John 5:31-47

The Credible Witnesses to the Deity of Jesus

A man visited the doctor and asked, “Doctor, will your medicine cure me?” The doctor replied, “Yes.” The man insisted, “But I can’t believe it until I feel better myself.” The doctor explained, “You won’t feel better until you’ve taken it. I’ve prescribed this medicine in many similar cases and know from what I understand of the body that the drugs are the right ones for your disease and will help you get better.” The man still insisted, “No, doctor, I need to feel better before I can trust you.” The doctor, almost out of patience, said, “What, do you want to feel the power of the medicine before you take it?” The man replied with a big “YES.” Nodding in disbelief, the doctor said to the man, “Then your demand is ridiculous. You must be weak in your mind.” Feeling embarrassed, the man took the medicine. The next day, the man felt much better and his body started to work properly again. He went back to the clinic and cheerfully said to the doctor, “Now, doctor, I have the evidence in myself!”

The doctor replied to the man, “If you had chosen to walk out and not take the medicine until you had proven its effectiveness, you would have made a foolish decision.”

Friends, we must be careful of the Danger of Unbelief: Refusing to trust God's word is likened to foolishly rejecting a cure and ultimately facing dire consequences.

Friends, it’s like doubting the deity of Jesus. It’s not only disrespectful to God, but it’s also a dangerous path that leads to self-destruction.

This morning, we are going to look at the Word of Jesus, as he gives a discourse to the unbelieving Jewish leaders of the witnesses that proves His deity.

Go with me now to John 5:31-47. I have entitled this morning’s sermon “The Credible Witnesses to the Deity of Jesus”

In this passage, Jesus wants to put the Jewish leaders on trial for their unbelief in Him.

In a trial, there must be a witness or witnesses to stand and give evidence to the truth they know, or have seen, or heard.

Jesus gave 4 credible witnesses. These 4 witnesses were given for people to believe in Jesus and be saved from the punishment of their sins.

I. John the Baptist (vv.33-35)

As a lamp (Jesus is the light), His life and his preaching points to Jesus as the Messiah (Lamb of God). His primary purpose in life is to prepare Israel to meet the Christ and to introduce Christ to Israel.

They have been cleansed by water, they have heard the preaching of repentance, they were pointed to Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

II. The Works of Jesus (v.36)

Jesus’s testimony is greater than John - Jesus is the greater light! (lamp vs Sun),Jesus cleanses us with his blood and we have heard the preaching of repentance, and we are reconciled to the Father through Him.

Jesus was able to do miracles that can only God can do and these must cause them to believe in Jesus as God in the flesh.

III. The Father (vv.37-38)

The Father sent Jesus and has testified about the identity of Jesus many times.

(1) at Jesus’ baptism Matthew 3:17 “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.””

, (2) at the transfiguration Matthew 17:5 “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!””

(3) at the Triumphal Entry John 12:28–29 28 “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

(4) in Jesus’ works (3:2) John 3:2 “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.””

IV. The Scriptures (vv.39-47)

The Jews religiously studied the Old Testament.

Before Jesus came to earth, God’s people thought that knowing the Scriptures would get them to heaven. They were right—and wrong.

They didn’t need to know only what the Scriptures talked about.

They also needed to believe in Who the Scriptures talked about.

Jesus!

The problem is that hey have missed the person that the Scriptures is pointing to - Moses wrote about the Messiah - Jesus Christ! (Jesus is the Passover lamb, The Manna, The Bronze serpent).

They were “unwilling” to come to Jesus to receive eternal life! (v.40)

The root of unbelief in Jesus as the Messiah:

- They don’t have the love of God in their hearts (v.42)- because they don’t have love for God, they were not obedient to God.

- They could not accept a savior that is not fit to their taste and preference (v.43).

- we want a warrior king, not a carpenter.

- We want a leader who will crucify the romans, not who is crucified by the romans.

- We want a Victor not a looser.

The same problem today: People prefers a savior that does not require sacrifice and obedience (Lordship).

- They accept glory/praise from one another (pride) (v.44) - They were self-serving. They could not glorify Christ because they want glory and obviously they don’t humble themselves.

They want man’s glory rather the glory that comes from God, through Jesus - This happens when other people’s opinion of you is more important than God’s opinion of you.

- They don’t believe the Scriptures (v.47). They twisted and corrupted the the real meaning of the Scriptures (example why Jesus said they don’t believe the Scriptures - not allowed to carry the mat on a Sabbath , the cleansing of the temple)

Proper Response:

In the world full of doubts about Jesus, let us be credible witnesses for Jesus to the people around us so they might know Him and believe in Him:

A. Tell the Truth about Jesus - learn as much as you can from the Scriptures. Let your passion be to know Jesus on a personal level. The more you know Jesus, the more you will delight in Him, and the more you will be encouraged to tell others about Him.

You have never truly found Jesus if you do not tell others about Him! The Baptist’s Message, Volume 45, Sermon #2646 - John 1:29

Charles Spurgeon

Your friends might have heard about Jesus but they don’t know who Jesus is and someone must tell them so they can be saved from the punishment of their sins.

B. Tell the Works of Jesus in your life - if you are a Christian, I believe you have tasted and see the goodness of God in your life. You have experienced his wonderful works in your life - deliverance, healing, restoration, peace, freedom from bondage and sin, etc…you have plenty of things to tell others that can lead them to know and believe in Jesus.

Example to follow: Look at the life of John the Baptist. It was short but meaningful. His life was a wonderful testimony. He shined brightly! Why? Because he understood his primary purpose in life - to tell the truth about Jesus as the Christ (Savior).

To give testimony about Christ is the work and purpose of every believer - The great commission.

Reflection: How is your testimony? Are you telling people about Jesus?

My prayer: Lord, help me to shine brightly as I testify the truth! I know that there will be people who will doubt you Lord, but please give me the courage and the wisdom to answer their questions and so address their doubts. Talking about doubts, here is what the great C.S Lewis gave as an answer to Atheist who doubts and denies the existence of God.

“If there is no intelligence behind the universe, then nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. Thought is merely the by-product of some atoms within my skull.

If so, how can I trust my own thinking to be true? And if I can’t trust my own thinking, I can’t trust arguments leading to atheism and therefore have no reason to be an atheist, or anything else. Unless I believe in God, I can’t believe in thought; so I can never use thought to disbelieve God.

—C. S. Lewis, Broadcast Talks (London, 1946)

Conclusion:

Going back to the story from the beginning, just as the patient must choose to trust the doctor and take the medicine, you must choose to trust in God and His Word - to believe in the Word - Jesus Christ so that you will receive eternal life.