus said something similar in the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. Here the rich man implored Abraham to send someone from the dead to help his five living brothers. Abraham replies:
29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. They should listen to them!’ 30 Then he said, ‘No, father Abraham! But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent!’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead!’” (Luke 16:29-31)
In the last verse, Jesus is hinting at his own resurrection. And so once again we see that John has very similar ideas and themes to the Synoptics, as I have tried to show throughout this commentary.
46-47:
As noted, the religious leaders devour the Torah, but they read it with blinders on. Deut. 18:15 predicts that God will raise up another prophet. However, the Torah is fulfilled in ways that go beyond this prediction. Jesus tells the establishment that they cannot see that the patterns and themes of the Scripture are fulfilled in him. For example, the temple is lesser than Jesus. He cleared out part of it (2:13-22). People will not focus on temple worship or Jerusalem, but the Father seeks those who belong to him and worship him in Spirit-and-truth (4:21-24). So the temple religion has been completed and fulfilled in the Logos. He is the lamb of God (1:29). So fulfillment goes beyond just quoted verses from the OT in the NT. It is about types and shadows finding their substance in Christ.
Here is Peter’s preaching in Acts 2-3, after he heard a long Bible study from Jesus in Luke 24: For an even clearer idea of what Jesus taught them, let’s look at part of Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 and 3 (my tentative translations):
First Peter rehearses that Jesus’s death did not catch God by surprise, but he knew he would send him into the world to redeem humanity:
22 “My fellow Israelites, men and women, hear these words! God appointed Jesus of Nazareth for you, with mighty deeds, wonders and signs, which God did through him, right in front of you, as you yourselves know. 23 In the predestined counsel and foreknowledge of God, this man was handed over to the hands of lawless men and fastened to the cross, and you put him to death.
Now Peter proclaims the resurrection; the Holy One would not suffer decay:
24 But God lifted him out of the agony of death, because it was impossible for him to be ruled by it. 25 David said about him:
‘I saw the Lord before me always,
That he was at my right in order so I shall not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart was cheered up
And my tongue rejoiced
for yet my flesh also shall rest in hope
27 because you did not leave my soul in hades,
Neither shall you give your Holy One over to see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ (Ps. 16:8-11)
Next, Peter applies David’s prophecy that David was speaking about the resurrection of Jesus, because David experience see decay.
29 “Brothers and sisters! I can boldly say to you about our forefather David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is nearby, right in front of you to this very day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God swore to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne— 31 foreseeing this, he spoke about the resurrection of the Christ: ‘he would not be left in hades, and neither would his flesh see corruption.’ 32 This Jesus God raised up, of which fact we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore he was exalted to the right hand of God; receiving the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he poured out even what you see and hear. 34 For it was not David who went up into heaven, but he himself says:
‘the Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35 until I put your enemies
Under your feet for a footstool” (Ps. 110:1)
36 Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God made him Lord and Christ, whom you crucified.”
Here’s part of Peter’s sermon in Acts 3. Note how he preaches repentance to wipe away sins:
17 “And so now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, as your rulers did also. 18 But that which God earlier had announced through the mouth of his prophets—that the Messiah would suffer—was fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore and turn back to wipe away your sins, 20 so that times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord would come and that he would send you the one he appointed, the Messiah Jesus. 21 Heaven must welcome him until the times of reestablishing everything that God had spoken through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old.
22 “Moses said: ‘the Lord God shall raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your brothers. You shall listen to everything that he tells you. 23 and every person who does not listen to that Prophet shall be cut off from the people.’ [Deut. 18:15, 18, 19] 24 And all the prophets from Samuel to one after the other who spoke of him announced this day. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and the covenant that God established with your fathers, saying to Abraham: ‘Even all the families of the earth shall be blessed by your descendants.’ [Gen. 22:18; 26:4] 26 And for you first God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you by turning each one away from your wickedness.” (Acts 3:17-26)
Peter boiled the message down to the resurrection and repentance and fulfilled prophecy. We can be sure that Jesus taught the huddled members of the Jesus Movement interpretations like those above. His interpretation of Scripture appeared in Peter’s proclamation or, to use the fancy words, kerygma.
In any case, this is right idea—the inspired idea. However, the establishment do not really believe fully in the writings or Scriptures by Moses, so they cannot see their way to believe the deeper subject written in the Torah. Moses, through the Torah, is accusing them right now—there is no need for the Son to do this.
GrowApp for John 5:31-47
1. Do you seek the Father’s honor or your own or people’s honor?
2. How do you have the love of the Father in you?
3. Do you search the Scriptures for head knowledge or to know God and his Son more intimately? How do you know God and his Son through Scripture?
RELATED
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12. Eyewitness Testimony in John’s Gospel
4. Church Fathers and John’s Gospel
3. Archaeology and John’s Gospel
SOURCES
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