Text: “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44)
Do you believe everything you read, everything you see, or everything someone tells you?
By the same token, does everything you write, everything you present or everything you say believed by other people?
Who are we to believe? Jesus knew who to believe, but some of the people in his day did not know who to believe. In fact, some of the Pharisees said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true” (John 8:13).
They said this because Jesus knew who He was and He spoke for Himself. The Pharisees said two witnesses were necessary to testify to the truth.
Jesus said, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going” (John 8:14). Jesus indicated that the Father testified by two means: the written Word and by the works of Jesus. No other witness or testimony was necessary.
If we go back to the beginning of the Gospel of John, we read of one who came to witness for Jesus. That man was John the Baptist. Verse 7 says, ‘This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.”
Jesus doesn’t say that John came to witness for Him, but instead He says John came to “witness to the truth” (John 5:33). Jesus did not need to have man testify for Him, but He did use John to open the eyes of those who were lost and perishing.
Jesus mission was not to save His own life, but it was to save those who would accept Him and come to Him. He even wanted to save the souls of those who were His enemies and those who prosecuted Him. As He hung on the Cross in pain and agony, He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:31).
John was a different and unique person. He did not dress as other men dressed. He did not eat the usual food eaten by others. “Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4).
John preached a message that was different from all the other messages the people heard. This message was so unusual that “…all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:5-6).
God had placed John upon the earth to carry out a specific mission. The prophet Isaiah recorded these words, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight” (Matthew 3:3).
Many of the people liked John and had respect for him. They believed what he had to say. They were interested in what he had to say. He talked about the Word becoming flesh. He message talked about “The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father…” (John 1:18).
Jesus did not need the testimony of another person, but this person was a part of God’s plan. John did not claim to be Christ or Elijah or any of the other prophets. He merely said that he was the person Isaiah talked about.
God used John to prepare the minds of the people for the One who could save their souls. John’s message was one of repentance. “John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 3:1-2).
The kingdom of God would be the entry of God’s Son, the Anointed One, upon the face of the earth. Jesus would be introduced to people and they would have the opportunity to accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior.
John was not the “Light” but he was a secondary light. Jesus was the Light. John was a very sincere person and very energetic and active in carrying out his mission. He was obedient in deed and powerful in word.
Jesus said “He (John) was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light” (John 5:35). John was a vehicle used by God to get the attention of the people. In his own way, he shined like a bright light from a burning fire.
As we all know, new things do get old. We buy a new car, but as we begin to make payments the newness wears off. When we were children, we wanted some new toy, but after playing with it for a while, we lost interest in that toy and cast our eyes upon some other toy. There are times a new program comes on television and we like it, but after a while we no longer care to watch it.
A church gets a new pastor and most of the people really enjoy him. His messages are terrific, but not too long. His personality is just what everyone likes. He is not too old or too young. He seems to know what he is talking about. The attendance increases and everything is great.
After a period of time the attendance begins to drop, collections are down and there is talk about the content of his messages. He was great and wonderful for a while, but something happened.
Something similar must have happened to John because Jesus said, “…you chose for a time to enjoy his light” (v. 35). What happened? There is a good chance the people enjoyed the light, but they never really walked in the light.
I would venture to say that this is what happens to some of our pastors today. The message is being preached. Sin is being talked about. People are called to confess their sins and repent of their sins. Some people don’t like to hear these things and skip the services and ultimately leave the church.
In other words, the pastor’s message was proper and people listened, but they did not do what the message said. The people saw the light, but did not walk in the light. They heard the message, but did not make it a part of their life.
Jesus said that Christians are “the salt of the earth and the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-14). We are like John in that we are witnesses to the truth. Jesus has a greater witness than any human-being.
Jesus said, “But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish-the very works that I do-bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me” (John 5:36).
Each of us confirms our faith by our witness. We follow the words in red. We show forth love, compassion, understanding, and all the other attributes of Jesus. We go the second mile in helping those in need.
We tell what Jesus has done for us. We encourage those who are facing trials and tribulations. We walk through valleys with them, climb mountains with them, and help them cross deep rivers of disappointment.
We are doing what Jesus wants us to do, but He would be who He is without our meager witness. It is good for each Christian to witness and to testify as to whom Jesus is, but the real witness is God the Father.
God the Father is the one who had it in His plans from the very beginning to send His Son into the world. Isaiah talked about the Messiah in the Old Testament. He sent His Son into the world via Mary through the work of the Holy Spirit.
His Son was given the power to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, feed the multitudes with few loaves and few fish, teach the people the way to live a life in accordance to the Father’s wishes, cleanse the lepers, heal the paralytic, unplug the ears of the deaf, open the eyes of the blind, predict his death and resurrection and pay the sin debt on the behalf of all people.
What can we do to make the Father’s testimony or witness better? There is little we can do, but that little can lead others to accept Him as their own Lord and Savior. Our testimony may be small in one way, but it is huge when a soul is saved because of our words and our actions.
There will be people who will not believe our testimony. There are those who say God does not exist and they are here to do and accumulate everything they possible can. God is not a part of their life.
He is never given any consideration when it comes to making decisions or searching for direction. These are the people who do not have the word abiding in them. Jesus said, “But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe” (John 5:38). These people who do not believe in God do not believe in His Son.
Jesus refers to the Scriptures as another witness in His defense. He indicates that searching the Scriptures is valuable and important, but meaningless when the search is for self-glory.
If the Scriptures are searched merely for knowledge and not for the power and influence they contain, the search is useless. People who search the Scriptures in this manner will not find Jesus.
If someone starts digging or mining just to see how much dirt they can move their digging is of little value. However, if a miner wants to find gold or silver, he will search diligently until they find it. When a deep-sea diver wants to find pearls, he will go where the pearls are and dive with the hope of finding them. In other words, both these people have a purpose in searching. They know what they want and how to get it.
Do we believe what the Word says? Are we willing to search the Scriptures to find Jesus and to know Him? He is our way to eternal life with Him in Heaven. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
When we find these words in Scripture, we must believe them and they must become a part of us. It does us no good to just read them. Satan can read these words just as we can and that is it. He does not believe them and take them to heart. We know what his eternal destination is and believing these words, we know where we will spend eternity.
There are people who are not willing to come to Jesus. Jesus offers eternal life with Him if people will just accept Him. He said, “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:40).
You and I and all other Christians who have chosen to go to Christ and accept His offer are assured our destiny. He has paid our sin doubt. He died for us. He is our life. He is our love. He is our joy and our happiness. He is our Savior.
Souls are lost simply because people do not believe the words in Red; therefore, they are unwilling to come to Jesus and accept His offer of salvation. The Jews in Jesus day and some people of this day and age thought that as long as they read the words of the law they were guaranteed eternal life.
The real truth is they are guaranteed eternal, but not with Jesus. All people are going to spend eternity somewhere. We, as Christians, know where we will spend our eternal life.
When we search the Scriptures, we gain an insight in the Word of Almighty God. We believe the Word. We take the Word to heart; it becomes a part of us, and we find the hidden word, which is the Water of Life.
There are people who are not willing to accept the invitation and go to the Savior. Jesus said, “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:40). Too many people think and believe they already have life because they have what the world has to offer.
The fallacy in that line of thinking is brought about by the king of this world. Satan wants people to think worldly, live worldly and die worldly. He knows who Jesus is and what He has to offer, but Satan is an adversary of Jesus. The more souls he can destroy, the happier he is.
Those people who are drawn to Satan have only momentary happiness, joy, and satisfaction. These people are miserable inside because their heart is cold, empty and hard. Satan’s followers are lost people. They are sinners on the low road to Hell. It is not that they cannot come to the Savior, but it is because they are unwilling to step forward and accept what Jesus has to offer.
When God gave us the ability to choose or the opportunity to make decisions, He knew they would give honor and glory to themselves and to others. He knew that all people would not honor Him. Jesus said, “I do not receive honor from men” (John 5:41).
Jesus received dishonor and disgrace from people because their minds were warped by Satan. People did not believe the One who could give them everlasting life, but instead they believed Satan.
Jesus said, “But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you’ (John 5:42). Some people do not have the love of God in their heart. They do not place Him first in their life. This is ignorance on their part because they are thinking and living worldly. There are some people who pretend to love God by acting religious. These people think they are fooling God, but God knows very well what is in their heart.
There are people of this day who talk about God, but neglect to accept His Son as their own personal Lord and Savior. They might be impressing people, but certainly are not fooling God. Jesus said, “I know you….” (v. 42) We can mislead and fool other people and ourselves, but God is not deceived.
Why do people not receive Jesus? Some people do not believe what He did for mankind, but they will believe some other man or woman. Are other people more truthful to us than is the Son of God? I don’t think so. People have lied to us. They have misled us. Is there anyone in here who has never been lied to?
On the other hand, have we always told people the truth and nothing but the truth? I don’t think so, but when we tend to stretch the truth there is a little voice within us reminding us of our sin. We have the opportunity to repent, ask for forgiveness, and believe Jesus has pardoned us. He not only pardons us, but he forever forgets our sin. We are all sinners with the opportunity to be saved by grace.
There are people in the world who follow a person who claims to be Christ. These false prophets are working under their own power and for their own gratification. These are people who come in the name of Jesus.
You remember the Jim Jones Massacre which took place in Jonestown, Guyana, where 914 people including Jones committed suicide. People were being misled by a false prophet who was misled by Satan.
Jesus is saying that some tend to follow those who come in His name when they should believe the One who came in the Father’s Name, but Satan has distorted their thinking. It is easier to believe people than it is to believe the “words in red.”
Jesus talks to the people about Moses whom they trusted and believed. Jesus said “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:46-47)
Moses was the author of the first 5 books of the Old Testament which contains the Law. Jesus is telling the people that He will not accuse them for their disbelief, but Moses is the one who will accuse them.
The Pharisees considered themselves avid followers of Moses. They believed Moses. They were trying to follow the Law, but they were not always able to do so. When they couldn’t follow the Law or when they wanted to deviate from the Law they would make up some of their own laws.
When Jesus say Moses will accuse them, He is saying that Moses wrote about Him, yet the religious leaders refused to believe that Jesus was the Son of God. Of course, the religious leaders did not like to hear Jesus’ words.
The people could not believe Jesus because they did not believe what Moses wrote about Jesus. If they believed everything Moses wrote, concerning Jesus, they would have believed in and accepted Jesus as the Messiah.
Moses was a witness for Jesus, but the religious leaders were unbelievers concerning what Moses wrote about Jesus. The religious leaders claimed to believe Moses, but in reality, they only half believed him or believed only what worked in their behalf.
Conclusion:
Whom do you believe?
Do you believe Jesus or do you believe Satan?
Are you like the religious leaders or are you a witness for Jesus?
Do you seek to honor Jesus or do you seek to honor other people?
Do you believe the promises Jesus made?
Do you search the Scriptures to find out who Jesus really is so that you can testify about Him?
Jesus knows who He is, but do you know who He is?
Amen.
