Witnesses for the Defense - John 5:31-47
Gospel of John (2020) • Sermon • Submitted
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©Copyright January 10, 2021 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche
We have been working our way through John 5. The majority of the chapter is the defense of Jesus against the charges of the teachers of the Law who thought Jesus was blaspheming and disobeying the Sabbath. Last week we looked Jesus’s testimony about Himself . . . claiming to be equal with God the Father. This week Jesus brings forward expert testimony on His behalf.
In the Old Testament, when a capital crime (such as murder or blasphemy) was committed, the accused was to be tried publicly in the presence of the Judges. Before anyone could be sentenced to death there needed to be two eyewitnesses against them. In the text before us Jesus makes His defense. Last week Jesus testified to His relationship with the Father.
This morning Jesus brings his witnesses. The argument is simple: Jesus is not guilty of blasphemy (saying false things about God) if He actually IS God. He brings five witnesses: John the Baptist, His teachings and miracles, the testimony of the Father, the testimony of Scripture, and the testimony of Moses. These witnesses continue to be compelling still today.
Before we get to the witnesses at the end of John 5 here’s what I want you to see and remember: Jesus is not asking you to take a blind leap in the dark. He is asking you to look at the evidence, listen to the witnesses, and then make a genuine and informed decision about following Him. With that in mind let’s bring on the witnesses.
1. The Testimony of John the Baptist
31 “If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid. 32 But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true. 33 In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. 34 Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved. 35 John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message.
The reason Jesus says he cannot testify as the only witness on his behalf is because anyone can say anything about themselves. In Jewish law you needed at least two witnesses for something to be established in the courts. Jesus knows who he is. He doesn’t need any witnesses for him to discover his own destiny. However, He does want others to see and understand.
Everyone knew who John the Baptist was. John was bold in pointing to Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” He said he baptized with water but Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. He also testified that when he baptized Jesus, He saw the Holy Spirit come down on Him like a dove.
John spent His life pointing to someone who was yet to come. When Jesus arrived, He said, “this is guy!” He told his disciples to go and follow Jesus. He was not distressed when the ministry of Jesus began to eclipse his own ministry. In fact, he said, “This is the way it should be.” At the end of John 3 we read John’s words about Jesus,
He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. 32 He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! 33 Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. 34 For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. 36 And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.” [1]
2. Teachings and Miracles
The next witness to the stand is John 5:36,
36 But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me.
Do you remember what Nicodemus said when he came to see Jesus? Nicodemus said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Let’s face it, healing people of the kinds of problems the way Jesus did was unique. When you cast out demons, make the lame walk, the blind see, and dead people come back to life, something remarkable is happening. When you cause the storm winds to cease, when you walk on water, feed over 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two small fish (and have more leftovers than you had food to start with), people should take note of you.
The miracles of Jesus did not take place in controlled environments where you can more easily scam people. People appeared from different surroundings at different times and in a variety of places. This was not a magic trick; it was obviously supernatural. There were no other explanations for the scope and the immediacy of the miracles of Jesus.
But it wasn’t just the miracles, it was also His teaching. Jesus did not teach like others who we academics. He didn’t quote sources. He spoke with an uncommon authority. His focus was not on building his organization or following. His teaching pointed people to the Lord. He spoke with uncommon clarity and insight. In fact, He still does today. His teaching helps us see with greater clarity than anything or anyone else has or ever will. His teaching is timeless, penetrating and God-focused.
The parables of Jesus are among the best loved stories of all time because they relevant regardless of the time or generation. The teaching of Jesus continues to resonate with the hearts of those who listen.
The third witness is perhaps a surprise to those who were listening.
3. The Father’s Testimony
37 And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, 38 and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you.
Jesus said God the Father was a witness even though these leaders had never heard His voice or seen Him face to face. In what ways did the Father testify to who Jesus was?
At His Baptism. In Matthew 3 we read the account of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. After the baptism we read this,
as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”
Transfiguration. Jesus went up on what we call the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John. Jesus met with Moses and Elijah. Peter offered to build them tents. We read,
But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them.
35 Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.” 36 When the voice finished, Jesus was there alone. They didn’t tell anyone at that time what they had seen. (Luke 9:34-36).
Peter, James and John heard the voice even as they witnessed the miracle.
But this isn’t all. Every time Jesus prayed, and God answered His prayer, the Father was testifying to the validity of the relationship between He and he Son. When Jesus prayed for a miracle, God answered with a miracle. We read often of Jesus lifting His voice in prayer before something dramatic took place.
4. The Testimony of Scripture
The next witness Jesus calls is the Scriptures themselves.
39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.
It is important that we remind ourselves that the people who accused Jesus were the religious conservatives of the day. They were, if you will, the Bible students. They spent a good portion of their time in the study of the Word of God. The Pharisees were deeply devoted to the Scriptures. They memorized it, they taught it, they tried to live by God’s Law and they were devoted lovers of Scripture. These people felt they were defending God’s Word!
This should cause us to take a breath. It is easy to point our fingers at others and to call them pagans. But the truth is, these people were looked up to as the most godly people around. It shows us that it is possible to be a fan of the Bible, a student of the Bible, and even one who regularly reads the Bible yet still miss the point!
There are far too many who see the Bible as a rule book that needs to be followed to bring God’s favor. They miss the real story of God’s continuing mercy and grace for those He has created and sent Christ to redeem. From the very beginning in Genesis 3:15 God pointed toward One who would come to crush the head of the Devil and redeem man from condemnation.
The story throughout the Bible is God reaching out to man and man rebelling and rejecting God’s grace and mercy. The Lord lets us try our way like a parent who allows a child to do something foolish in the hope they will learn from their foolish choices before something devastating happens. All the while He points to a day when He would provide a way for us to get out of this mess we have created. The Lord pointed throughout the Old Testament to a Redeemer who was to come.
Moses told of One who would come to redeem God’s people. David in Psalm 22 drew a picture of the crucifixion of Jesus. Isaiah 53 described one who would be slaughtered like a sheep to gain our forgiveness. Isaiah said the Savior would be born of a Virgin. Micah said He would be born in Bethlehem yet be called a Nazarene. Throughout the New Testament we read repeatedly of things that had “been fulfilled according to the Scriptures.”
Jesus told these Bible students that the very Scriptures they revered pointed to Him. The message again: you can know much about the Bible and miss the point. Sadly, in churches just like ours there are people who feel quite satisfied that they know a great deal about the Bible. They know the old hymns and the new choruses. They may teach Sunday School or lead Bible studies, serve on committees, and are viewed as good Christian people. But they have missed who the Bible is pointing to. They know all about Jesus but have never truly come to Him as the true Lord and Master of their lives. They have enough of Christianity to feel they are OK but not enough to truly be made new in Christ.
Jesus said to these Bible teachers.
41 “Your approval means nothing to me, 42 because I know you don’t have God’s love within you. 43 For I have come to you in my Father’s name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them. 44 No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God.
Jesus said the problem with these scholars were that they wanted to be revered for their knowledge rather than be transformed by God’s grace. They wanted to congratulate each other on what good and godly people they were while at the same time holding God an arms distance away. They wanted comfort, not forgiveness and transformation. They didn’t believe they needed a Savior! They were quite content with the status quo. They could affirm their love for God while having to alter the way they were living very little They thought they were OK when the truth is, they were simply content in their lostness.
Donald Grey Barnhouse provides a helpful illustration about the right attitude toward the Bible. He imagines a person standing before a window high in a skyscraper overlooking the ocean. What would we say if the person talked only about the window itself—its dimensions, the kind of material in it, and its construction? We would marvel that he made no mention of the ocean view! Likewise, we must not study the Scriptures as if the Bible itself were our focus. This is the mistake of those who approach God’s Word only to examine, analyze, or criticize its teaching. Just as the purpose of a window is to see what is outside, the purpose of the Bible is to see the person and work of Jesus Christ as he is revealed in Scripture, so that we might believe and be saved.[2]
5. Moses
The final witness Jesus brings to the stand is the star witness of the prosecution! They were quoting the Ten Commandments to Jesus. They recited the words from the books of Moses as charges against Jesus. Jesus turns their witness against them!
45 “Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes. 46 If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. 47 But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”
The Pharisees and Sadducees would both be offended by these words. They loved the Law of God that was written down by Moses. However, Jesus said Moses knew something they missed – Moses pointed to a great prophet to come. He was pointing to Jesus. (Jewish believers are quick to point to Genesis 49:10, Numbers 24;17; Deuteronomy 18:15-20). Rather than being condemned by Moses, Jesus showed Moses had been waiting for Jesus for a long time.
Conclusion
I served on one jury. It was a relatively minor issue. The approach of the defense attorney was to make the issue something different from what it was. When we went into the jury room I was stunned at how close the strategy was to being effective. I had to remind the jury members what our instructions were from the Judge.
The same tactic is used by false teachers and the Devil. If they can get people to look at inconsistencies in the lives of believers, or the failures of some religious leaders, or spotlight the groups that call themselves Christians but preach hatred, then they can keep people from the real issue: Is Jesus God come to rescue us or is He not?
This morning Jesus has presented His defense through His witnesses. We have heard the testimony of John the Baptist, the testimony of His “signs and miracles,” the voice from God Himself, The prophetic record of Scripture, and even Moses. People will try to muddy the water but I believe the evidence points to the reality that Jesus was indeed ‘god’ in human form. Because of that, we should embrace Him as our Savior, and follow Him as Lord. It is not a foolish thing to do. I think it is a logical conclusion based on the evidence.
It is important to point out that you can be completely convinced that faith is logical and be persuaded that Jesus is truly the Son of God. It is one thing to embrace this intellectually and another to actually trust and follow Him. It’s kind of like the difference between believing sky-diving would be fun and actually believing to the point of jumping out of a plane. Or the difference between loving football and actually putting on the pads to play football.
Jesus calls us to be intellectually and practically committed to Him. In other words, you can believe Jesus is God become man. You can believe He is the true Savior. But trusting Him, betting your life on Him, following Him, is the level of belief you must reach in order to be saved.
Jesus called His disciples to leave the life they were living and come and follow Him. A life-changing decision needed to be made. That’s the decision He calls each of us to make. He wants us to not only believe the evidence, He wants us to change the direction of our life because of it.
[1] Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015), Jn 3:31–36.
[2] Richard D. Phillips, John, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, 1st ed., vol. 1, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2014), 340–341.