John 5:31-36

31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.

32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.

When my father was applying to be the pastor of this church… just like when you were applying for a job…the Character References played the vital role of affirming an applicant’s qualification.

The people with high credentials my father used in his Character References did not know that he gave their email to TMEC.

He should have informed them that he was going to use them as his Character references in the first place… but my father’s reasoning for not informing them was to be sure that they will not simplify or over-emphasize their recommendation or testimonies about him.

Actually, my father wanted God to be the One to speak through them if God had really called him to be the right person.

Those Character References have great credentials under their belts. Credentials that proved their expertise through work experience or achievements academically.

My father wondered that if he had given the names of his classmates at the seminary, if the leadership or the church at the time he applied would even bother to send an email. He wondered that if he had given the names of his Evangelism Explosion trainees if you would even bother to send him an email.

Our passage John 5:31-47—divided into two parts—is about the testimonies that magnify and confirmed that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore He is God Himself.

Our first witness is John the Baptist.

1. The Testimony of John the Baptist

31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.

32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

Who is John the Baptist? He is a miraculous baby.

John the Baptist was born because of a miracle.

His mother Elizabeth is the cousin of Mary—Jesus’ mother.

Elizabeth was barren and old before John was born.

John’s father Zechariah was well advanced in years too.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were descendants of Aaron.

Zechariah and Elizabeth became popular because they were blessed with a child in their advanced years.

Zechariah was one of the few priests chosen by lot to burn incense at the temple. Not all priests can burn incense but only those chosen by lot can go to the Holy of Holies. Those who are chosen to burn incense are highly regarded after coming out of the Holy of Holies alive.

It was a mixture of desirable and undesirable feelings to enter the Holy of Holies.

The priest who is chosen to enter the Holy of Holies to burn incense will come out alive if he is righteous but if the priest who is chosen to enter the Holy of Holies to burn incense is not right before God … he will die inside.

And if someone dies, nobody can just go into the Holy of Holies to get the dead body of the priest who dies inside the Holy of Holies.

In order to retrieve the dead body if someone dies inside the Holy of Holies… before the one chosen enters the Holy of Holies, the priests tied a rope to one of the feet of the priest who is to go into the Holy of Holies to burn incense. If the priest does not come out after a certain amount of time of burning incense… they will just pull the rope to retrieve the dead body.

And if he comes out alive, he will be regarded highly as he has found favour in the sight of God.

Zechariah, John’s father was a highly-regarded priest

In Luke 1:6 it says, 6 Both of them (Zechariah and Elizabeth) were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly.

The family background of John the Baptist is commendable and Jesus said in verse 35, 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

No doubt John the Baptist was an excellent witness to Jesus.

What did John the Baptist testify about Jesus?

Luke 3:16-17 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Matthew 3:1-2 1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

John 1:20-34

20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”

21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

John the Baptist was a powerful preacher and many people followed him.

Roman soldiers, tax collectors, Pharisees and teachers of the laws came to him to be baptized.

Yet like many of us today, people in John the Baptist time decided to follow him than to follow his message about Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist said in John 3:30 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”

It is for us to reflect upon the message of John the Baptist about Jesus with this question in mind: Is Jesus greater in our life and are we becoming lesser?

Are we regarding Jesus as our Lord with authority in every way? How do we show that Jesus is really our Lord?

Is Jesus the Lord over our relationship with our family, spouse, children, brethren, co-workers?

Can Jesus be the Lord over our fears of the future or even fears of sharing the good news?

The next testimony about Jesus is

2. The Testimony of Jesus Miraculous Works

36  “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.

In applying for a job… Work Experiences listed in your resumé reveal the capabilities of the applicant.

Character References play a significant role in the application processes, but the Work Experiences of the applicant is more important… more essential.

Our Lord Jesus made miracles that only God can do.

The Jews should have accepted Him because of that but the Jews were more concerned about their status in life than trusting in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

The Teachers of the Law should have been honourable people because they have obeyed the Law to the letter.

The problem was the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were using the Law to advance their cause.

Remember… they allowed people to sell inside the Temple but they scolded the invalid man to carry his mat.

The Jews were inconsistent in their interpretation of the Law. If the Law favours them, it is right but if somebody breaks the Law, he or she should pay a penalty.

They did not care if Jesus can do miracles.

They were embarrassed when He openly rebuked them.

There have been instances when you will be able to see a lot of Pharisees in the church.

Many churches split because the pastor preaches against an elder or deacon.

Elders, Deacons, or any regular member may have an attitude like that of a Pharisee.

When the message points out our wrong-doings we do not want it because it hurts our feelings.

We become defensive. We should not dwell in the feeling of being hurt but instead try to see if the message we heard can be used to better ourselves.

Use those words that may not seem pleasant at first to look at the world in a way that you’re trusting God.

If you don’t like what you’re hearing from the preacher then study your Bible thoroughly and find out for yourself if what’s being said up here is right. Even if you end up confirming yourself that the message was right, you still took a step forward in your walk with God.

The wonders and miracles of Jesus prove that He is God. Only when you take the time to meditate on His word will you learn more of his wonders and miracles that you yourself might experience in this lifetime.

What miraculous wonder have you experienced as a fruit of your faith in Jesus lately?

What personal prayer did Jesus answer lately? Do you experience the wonderful acts of Jesus in your life regularly?

Have you proven that Jesus can do miracles in you?

We’ll learn more about the other testimonies about Jesus in part 2 of our sermon series.