John 5:30-35 (WEL) “I am not able to do anything of myself. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just because I do not seek my own will but the will of my Father who sent me. 31 “If I testify on behalf of myself, my testimony is not legitimate. 32 “There is another who testifies on my behalf. I know that the testimony he gives about me is true. 33 “You have sent to John, and he has told the truth. 34 “I do not receive testimony from people, but I say these things, so that you might be saved. 35 “He was a burning and shining light, and you were willing for a while to rejoice in his light.
V30 “I am not able to do anything of myself. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just because I do not seek my own will but the will of my Father who sent me.
Jesus is stating that He wants to only do God’s will, not His own.
Jesus refers to this quite often—John 4:34, John 5:19, John 6:38, John 8:29, and John 17:4.
Jesus can make His own decisions but everything is perfectly aligned with His Father’s will, laws, character traits, etc.
Principle: We must have our thoughts, desires, words, and deeds aligned with God’s rules. We are weak and are not perfect, but that is the standard.
Principle: Do God’s will, for it is best for health, life, and blessings.
Principle: If the Lord Jesus states, “I am not able to do anything of myself,” how much more do we need God’s assisting grace to help us (John 15:5 and Philippians 4:13)?
V31 “If I testify on behalf of myself, my testimony is not legitimate.
Jesus knows that He only tells the truth, but He wishes to emphasize other true witnesses concerning who He is; they being His Father (Luke 3:22) and the Holy Spirit (John 15:26).
The Biblical Illustrator:
“The Spirit is the living bond by which Jesus Christ and fallen men become one life. Possessing the believer, Christ authenticates Himself to his heart and mind, in his will and consciousness. In that He shows unto us the things of Christ, the Spirit witnesses directly of Christ to us that He (Jesus Christ) is the Truth. Such witness is like the witness of self-consciousness. No truth can be more certainly known than this: that I am, that I think and will. Even so, in the heart and consciousness of a true believer, does the Holy Ghost testify that Jesus is the Truth of all truths.”
V32 “There is another who testifies on my behalf. I know that the testimony he gives about me is true.
Those who testify that Jesus is Messiah:
John the Baptist—John 1:29-32 (Isaiah 53:7).
God the Father—Matthew 3:17 (Psalm 2:7)
The Law and the Prophets—Genesis 3:15, Genesis 49:10, Numbers 24:17, and Deuteronomy 18:15-18 and prophets—Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 11:1-5, and Isaiah 53. Also see Psalm 2, Psalm 34:20, Daniel 9:25-26, Micah 5:2, etc.
Jesus speaks specifically about God the Father’s witness.
V33 “You have sent to John, and he has told the truth.
Jesus states that John the Baptist, a prophet, clearly spoke about Him, but the most Jews refused to believe. Sent to John refers to the religious leaders enquiring who he (John the Baptist) is, and John told them that he is not Messiah but Messiah is coming on the scene shortly (John 1:29-34).
V34 “I do not receive testimony from people, but I say these things, so that you might be saved.
Jesus states that He does not need any witnesses since the things that He says and does should be enough. If these Jews had read (they did) and believed (they did not) the Scriptures, they would know.
Principle: The Scriptures are a higher authority than any human.
Jesus wants people to believe in Him, so they can be saved from God’s wrath. Some theologies teach that God decrees most to hell and receives glory from doing so.
J. C. Ryle: “Here, as elsewhere, we should note how our Lord presses home on the Jews the inconsistency of admitting John the Baptist to be a prophet sent from God, while they refused to believe Himself as the Messiah. If they believed John, they ought in consistency to have believed Him.”
V35 “He was a burning and shining light, and you were willing for a while to rejoice in his light.
Light is equated with truth. Compare Psalm 43:3.
John spoke the truth; John was considered to be a prophet; he spoke about Messiah who was coming soon; he testified that Jesus is Messiah.
John had both light (truth) and shining (zeal).
Comments:
Constable: “Jesus again gave a brief evaluation of John the Baptist’s ministry. Evidently, John’s public ministry had ended by this time since Jesus spoke of his witness as past. John was not the true light (Gr. phos, John 1:8-9), but he was a lamp (Gr. lychnos) that bore witness (cf. Psalm 132:17; 2 Corinthians 4:6-7). John’s ministry had caused considerable messianic excitement. Unfortunately, most of John’s hearers only chose to follow his teaching temporarily (John 2:23-25). When Jesus appeared, they did not follow Him. Thus, John’s witness to Jesus’ identity was true, but it had little continuing impact.”
We learn:
- The priority of Scripture over human witness.
- God commends those who with zeal speak and live the truth as aligned with the Scriptures.
Questions:
- Who is your priority witness? Most think of themselves or their pet teacher/pastor.
- For whom do you have zeal?