Jesus' Divine Authority Confirmed

Introduction:

Good morning church family! It is an honor and privilege to be speaking in front of you again today. It has been just shy of a year since I last spoke and but I am very excited to be able to help bear some of the load as Joe is continuing in a time of much needed rest. And I’m thankful to be a part of a church body that is trying to develop leaders and equip its members to step outside their comfort zones in obedience to Scripture.

Today, we will be continuing through our series in the Gospel of John and finishing up John chapter 5. Before we dive into our text, let’s look back at what we’ve seen in John chapter 5.

Recap of John Chapter 5:

Two weeks ago in the beginning of John 5, we saw Jesus exercise His divine authority through the healing of the of the lame man at Bethesda.

The Jewish leaders become inflamed due to Jesus breaking the Sabbath but at the end of that section of John 5 in verse 18, we see that they are ultimately upset because Jesus was claiming to be the Son of God and making Himself equal with God.

We see their animosity for Jesus grow as He displays His divine authority and makes claims that they deem outrageous.

Last week, we saw that Jesus further speaks to His authority through His perfect unity with the Father, His ability to grant enteral life through the hearing of His word and belief in His Father, and His authority to execute judgment.

Today’s Main Theme:

Today, the main theme that we will see in the passage today is that God the Father and His written word witness to the divine Authority of Jesus, the Son of God. We will see that there are some other witnesses listed in the passage as well but, ultimately, we should see that the Father and His word bear witness to the authority of the Son.

As we end John 5 today, let’s remember the purpose of the Gospel of John as a whole, as seen in John 20:30-31:

John 20:30–31 ESV

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Before we dive into the text this morning, let’s pray together

Text: John 5:30-47

John 5:30–47 ESV

30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

His witness points to the Father (v30-31)

John 5:30–31 ESV

30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.

Here, we see Jesus once again stressing the perfect union between Him and the Father. Just as in John 5:19, He states “I can do nothing on my own.” He points out that His judgment is just because why? Because He seeks not His own will but the will of the One who sent Him.

We can see immediately in the beginning of this passage, that Jesus is opposing self-exaltation and focusing solely on God-exaltation. He is the perfect example of “to God be the glory” and He is declaring “Yes my judgment is just but not because of Me, it is solely because I am following the will of Him who sent me!”

Secondly, why does He state that if he were to bear witness about Himself, it would be untrue? Does this mean that Jesus would be lying about Himself? Absolutely not! Let’s look forward in John in John 8:13-16

John 8:13–16 ESV

13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.

So what do we see here? Jesus absolutely has the ability to bear witness about Himself and it be true. But in verse 13, we see the crux of the issue. Post-fall humans are inherently distrustful and skeptical. The Pharisees are the one’s here condemning Him saying, “You cannot bear witness about yourself and it be true.”

We hear stories all the time in our culture today and a standard response is simply “that can’t be true.” Here in John 5, Jesus is removing His own witness of Himself (EVEN THOUGH TRUE) and allowing other witnesses testify to His divine authority because human nature defaults us to unbelief, just like we see with the Jewish leaders. In our minds, unless someone else corroborates what you say then there is always a sense of doubt.

Let’s look at David recounting a time of distress that God rescued him from in Psalm 116:10-11

Psalm 116:10–11 ESV

10 I believed, even when I spoke: “I am greatly afflicted”; 11 I said in my alarm, “All mankind are liars.”

In his distress, in his feelings during a hard time, David recounts feeling that all men were untrustworthy and liars. At our cores, we are deceitful and that causes us to doubt the words of others because we know they are too. So Jesus, points to God, the source of unchanging truth, instead of Himself.

Illustration

My mind quickly goes to a situation that happens to pretty much every child. Being told by your dad to do something, doesn’t really matter what it is, but someone else seeing you do said thing and immediately questioning you. “Hey, why are you doing that” or “who told you, you could do that.”

As a kid, it doesn’t matter how many times you explain yourself, or how sincere you are in you’re explanation the odds are almost always stacked against you that the other person believes you.

So what is your response? “Oh, my dad told me to do this.” Your dad is the one the gave you permission to do whatever command he has given you. In my experience, that was a sufficient answer most of the time but sometimes that person in question would want to talk to my dad to confirm he did in fact tell me to do that (remember, humans are deceitful at heart).

Here, Jesus is pointing to His unity and to the authority given Him by God the Father as He seeks to do His will and not just His own.

Their witness points to the Truth (v32-39)

John 5:32–39 ESV

32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

Context: Before we dive wholly into this, it’s important to note that in Jewish culture only two witnesses were required to provide adequate testimony during a trial. What we are going to see is Jesus provide four witnesses instead of two, doubling the amount required and also including in them the two highest forms of authority available to the Jewish people. Let’s keep that in mind as we walk through these witnesses together.

John The Baptist

Here, we see Jesus produce four witnesses that testify to who He is and to His divine authority. For now, we are going to skip verse 32 because it ties later and we will start at verses 33-35. In these verses, John the Baptist is listed as witness to Christ. What was John’s purpose?

John 1:6–8 “6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.”

John was meant to prepare the way and direct people to Christ. And he did so faithfully! Look at John 1:29-34

John 1:29–34 ESV

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

John faithfully testified that Jesus was and is the Son of God. And Jesus is clear in verse 34 that the testimony he receives is not from man. He does not NEED man to testify for Him. So why was John’s testimony included? Verse 35 reveals the answer to us. John was respected among them. His ministry leading up to the revelation of Christ was followed closely and Jesus describes him honorably as “a burning and shining lamp.”

The verse ends solemnly with “you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.” Ultimately, we know that John’s ministry testifying to Jesus as the Son of God, lead him to being described as demon possessed, to prison, and to execution.

The Works of Christ

John 5:36 “36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.”

The next witness Jesus produces are the very works that He has been doing and he declares that these are an even greater testimony than that of John the Baptist. If we look in 1 John, we see why that statement is made: 1 John 5:9

1 John 5:9 ESV

9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.

Remember, for a time, they accepted the testimony of man in John the Baptist! The logic from Jesus is, if they accepted what John said (even for a time) about Him, then surely a testimony straight from God through the divine works would prove to them all the more who Jesus is.

These divine works would be the teachings, healings, and miracles that Jesus was performing throughout His earthly ministry. All of these things point directly to His divinity and bear witness that the Father has sent Him. And that ties directly in to the next witness.

God the Father

John 5:32 ESV

32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.

John 5:37–38 ESV

37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.

We’ve discussed how the works that the Father gave to Jesus to accomplish testified that the Father sent Him, but Jesus goes even further here and states that God Himself has testified about Jesus. Their are two places where God audibly declares “This is my Son” seen in Matthew 3:16-17 and repeated in Matthew 17:5 .

Matthew 3:16–17 “16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.””

Matthew 17:5 “5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.””

On two separate occasions, God the Father AUDIBLY testified to who Jesus is and one of those times, the Spirit of God descended on Him in the form of a dove. The very God that they claimed to know and worship made the ultimate declaration for His Son, and His people missed it.

Let’s be clear here though. These two instances of God audibly testifying about the Son do not make or break the testimony of the Father that Jesus is talking about in this passage. If the Father had not done those two things, His witness is still more than sufficient.

Why? Because He had given words to the prophets of the Old Testament in order to prophesy of the coming Messiah! He had been testifying about Jesus well before this moment in time. And if we look back at the previous witness, the acts of Christ, He gave Jesus those works to accomplish and was testifying through them as well!

God always gives enough evidence and testimony about Himself for us to believe in Him as seen in Acts 14 and Romans 1.

Acts 14:15–17 ESV

15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

Romans 1:18–21 ESV

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Humanity is without excuse. God has consistently bore witness to us through His creation seen in Romans and through His common grace seen in Acts. All things point to Him and Him alone and should be enough for our belief in Him. But due to our nature and sin, that is not our reality. Through rejecting Christ, whom the Father sent, we reject God.

Jesus follows His first statement by telling them they have never heard the voice of God or seen His form and that they don’t have His word abiding in them because they don’t believe in Him.

The Witness of Scripture

John 5:39 ESV

39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

The final witness Jesus calls out is the Scriptures. Let’s remember who Jesus is talking to here for context. He is talking directly to the Jewish leaders here. He’s talking to a group of people that boast in their knowledge of the Old Testament and the Law.

If anyone at all should understand who is speaking to them, it is surely this crowd. But He’s telling them “you think that in the Scriptures you have eternal life” and that’s true, isn’t it? Yes, but He is making it clear here that they are missing the point.

They search the Scriptures, not to understand and see Who they are about and Who they point to. But to gain knowledge, follow the law to the letter, and follow in works that they think are supposed to save them because they did good enough.

Here is where things get hard church, it is so easy for us to sit here 2000 years later and look at this situation with shock and condemnation. And to think to ourselves “They had Jesus standing right in front of them and teaching to them.” Maybe even “I would have known it was Him.”

CHURCH, WE HAVE THE COMPLETED AND CONCISE WORD OF GOD IN OUR HANDS THAT CONTAIN ALL OF THE PROPHECIES THAT POINT TO JESUS, THE VERY WORDS AND TEACHING OF JESUS, AND TEACHINGS THAT PREPARE US FOR HIS RETURN, AND WE STILL MISS HIM TODAY.

How many times do we manipulate Scripture to fit around our lifestyle or fit what we want to believe about God rather than what He says about Himself? We live in a culture that is rampant about twisting Scripture and then claiming to be Christians! It’s so easy to fall into “I read the Bible so I am a Christian.”

If we fall into that mindset, yes we read the Scripture but we miss the Son of Man that provides true eternal life. Yes the book contains eternal life, but it’s not in the book, He is what the book points to and is sitting at the right hand of the Father. That is Who the Scriptures bear witness to.

Illustration

Think about the court of law. Someone on trial has the ability and right to testify about the events that transpired in whatever crime was committed involving them. But that only bears so much weight to the judge or jury. Why? In moments like those, self-preservation is a strong factor in trying to keep yourself out of prison rather than honesty.

So what happens during the trial? They bring in different witnesses to testify either on behalf of or against the person on trial. And specific witnesses can bring a lot of truth and clarity to what actually occurred. Whether it be character witnesses, expert witnesses, or eye witnesses; they all bring something to the trial that the defendant cannot do for themselves because of the inherent doubt associated with their word since they are the one sitting trial.

Remember, in the Jewish court of law, two witnesses were able to provide sufficient evidence. And Jesus included double and happen to be the most authoritative character, expert, and eye witnesses possible to give testimony to His divine authority and the fact that He is the Son of God.

The Truth bears witness to our nature (v40-47)

I’m actually going to back up to 38 and read 38-39 along with the next section for this point.

John 5:38–47 ESV

38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

So what we see in the ending of John 5, is Jesus completely exposing the nature of humanity. And what we see is just a scathing review. It is heavy, it is harsh, but it is true. So let’s summarize what He says here:

You don’t have God’s word in you and you don’t believe the One whom He sent (v38)

You refuse to come to Me (v40)

You do not have the love of God in you (v42)

You don’t receive me (v43)

You cannot believe (v44) [seeking glory from man and not from God]

You don’t believe Moses [who wrote of Me] and you don’t believe Me (v45-47)

Again, Jesus is talking to the Jewish leaders here. The ones that were upset that He healed the lame man on the Sabbath and that were seeking to kill Him because He was making Himself equal to God the Father.

But these indictments stand today church! That list was YOU and ME before redemption! It is the world at large today that is in need of the Gospel! The mirror that Scripture holds up to us is often unpleasant and we don’t like it. But until we see ourselves for who we truly are, it’s too easy for us to think that we aren’t that bad. That we don’t need saving.

It takes us getting down to the core of our sinfulness to see that we are hopeless! And that is what Jesus is doing here. He’s tearing everything away, showing that we have nothing to boast in!

Ecclesiastes 7:20 “20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”

Jeremiah 17:9 “9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

Romans 3:23 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 5:12 “12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—”

Ephesians 2:1–3 “1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

Scripture is clear. We are sinful, none of us are good, and we are dead in our sin. That is what the Truth bears witness to in our nature. But heres the beauty church.

Ephesians 2:4–6 “4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”

The same Truth that bears witness to our nature and exposes us to the very core of our being as sinful, is the exact same Truth that redeems us. It is the very Truth that came down from heaven, putting on flesh and becoming human. Living a perfect life, fulfilling every prophecy and fulfilling the Law in it’s entirety, completely sinless. He went to the cross in our place, taking on sin and dying in our place. Rising from the dead conquering sin and death and ascending to the right hand of the Father alive and well so that if we believe in Him, and submit our lives to Him as our Lord and obeying Him we are made new.

Our nature that He revealed to us is stripped away and we are made a new creation. No longer a slave to sin and raised to life in Christ. That is the beauty of the Gospel! He burns everything away and shows us that we can do nothing for ourselves, it has to be Him and Him alone. Because anything we bring, is not enough.

If any of you in this room find yourself under those same indictments today, know that He is worth it. Surrender to Him today and let Him guide your life.

Close in Prayer

I’m going to ask Seth to be in the back in case anyone would like to speak with a pastor or feel the need to be prayed over. During this time of response to the word, feel free to pray in your seat, sit down if you need to, or you can come to the front if you feel called to do so. Listen to the Spirit in this time and respond to Him as you feel called.