John 5:31-47
When the Lord Jesus said, “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true,” He was not suggesting that He was an untruthful or an unreliable witness. He is the truth and He is sinless.
What He means by this statement is that if He bore witness of Himself, His testimony would not be true in their estimation.
This was shown later in the attitude of the Pharisees on the occasion when He said, “I am the light of the world.” They responded, “You bear witness of yourself; your witness is not true”.
The Lord Jesus went on to speak of the threefold witness to His claim to be the Son of God, the Messiah :-
Jesus said to these religious Jews who searched the Scriptures, “But you are not willing to come to me that you may have life”.
They stubbornly rebelled against Christ because they did not have the love of God in them.
They claimed to be disciples of Moses who wrote about Christ in the first 5 books of the Old Testament.
If they did not believe the writings of Moses, how would they believe the words of Christ?
Those who refuse to come to Christ will have no excuse to plead on the Day of Judgment!
They have refused the eternal life that is only to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
When the Lord Jesus said, “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true,” He was not suggesting that He was an untruthful or an unreliable witness. He is the truth and He is sinless.
What He means by this statement is that if He bore witness of Himself, His testimony would not be true in their estimation.
This was shown later in the attitude of the Pharisees on the occasion when He said, “I am the light of the world.” They responded, “You bear witness of yourself; your witness is not true”.
The Lord Jesus went on to speak of the threefold witness to His claim to be the Son of God, the Messiah :-
- The witness of John the Baptist. The religious authorities had sent a delegation to John who had testified to the truth concerning the Lord Jesus.
- The witness of His own mighty works which the Father had given Him to do. Among these miracles was the healing of the man at the pool.
- The witness of God the Father. God spoke from heaven at the Baptism of Jesus saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. The Father had testified of Him through the Old Testament Scriptures.
Jesus said to these religious Jews who searched the Scriptures, “But you are not willing to come to me that you may have life”.
They stubbornly rebelled against Christ because they did not have the love of God in them.
They claimed to be disciples of Moses who wrote about Christ in the first 5 books of the Old Testament.
If they did not believe the writings of Moses, how would they believe the words of Christ?
Those who refuse to come to Christ will have no excuse to plead on the Day of Judgment!
They have refused the eternal life that is only to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
