Transcript

The 19th-century renowned artist Paul Gustave Dore once lost his passport while traveling in Europe. When he came to a border crossing, he explained his predicament to one of the guards.

Giving his name to the official, Dore hoped he would be recognized and allowed to pass. The guard, however, said that many people attempted to cross the border by claiming to be persons they were not. Dore insisted that he was the man he claimed to be.

“All right,” said the official, “we’ll give you a test, and if you pass it we’ll allow you to go through.” Handing him a pencil and a sheet of paper, he told the artist to sketch several peasants standing nearby. Dore did it so quickly and skillfully that the guard was convinced he was indeed who he claimed to be. His work confirmed his word!

In John 5, along with the testimony of God the Father, John the Baptist and the Scriptures, Christ appealed to His works and miracles as a witness to confirm the truth of His words and the truth of His identity.

John 5:18-24: “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

“For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

After Christ healed the lame man by the Pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath Day, the Jewish leaders were furious. Verse 16 of this chapter says the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to slay Him.

Christ then told these Jews, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work,” meaning that He was only doing what His Father was doing, working ceaselessly on behalf of man even on the Sabbath. And He had the same right to work on the Sabbath as His Father did.

Hearing Christ call God “My Father” enraged the Jews even more, and they “sought the more to kill Him.” Because in calling God His Father, Christ was “making Himself equal with God.” Christ knew that, and He called God “My Father” because that’s the truth.

This is exactly what He wanted to be understood. He is equal with the Father. Jesus is God. He is God the Son.

Following this claim to be God, Christ gave a discourse which is a defense of His Person and identity and demonstrates how, in every way, He IS equal with God.

Christ’s monologue explained His relationship to the Father in verses 19-30, and then He described the witnesses to His deity in verses 31-47.

Christ began His discourse with “verily, verily.” John only and always records the Lord Jesus using the word, “verily,” twice. The other Gospel writers only use a single “verily.”

Verily, verily, means amen, amen, or truly, truly, which in turn means that what Christ was about to say was trustworthy and sure, and it can be fully trusted.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (v. 19).

This means that Christ did not act independently of His Father. They always work together. And the Son always does His will.

Relating this verse to the context of Christ healing the man at the Pool of Bethesda who was lame for 38 years, this miracle was the Father’s will and the Father would have done exactly the same thing.

Thus, we see the both the Father’s and the Son’s compassion, mercy, and kindness in what Christ did for that man. As John 1:18 says, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.”

All the Son’s actions and works were tied directly to the Father. The Son never acted separately from the Father or on His own initiative. The Father and Son worked in perfect harmony.

When Christ stated, “for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” that is a straightforward claim to Deity and equality with God the Father.

Christ affirmed that “For the Father loveth the Son.” Their relationship is not that of a master and slave, but of a Father and a Son united by infinite, eternal love.

In His love, the Father “sheweth him all things that himself doeth.” The Father conceals nothing from the Son and communicates all things openly and completely to Him. Christ has a perfect knowledge of the Father’s work and will.

Being shown and having a knowledge of all the works of God tells us that Christ is all-knowing and God Himself, because to no finite mind could all this possibly be given.

As infinite God, the Father and the Son are both omniscient or all-knowing. They are equal in wisdom and knowledge, and thus, the Son can have a full, perfect knowledge of all the works of the Father and the Father can show Him all things.

The Father, Christ said, “will shew Him greater works than these, referring to the miraculous healing of the lame man in this chapter, “that ye may marvel,” or wonder or be amazed. These greater works refer to the resurrection of the dead as Christ goes on to speak about in verse 21.

As the Father has sovereign and almighty power to raise the dead and give life, so the Son, equal with the Father, has the same sovereign and almighty power to give life to the dead. At this point in the timeframe of the Gospels, Christ had not yet done this. But He would, and the Jews would marvel.

Shortly after this, when Christ raised the widow’s son at Nain, Luke 7:16 records the amazement of the people, “And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.”

The Son has power over death and has the power of judgment. The Father has committed all judgment unto the Son because He is equal in authority with Him (v. 22).

A claim to be the Judge is a claim to Deity. Psalm 50:6 says, “And the heavens shall declare His righteousness: for God is judge Himself.”

The authority of judging the world implies the ability to search the heart and the perfect knowledge to understand the motives of all actions. This is a work that only God can do.

All judgment being committed to the Son demonstrates that the Son is God and equal to the Father.

And the fact that Christ is the appointed Judge of all men, so it is right that “all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.” Since He is God, Christ has the right to equal honor with the Father.

And the Lord added that because of their equality, if the Son is not honored, then the Father is not honored.

In the Ten Commandments, Israel was forbidden to worship any other god but the one true God. The conclusion to be drawn from, “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father” is that Jesus Christ is the true God.

The Son of God is to be the object of our worship, reverence, and praise. As He is honored, the Father is honored. To dishonor, reject, or believe the Son to be less than He is, is to reject and dishonor the Father and not know Him.

Verse 24 begins with a “Verily, verily” which draws attention to another important statement: “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

Hearing Christ’s word is to hear the Father’s word. And because the Father and the Son are so united in their work, belief in the Father Who sent the Son is to believe in the Son who came to this world; and vice versa is true too, belief in the Son is belief in the Father.

It is not possible to believe on the Father without believing on the Son.

To believe in the Father Who sent Christ is to believe that Christ Who He sent is the Son of God, who came from heaven. And to believe that Christ is the Son of God gave one “everlasting life” under the gospel of the kingdom.

It delivered one from condemnation and God’s judgment, and it made the one who believed to pass “from death unto life.” In other words, to pass from spiritual death which leads to the second death to life eternal.

John 5:25-30: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”

In light of Christ’s words concerning spiritual death and spiritual life, “the dead” are those “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1).

Those who heard His voice and words, the voice of the Son of God, and responded in faith to Him, would “live.” And as verse 26 says, “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.”

The Son can give spiritual life because He possesses life inherently in Himself. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And in His humanity and earthly ministry, Christ was granted the right by the Father to impart eternal life to those who believed on Him.

God the Father has also granted the authority and right to execute judgment to the Son, as verse 27 “because He is the Son of man.”

The title, Son of God, is in reference to Christ’s deity as the second member of the Godhead and that He is fully God. The title, Son of man, is in reference to Christ’s humanity as the Messiah and that He is fully man.

Christ, “the Word was made flesh,” John 1:14 tells us. And in His humanity as the Son of man, Colossians 2:9 says, “For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

And as it’s been said, “As the Son of Man He is qualified to judge humanity because He belongs to it…” Being both the Son of God and the Son of man, Christ is perfectly qualified to judge humanity.

Acts 17:31 states that God “hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that MAN whom He hath ordained,” who is the Son of man, Jesus Christ.

From the title “Son of man” being used in a prophecy in Daniel 7 concerning the coming kingdom and the Lord using the title “Son of man” when foretelling His second coming at the trial before Caiphas, we learn that Son of man is also a Messianic title.

Christ then said, “Marvel not at this,” because the Jews were already in the process of marveling at these words and claims. And speaking of His words, the Lord said, “for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice.”

In the end times, all the bodily dead will hear the voice of Jesus Christ and respond, both believing and unbelieving. They will all come forth at His word and by the power of His word as God. In demonstrating this, each time Christ raised someone from the dead in His earthly ministry He did so by speaking.

Christ will raise “they that have done good,” who believed God and were saved from their sins, “unto the resurrection of life” which is the same as the “first resurrection” that takes place at His Second Coming prior to the Millennial Kingdom.

And Christ will raise “they that have done evil,” who did not believe God and died in their sins,” unto the resurrection of damnation,” which will take place at the Great White Throne.

This verse does not include the resurrection of the Church, the Body of Christ at the Rapture which takes place prior to the Tribulation. Later, Christ revealed this unprophesied resurrection first to the Apostle Paul.

In verse 30, the Lord reiterated, “I can of mine own self do nothing.” Due to their perfect oneness and union, it is impossible for the Son to do anything on His own initiative apart from the Father.

“As I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just,” verse 30 says. “As I hear,” refers to those things which the Father “sheweth” the Son as He mentioned earlier in His discourse (v. 20). The word “judge” here concerns Christ’s decisions and judgments about what He should do and what He should speak in His ministry (8:26).

And Christ teaches here that all He did and said was not done independent of the Father on His own authority. His decisions and judgments were always just and righteous because they were in perfect accord with the Father’s will.

John 5:31-36: “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.

“Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

“But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.”

Christ transitions in His discourse here to bring forward witnesses who testify to His identity as the Messiah and the Son of God: the witness of John the Baptist in verses 33-35; the witness of Christ’s works in verse 36; the witness of the Father in verses 37-38; and the witness of the Old Testament Scriptures in verses 39-47.

Christ said in verse 31, “If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.” Under the Law, self-testimony without supporting witnesses was not recognized as valid (Deut. 19:15).

Thus, Christ gave witnesses to His deity. Because of their oneness and equality, Christ first pointed out that “There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.”

Though it might have seemed like Christ bore witness of Himself, His words and witness of Himself were actually the witness of the Father. And that witness was external to Himself. And the Father’s testimony is true, because God is true and He cannot lie.

In verse 33, the Lord reminded the Jewish leaders that “Ye sent unto John,” referring to the delegation sent out to John the Baptist to interrogate Him as to who He was and what He was doing (1:19).

John bore “witness unto the truth” when He confessed, “I am not the Christ,” but after the baptism of Jesus, when John “saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon [Christ]” He bore witness unto the truth “that this is the Son of God” (1:34).

In verse 34, Christ pointed out that He did not need the testimony of a man to substantiate who He was. The truth of His Deity and Messiahship did not depend altogether on human testimony.

However, for those who might be influenced by the inferior testimony of a man, Christ cited it, because John the Baptist’s testimony was true, and if accepted and believed they would be saved from their sins.

And John, said Christ, was “a burning and a shining light,” or lamp who enlightened Israel to the identity of their Messiah, and as his father prophesied: “To give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins” (Luke 1:77).

In chapter 1 of this record we read, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light” (1:6-8).

John was a lamp, a torch, which burned and shone to lead others to Christ and to bear witness unto the truth. Christ told the Jews they were willing to rejoice in his light “for a season,” while it was the popular thing to do, until his light pointed them where they were not prepared or willing to go.

“But I have greater witness than that of John,” Christ said, “for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.”

Christ’s works, His miracles were an even greater witness to Christ’s identity than John the Baptist. Christ’s works authenticated the truth of His Person and His divine origin.

Christ’s miracles were credentials of His deity. They testified to Jesus as the Messiah.

When John the Baptist was in prison, discouraged and lonely, he began to wonder and doubt, so he sent two disciples to the Lord to ask Him if He was truly the Messiah.

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up…” (Matt. 11:4-5).

These were miracles that were predicted in the Old Testament that the Messiah would perform. Christ powerfully did these works, and they testified that He is the Messiah.

They were a testimony, a true witness, that the Father sent Him, His only Son, into the world, and that He is the Son of God.

John 5:37-40: “And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”

The first witness of Christ’s identity was John the Baptist. The second was His works and miracles. The third witness was the Father.

As verse 37 reads, “And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me.” The Father gave witness to Christ’s identity through His works and miracles, and through His words and teachings.

But Christ said, “Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape,” or form.

God the Father is fully revealed and made known in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 14:9,10 says, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father…the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me.”

But through their rejection of Christ, the Jews had not heard God’s voice or seen His form, because in Christ, they heard the voice of God, and in Christ, they actually saw God.

Christ is the Word of God and He spoke the Father’s words, but having hardened hearts and ears that were dull and hard of hearing, they did not believe in Christ.

Christ made the statement, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” Christ’s claim that God was “My Father,” because He was in truth equal with God, was met with outrage and unbelief, and they wanted to kill Him. But those words were the testimony of God through Christ of Who Jesus really is.

But they rejected Christ’s word and teaching which was the Father’s witness that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. Thus, they did not have the Father’s word and truth abiding in them, because “Whom He hath sent, Him ye believe not.”

The fourth witness Christ gave for His identity was the Scriptures.

Christ said, “Search the Scriptures,” which is literally a statement of fact and not a command, meaning “You search the Scriptures,” or they meticulously studied the Old Testament.

The Jewish leaders imagined they had life eternal by their possession of God’s Word and their academic, religious searching and knowledge of it.

They pored over the Scriptures believing that just the religious study of it in and of itself would bring them eternal life. But Christ said they missed the chief subject of the Word: “they are they which testify of Me.”

They failed to see that the written Word bore witness to the incarnate Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. They missed the connection between the Scriptures and Jesus Christ, Who is the promised Messiah in those Scriptures. As Christ said in verse 46, “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.”

They missed the truth and purpose of God’s Word in revealing Christ.

And the Scriptures are a witness to Christ’s identity as God in the flesh and Israel’s Messiah. The Scriptures plainly point to Him. He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming Prophet and King; He is the fulfillment of the types in the sacrificial system and elsewhere, but they were blinded by religion and did not see.

Christ told them where eternal life is truly found, not in the academic and religious searching of the Scriptures, but in Him.

But Christ said, “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life,” as the Jews would not follow where the light of the Word led them and pointed them to.

But as Warren Wiersbe put it, “Before we judge them, perhaps we ought to examine our own lives and churches. Are we permitting religious tradition to blind us to the truth of God’s Word? Are we so involved in ‘Bible Study’ that we fail to see Jesus Christ in the Word? Does our knowledge of the Bible give us a ‘big head’ or a ‘burning heart’?”