Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRO:

“Can I Get a Witness”

The song originally performed by Marvin Gaye and covered by The Rolling Stones in 1964 ends with the refrain “I want a witness, I want a witness, I want a witness, I want a witness.”

Jesus’ claims that we’ve already encountered in our study of John were preposterous to the Jews because He didn’t resemble the type of Messiah they were waiting for, the type they wanted.

So even though He didn’t have to, Jesus gave them a witness.

In fact, our passage Jesus is going to provide them three key witnesses to confirm His Divine identity.

BODY:

In this passage Jesus defends His deity by appealing to these witnesses in support of this claim.

You may be out there tonight thinking you already believe this.

You might be thinking, “I don’t need a witness.”

But it’s always an encouragement to be reminded of why we believe what we believe.

If you’re already there, trusting that Jesus is God like He has been saying, allow this passage to encourage you through these reminders that Jesus provides.

And if you’re here tonight still undecided, let Jesus’ words be reason and evidence for you to decide once and for all.

Why John wrote.

John 20:30-31

The verb “to bear witness” occurs 7x in this passage from verses 31-39

John 5:30-32

Jesus readily admits that his testimony, on its face-value, would not be accepted

“If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true”

However, because of what He has been arguing from 5:19 His testimony does not stand by itself.

John 5:19 the Son of Man can do nothing of his own accord

John 5:30 I can do nothing on my own

In other words, the testimony of Jesus was really the testimony of the Father because the Son can only do what He sees the Father do and can only say that which is in perfect accord with the Father’s mind and will.

Hebrews 1:1-2

There are many beliefs about who Jesus was or who He believed Himself to be, but the clear testimony from the Scriptures is that Jesus claimed to be God.

He has borne witness about Himself that He is God; not just a prophet, not just a good teacher, not a human deliverer, but the Divine Savior.

1) Hear Jesus’ Own Testimony (vv.

30-32)

The problem isn’t just an old problem that Jesus identified in John 5:31.

We live in a world that still looks at us as Christians when we say that Jesus is God and laughs at us when we tell them we believe because He taught it in the Bible.

Presuppositional versus classical apologetics.

The problem is not a matter of convincing, it’s a matter of the will.

The problem is a 2 Corinthians 4:4 problem, a Romans 1:18 problem, an Ephesians 2:1-3 problem.

Jesus has made it abundantly clear to all within earshot that He is God, the Son of God, the Messiah.

He is the fulfillment of Daniel 7.

He is the One they have been waiting for, and His testimony was in perfect harmony with the Father.

So why wouldn’t they believe?

Why didn’t they believe when this descendent of David, of the tribe of Judah, born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem of Ephrathah came onto the scene healing people, turning water to wine, and turning over the tables in the Temple?

It wasn’t for lack of proof, but lack of will, and that requires a provision that can only come from the Father.

John 6:44

END P1

John 5:33-35

“You sent to John”

John 1:19-27

“he has borne witness to the truth.”

Perfect tense (past completed action with present ongoing impact)

“Not that the testimony I receive is from man”

Jesus wasn’t appealing to John for his own conscience

There was no self-doubt because of the opposition

“Am I really who I think I am?

I must be because John said so...”

“but I say these things so that you may be saved.”

John 1:29

John 1:35-37

John 1:4

John 1:12

John 3:16-17

“you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.”

John had created a buzz of excitement and even Messianic expectation.

Luke 7:24-28

Matthew 3:5-7

But their fervor was short-lived

Like those of John 2:23-25, their faith was not fully authentic

Again, the problem isn’t a lack of testimony but a lack of will.

We join a long line of witnesses like John who point to Jesus and testify that He is the Son of God, He is the Divine Messiah, He is God.

And yet, like with John, people won’t listen.

But what was John doing?

He was quoting Isaiah.

He was a prophet announcing to Israel the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah.

He was a prophet who called out to all who would hear, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

He was the prophet who described Jesus as the eternal One whose sandals he was unfit even to untie.

He was trying to help them to see that the prophecies they were so familiar with were all about this carpenter from Nazareth.

If they weren’t going to take Jesus at His word, Jesus next appealed to the prophets as another witness testifying to His true identity.

2) Hear the Testimony of the Prophets (vv.

33-35; 39-40)

If you go into a Jewish synagogue today when they are reading from the book of Isaiah you will notice something peculiar.

You will come one week and hear them read up until the middle of chapter 52.

Then the next week you will show up and expect to pick back up where you left off only to find that they have skipped the rest of chapter 52 and all of chapter 53 to jump straight to 54.

John 5:39-40

“You search the Scriptures”

Search = examine/analyze

John 7:52

1 Cor 2:10

“because you think that in them you have eternal life;”

Psalm 119

Psalm 19:7-11

Philippians 3:6

Galatians 1:14

Romans 10:1-3

“and it is they that bear witness about me”

If our study of the Scriptures doesn’t lead us to Jesus, we have short-circuited the divine purpose for the Word.

Luke 24:25-27

John 5:39-40

John 5:45-47

This failure to grasp the true intent of the Scriptures would prove to be the very undoing of the Jews because their misunderstanding would be the very foundation of their judgment.

Men let’s make sure we’re not making the same mistake.

When we pick up the Word of God we do so to draw closer to the Word of God.

Every encounter you have with the Scriptures should make you love Jesus more, should make you more grateful for your salvation, should make you more eager to be with Christ.

END P2

John 5:36

“But” - even though you ignored and rejected John, there’s another testimony to be considered

“the testimony that I have is greater than that of John”