Faithful Witness

February 27 Faithful Witness John 5:31-47

“We know what any man says about himself is not taken as true and authentic, even though in other respects he speaks the truth, for no man is a fit witness in his own cause. And although it would be unjust to reduce the Son of God to this level, He prefers to give up His right, so that He may convince His enemies by God’s authority.” John Calvin “Commentary on John” Vol. 4:135

How do we know that Jesus is who He says He is? Just because someone says that he is a prophet, a king, or an opera singer does not mean, necessarily, that he is. There are many charlatans out there, pretending to be what they are not. There are even more who are deluded. We should be wary. Common sense tells us to hesitate before accepting the testimony of a person who makes exalted claims. But what if the testimony does not come from the person, but from those who are considered trustworthy? And what if those trustworthy witnesses are in fundamental agreement in support of the person’s claim? Shouldn’t we, at that point, be ready to at least consider that the claim may be valid?

Jesus said that He did not expect those who heard Him to believe on the basis of His testimony alone. There are others who bear witness. The language is reminiscent of Old Testament passages, such as Isaiah 43, in which witnesses are called to give evidence before a court. Is the God of Israel the One, the only true God, or not? In the same way, Jesus called upon witnesses to testify that His claims were not false. What witnesses?

God the Father was to bring testimony on Jesus’ behalf. Jesus’ will was not to be separated from His Father’s; He only did or said what His Father had told Him to do or say. Therefore, Jesus’ claims were not really His own; the Father bore witness through Him. This may seem strange to us, but we need to understand that this is how Jesus validated His ministry to Himself. He could not have been deceiving Himself because His words were not His own.

John the Baptist also bore witness to the Light that had come in Jesus. John was anxious that he should not be mistaken for the Messiah, so he pointed to Jesus and identified Him as the Lamb of God, come to take away the sins of the world.

Another witness was to be found in the form of Jesus’ works. By His miracles, by His life of total obedience to His Father, and by His atoning death, Jesus demonstrated that He was so much more than a man. God Himself supported this claim through the revelation of Scripture. Jesus’ ministry was in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Specifically, the Jews should have considered the works of Moses, which bear startling witness to the authenticity of Jesus.

All of this may seem far removed from our experience and from the questions we have today. When we go searching for authority we don’t tend to ask about the witness of the Holy Spirit through the works of Christ or the words of Scripture. Perhaps we should! Too often, the only authority we accept is the witness of our intellect. If we cannot understand something then we are inclined to reject it, forgetting that we are fallen creatures and that there are some things simply too high or mysterious for us to grasp. We don’t care for mystery, we prefer reason. But where reason fails, God remains. We should use every faculty at our disposal to try to understand the length, breadth, height, and depth of our Savior’s love. We should summon ever witness; but we should also remember our limitations. In the end, we are not the ones who will judge.

For further reading: Psalm 51