“There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.” John 5:32
In the first part of John chapter 5, Jesus had healed a man on the Sabbath and the Jews sought to kill Him all the more because He not only broke their Sabbath traditions, but He also claimed to be equal with God (John 5:1-18). When people heard Jesus’ claims, many of them asked, “How do we know He is telling the truth? What evidence does He give?” Knowing their hearts and minds, Jesus proceeds to call upon five witnesses to back up His claim to be equal with God.
Jesus said, “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.” (John 5:31). It is not Christ’s testimony which is false, it is the demand for more than one witness which is the issue. According to Jewish law, self-testimony was not accepted in the court of law (Deuteronomy 19:15). There must be witnesses who will confirm another’s testimony. After all, we live in a fallen age, so when people claim many things for themselves, we don’t know whether to believe them or not, because we cannot trust everybody – it would be naive to do so.
One of the things I have observed over the years in ministry is that people can hear the truth right out of the Scriptures for years and years and never seem to get it, until they hear it from another voice. That is why it is a good thing to have other speakers come to a church at times. Having said that, let’s look at the first witness that Jesus calls upon to back up His claim to be God.
GOD THE FATHER (John 5:32, 37-38). “There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.” (John 5:32). The word “another” (allos) means “of the same kind as Myself.” Jesus is referring to God the Father Who has the same divine nature as Christ. The reason Jesus is so bold about His equality with God is because He is conscious of His Father’s continual confidence and support. I am reminded of a story about an eight-year-old boy who stands up to some teenage bullies on the playground because his 6’ 6” 300 lbs. dad is standing right behind him.
The Father’s testimony is explained further: “And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.” (John 5:37). The verb “testified” (memartyrēken) is in the perfect tense which means that the Father’s testimony of His Son was completed in the past but continues to impact people in the present. This may be a reference to the Father’s witness when He spoke from heaven at Jesus’s baptism: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17). The Father’s testimony that Jesus is His Son validates Christ’s claim to be equal with God. Jesus has the same divine nature as His Father.
The religious leaders, like many today, had closed their ears to the Father’s testimony. Because of their unbelief, these Jews have never “heard His voice… nor seen His form.” (John 5:37b). The Father’s witness is only accessible to those who believe in His Son. “But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.” (John 5:38). These religious leaders are ignorant of God the Father’s testimony of Jesus because of their unbelief. So Jesus’s claim to be God is valid because there is no higher court of appeal than God the Father Himself.
Like Jesus, we can have more confidence in witnessing to others when we realize that God the Father is on our side. “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6). God watches our back when we are doing His work. Since no one is more powerful than God, we do not have to be afraid of what people think or do.
In between my second and third year of seminary, I had an evangelism internship in the inner city of Dallas, Texas. I would go house to house or apartment to apartment sharing the gospel with pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers, and addicts. Knowing that my heavenly Father was on my side and would not abandon me, emboldened me to go to some “shady” places. I praise God for His faithfulness to keep me safe during that time.
Prayer: Gracious heavenly Father, thank You for Your testimony which validates Jesus’s claim to be equal with You. Knowing that You are on my side emboldens me to proclaim that Jesus is God and He alone can give everlasting life as an absolutely free gift to those who believe in Him. Like the Jews of Jesus’s day, many people do not hear Your testimony about Christ because of their unbelief toward Him. In these coming days and weeks, I pray You will soften their hearts to believe that Jesus is God so they may hear Your voice concerning Him and receive His never-ending life. In Jesus’s name. Amen.