The Truth About Jesus

1 John 5:6-10

THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD

Who is Jesus?

“Who do people say I am?” This is an important question that Jesus asked the disciples (Mark 8:27). I don’t think Jesus was ignorant of what people were saying, nor was he threatened by false claims about him. His question was not asked from a defensive stance or a lack of confidence. I think the second question was really Jesus’ point: “But you, who do you say that I am?”

The fact of the matter is, if we are to have a relationship with Jesus, it doesn’t matter what others say about him. And what matters is not just what we say about him, but if we believe who Him on the basis of who He is.

Bertrand Russell lived from 1872–1970. He was a well-known atheistic philosopher who authored more than 100 books, wrote a three-volume autobiography, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. One of his best-known books is Why I Am Not a Christian (1927). In it he argued that all organized religions are the residue of the barbaric past, and they dwindle to mere hypocritical superstitions and have no basis in reality. On one occasion Russell was asked what he would say to God if he found himself standing before Him. Russell’s answer: “I probably would ask, ‘Sir, why did you not give me better evidence?’ ” (Rosten, “Bertrand Russell and God,” 26).

The apostle John would disagree with Russell when it comes to the issue of evidence. As an eyewitness of the life, passion, and resurrection of Jesus, the last living apostle would testify that there is abundant and overwhelming evidence that Jesus is the Son of God, and therefore God exists. The problem is not with the evidence. The problem is with the sinful and unbelieving heart.

Verse 5 completed the thought in 5:1-5 and introduces a new focus in verses 6-13: the certainty that Jesus is the Son of God who came to take away the sins of the world. Why? As we have discussed before, especially in our study of chapter 1, there were heretical teachers in the midst of the church, trying to dissuade people from the truth about salvation and the truth about Jesus. John wanted his readers (and listeners) to have an absolute certainty in two things: (1) the identity of Jesus and (2) the promise of eternal life in Him. The certainty of our salvation is only as strong as the person who provides it: Jesus, the Son of God. So, John began his arguments against the heretics and his reassurance to the readers with powerful testimonies of Jesus’ identity.

Speaking of testimonies: John’s description of three witnesses (“three that testify”) gives the sense of a courtroom. Rather than a criminal case, we might have in mind a civil case, where a person is being sued for liable. During John’s day, there was a false teacher, named Cerithus, who taught that Jesus was just a man. He taught that at Jesus’ baptism, the spirit of the Christ came down upon him to empower him for his ministry. However, before Jesus was crucified, he taught, the spirit left him. One could see how someone not trained in the Scriptures and deceived by Satan might get this heretical teaching. In all of the Gospels, the Holy Spirit descended onto Jesus at his baptism. And in Mark’s Gospel we hear Jesus’ desperate cry, quoting Psalm 22:1 — “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” It is easy to misinterpret or misunderstand Scripture if we want Scripture to say we want it to say, or if we are not reading in the power of the Spirit. Cerithus, and others, refused to believe that Jesus was the Son of God; so they twisted Scripture to read what they wanted to hear. But in the verses 6-11, John presented powerful witnesses that gave evidence that these false teachers were speaking untruths about Jesus, evidence that pointed to the truth about who Jesus is.

VERSES 6-8 (THREE WITNESSES)

water and the blood. John identified the first two witnesses of Jesus identity in verse 6: “the water and the blood.” He described Jesus as “the one who came by water and blood.” There have been a few interpretations cites for the meaning of this phrase, water and blood, but only one is sufficient.

“water and blood” refer to water baptism and the wine in the Lord’s Supper. But John was concerned about Jesus’ identity, so why would he change the subject from Jesus to ordinances that are repeated. Jesus is the one “who came” (past tense).

“water and blood” refers to the water and blood that gushed from Jesus’ side when the Roman soldier pierced him at the end of the crucifixion. How could it be said that Jesus “came” by these. They “came out” of Jesus. Plus, why would John focus on one small point of time in Jesus’ ministry.

“water and blood” point to the beginning and the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry: his baptism and his crucifixion. His ministry began after his baptism, where he was anoined by the Spirit and coronated by the Father Himself. His earthly ministry was completed on the cross. His final words from the cross were, “It is finished!”, a common phrase that a military general would state when a battle was over and the foe was conquered. This is the only interpretation that makes sense, especially in light of Jesus’s final words on the cross and John’s announcement when Jesus came to be baptized: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

The water and blood are the first two witnesses of Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. Out of the waters of baptism, empowered by the Spirit and verified by the Father’s voice, Jesus came to people as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And in His crucifixion, His sacrificial blood bears witness to His saving grace. What Jesus came to do, He accomplished. It is finished!

In support of Jesus’ historical life and death, John adds the witness or the testimony of the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.” In the world’s eyes, the divinity of Jesus is nonsense; and so is the cross. In fact, Jesus identified Himself as the Cornerstone, mentioned in Psalm 118:22, over whom people stumble. But no one can deny the truth. Oh, they can try, but as Augustine said, “Truth is like a lion; you don’t have to defend it. Let it loose and it will defend itself.” The Spirit’s testimony can be trusted because he is the truth. In John 15:26, we read, “When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me.”

In verses 7 and 8, John restated the list of witnesses that testify: “the Spirit, the water, and the blood.” In a Jewish court, two or three witnesses were required to verify a truth (Deuteronomy 19:15). Not only has John provided three witnesses, they are unequivocal in their testimony: “these three are in agreement.” In other words, all three get to the same point: that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God.

VERSE 9 (LESSER TO THE GREATER)

In the first century, the renowned Jewish rabbi, Hillel, and other scholars developed careful methods of logical argumentation in order to arrive at sound conclusions when interpreting Scripture. One of those methods was called “light and heavy” (in English), which argued from the lesser to the greater situation. This method was sometimes called the “how much more” argument because often after the “lesser” was stated, it was sometimes said, “How much more …” For example, in Luke 12:28, we read, “If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown int he furnace tomorrow, how much more will he do for you – you of little faith?” Though the phrase “how much more” is not in this passage, John used the same type of “light and heavy” method to make his point.

The lesser: “we accept human testimony.” When delivered appropriately, we take human witnesses at their word. One of the foundations of our judicial system is to believe witnesses who swear an oath that they are speaking “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”

The Greater: The “how much more” is implied in John’s next statement: “God’s testimony is greater.” God doesn’t have to swear an oath. Hebrews 6:13 reminds us that when God made a promise to Abraham, “since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself.” God’s own authority and approval have been stamped on the truth of the Gospel concerning Jesus Christ. He offered three divine witnesses, which are more trustworthy than man’s testimony because it is more trustworthy. Therefore, John’s point is that we must accept God’s testimony because it is His testimony about the truth of Jesus’ identity: He is the Messiah and the Son of God, who came to take away the sins of the world.

VERSE 10 (BELIEF AND UNBELIEF)

We are responsible for the truth we know. Now that we know for certain the truth about Jesus’ identity, we are responsible for the proper response to it. Verse 10 teaches us that the proper response to Jesus is faith. God has made His Truth known, but do we believe? It’s important to remember what the Bible means by the word believe. The words believe and faith came from the same Greek word: πιστεύω. The word describe the act of believing or trusting something on the basis of its truthfulness and reliability. Faith in Jesus is not “blind faith”; it is faith based on a reality. Furthermore, the impact of the word is a persuasion from the truth-given that confronts the one receiving the truth. So there is a concert of action in the word believe: the truth giver who works in the heart and mind of a person and that person who believes. John made it very plain in verse 10 that when we believe in the Son of God, we are believing the witnesses that God has provided. And the amazing thing is, they — the water, the blood, and the Spirit — resonate in our souls: “The one who believes … has this testimony within himself.” In addition to Jesus’ promise in John 15:26 that we read earlier, we also have this word from Jesus in John 16:13 — “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” The inward witness of the Holy Spirit confirms our belief in Jesus.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

How does Jesus’ baptism reveal Him as the Son of God? Why did Jesus need to be baptized?

Some conclude that since Jesus was crucified, He couldn’t have been God’s Son. Why does John use the crucifixion as evidence in favor of His divinity?

How does the Spirit still work to testify to Jesus? Where should we expect to see the Spirit working?