John 5: 30 – 47
Good Enough For Him - Is Good Enough For Me
30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. 31 “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. 33 You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. 35 He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. 36 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. 37 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. 41 “I do not receive honor from men. 42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. 44 How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
Call me ‘mister wrong decision maker’. For practically my entire life I have stumbled and bumbled my way. Looking back over my life there are only a few decisions that I made correctly. I would think that I have two correct decisions that stand out. But now I know that these choices were not my decisions after all. I can see the hand of God on them. As I know today there are no such things as coincidence. Today, I follow the Lord Jesus’ example. I feel comfortable that if the Lord wants anything to happen or for me to do, He will succeed in making it happen.
We see our Lord Jesus now emphasizes that He works and judges totally in line with His Father. He does nothing on the basis simply of His own will. He aligns His will with the will of the Father.
30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
I presently serve as an assistant Pastor at a non-denominational Christian church called Calvary Chapel. During the Hippie movement in the United States our Precious Holy Spirit as many of you know created a revival in the hearts of many people. As the church exploded over the years the man our Lord picked to lead this revival had served with distinction for over 50 years. He recognized that since our Lord Jesus had not come back yet to earth that it was getting time to pass off the mantle our Lord had given to him. However, we all have to recognize that it is not easy to pass on the Lord’s mantle. We can’t just pick someone through our own decision. The man selected two close spiritual sons to run the massive church organization under His guidance. The two men selected forgot a key part of their elevation to the leadership and that was the fact that they were still answerable to the man whom the Lord selected to guide the spiritual growth of thousands of affiliated churches. They made a couple of key decisions without checking in with their boss. Bad move!
Needless to say this semi passing over the keys of the kingdom did not work out. The three men went their separate ways but to their credit still maintained a love and appreciation for each other.
Our Holy Blessed Trinity did and does not have the same problems we have to deal with. In these scripture verses I see how our Lord Jesus maintained a harmony with Father God. Having asserted the supreme authority and power He has received from the Father, our Lord Jesus now assured His hearers that this did not mean that He was acting on His own. While all judgment has been committed to Him He does not seek His own will, for He and the Father work in unison, and indeed anything else is not possible. By His very nature He cannot act on His own. The unity of the Godhead is too close. There is, as it were, a divine exchange, and as He judges He is always aware of what the Father says and has in mind the Father’s will. Thus His judgment is just because it is the judgment of God.
31 “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.
Clearly our Lord Jesus did not literally mean that His witness was not true simply because it was His own. He was rather acknowledging that self-testimony was seen as worthless by the Jews from a judicial point of view. This was the strongly held Jewish viewpoint based on the Scriptures. He is therefore stressing that He does not expect them to rely on such self-testimony. Rather there are others who testify of Him.
This statement of our Lord does not therefore contradict what He states in chapter 8.14 which says, ‘Jesus answered and said to them, “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.
This verse rather indicates what the response of men will be. Men will say that ‘truth’ judicially can only be established by more than one witness. In contrast 8.14 is saying that essential truth can be established by Him in that He Is The One Who truly knows because He Is in a position to know, and because of where He comes from, even though it might not be judicially acceptable on earth. The idea there is that by its very nature heavenly truth is more acceptable than earthly truth and requires no further witness.
32 There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.
Our Lord Jesus here unifies His Coming with John the Baptist. The religious leaders had sent some of their servants to check John out. While his ministry was gaining strength, John’s message was gaining popularity. In fact, it became so popular that many people may have thought that he was the Messiah. This assuredly was not his intent as he had a clear vision for what he was called to do. John 3:28 tells us, “You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.'” This verse speaks of John cautioning his disciples that what they had seen and heard from him is just the beginning of the miracle that was to come in the form of Jesus Christ. John was merely a messenger sent by God to proclaim the truth. His message was simple and direct: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2). He knew that once Jesus appeared on the scene, John’s work would be all but finished. He willingly gave up the spotlight to Jesus saying, “He must become greater; I must become less (John 3:30). Perhaps there is no greater example of humility than the one demonstrated by both Jesus and John in Matthew 3:13-15. Jesus came from Galilee to be baptized by John in the river Jordan John rightly recognized that the sinless Son of God needed no baptism of repentance and that he was certainly not worthy to baptize his own Savior. But Jesus answered his concern by requesting baptism “to fulfill all righteousness” meaning that He was identifying Himself with sinners for whom He would ultimately sacrifice Himself, thereby securing all righteousness for them (2 Corinthians 5:21).
33 You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. 35 He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.
Our Lord Jesus pointed out that they had accepted John as a shining lamp, a revealer of truth, although he was only a kindled lamp in comparison with the One Who was the permanent and original light of the world. Then let them accept his testimony about Jesus. But they must understand that He was only saying this so that they might listen and be saved from their present darkness. He Himself did not need the testimony of men. He has a greater witness than John.
36 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.
Father God had provided Him with many witnesses. Every miracle He did bore witness to exactly Who He Is for it demonstrates that Adoni Yahweh, Father God Is with Him. Indeed all to whom He speaks are witness to the signs and miracles He has done, the effectiveness of His words, the authority that He has revealed, His power over evil spirits. His life was a constant source of such things, and these very things bear witness that The Father Is with Him. As one of their own {Nicodemus] had testified, ‘no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him’. So His very works prove that He Is from The Father.
Skeptics have commented that others had done miracles in the past, but the fact is that none had done so on the vast scale and with the completeness that He did. Nor had they like Him constantly openly faced the world of evil spirits and defeated it. He performed miracles when and where He would and they could not point to a case of one who had come for healing and had gone away unhealed or of an evil spirit that had refused to obey His command. Throughout His ministry He was a constant revelation of the Father’s power.
37 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. 38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
Furthermore the Father had Himself borne witness to Jesus as His Anointed Son as we know;
. He had done it through His Personal voice at our Lord Jesus’ baptism (Mark 1.11).
. He had done it through His Spirit continually testifying to men’s hearts that our Lord Jesus Was from God, for ‘he who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself’ (1 John 5.10).
. He has also spoken of our Lord Jesus through the Holy Scriptures.
However, even with all this proof, the truth of the matter is that they will not hear any testimony because their hearts were hardened.
Here our Lord Jesus Is contrasting his listeners with Moses who both heard God’s voice and saw His form ( although not seeing Him in the fullness of His being). They saw themselves as ‘in Moses’ seat’ but by their refusal to hear Him were demonstrating that far from being like Moses they were actually rejecting Moses.
In spite of searching the Scriptures they were blind to what the Scriptures actually revealed. So they were not only unlike Moses in that they had not seen God’s form or seen His face, demonstrating their inferior standing as compared with Moses, but their failure to respond positively to Him demonstrated that, unlike Moses, they did not have the word of God abiding in them. For had they had God’s word abiding in them they would have responded to the One Who was His Word.
Like many people today these people knew what the Bible said but failed to apply its words to their lives. They knew the teaching of the Scriptures but failed to see the Messiah to Whom the Scriptures pointed. They knew the rules but missed the Savior. Being so entrenched in their own religious system, they refused to let the Son of God change their lives. The lesson for all mankind then is not to become so involved in ‘religion’ that you ultimately miss personally a relationship with Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.
41 “I do not receive honor from men.
Let me get on my soapbox for a moment and say this, ‘who the heck do men think they are in acknowledging for themselves honor due only to our King, Master, Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ. Religious phonies take on a title that belongs only to our God. The Prophet Jeremiah records these words spoken by Adoni Yahweh, “But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me. And to make it clear that He Only Is our Father He comments as recorded in Matthew chapter 23, “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. In Psalm 111 verse 9 our God says this about ‘Himself’ not fallen sinful man, “He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.”
We know that the things of the world are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life which is not from our Father God but is of the world. You have to be totally blind or out of your mind to want the praises of men. You can keep telling yourself how great a person you were while your eternity is in hell.
42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.
By their refusal to hear Him they were revealing that they neither loved God, nor had His love in their hearts. For if they had truly loved God they would have recognized Him for what He Was and would have received Him, for He came in the Father’s name, seeking only glory for Him. Their failure to come demonstrates therefore that their love for God is simply feigned. Rather they love themselves and their own carefully worked out religion, and they love those who seek their own glory.
Let me take some time and comment about the significant point our Master and Lord Jesus points out to us in verse 43 – “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.” There will be a ‘false Christ’ or as we like to refer to him as ‘The Antichrist’.
This same John who has just revealed our Precious Holy Lord’s comment about people rejecting Him yet accepting a phony Christ says this to us in chapter 2 of his first epistle letter, “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour.”
It might surprise many that John considered himself to be living in the last hour with contemporary "Antichrists” and that he saw the need to warn Christians about such individuals. Many consider an "Antichrist” to be a person who is "against” Christ. If that were the case, it would seem odd that any Christian would be fooled by such a person. However, careful study of the Scriptures reveals that Antichrists are subtle. They actually present a message which appeals to many Christians.
In 1 John 2 we learn these facts about Antichrists:
1) Their primary target is Christians
2) They arise from within the visible church
3) They claim to have a special anointing
4) They claim access to supernatural knowledge not available to ordinary Christians
5) They have a defective doctrine of Christ, though they claim to believe in Him.
If we compare John’s teaching to other New Testament passages on this topic we will find that many Antichrists operate in our day and their target is the Christian church. It stands to reason that Satan’s deceptive practices target the church, since the world is already under his sway as John makes known to us in chapter 5 of his first letter. "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one”.
That "Antichrists” arise from the visible church and work to deceive professed Christians might seem rather odd to many. The reason for this is that it seems implausible that people who are "against” Christ would find credence with those who claim to love Christ. Even cults do not claim to be "against” Christ, they just change their definitions of who He is. Therefore, how could an "Antichrist” get a hearing with Christians? The answer lies in the Greek prefix "anti.” It can mean "against” but also can mean "in place of.”1 Both concepts are combined here in the sense that the method "Antichrists” use to oppose Christ is to set themselves up as specially anointed teachers. These are men who say that they are here taking our Lord Jesus’ place. Their opposition is subtle. Their teaching about Christ is always unbiblical. John wrote in chapter 2 of letter one "They went out from us, but there were not really of us ” This shows that they were a part of the church and considered "Christian.”
So in the "last hour” Antichrists arise from within the church, going out deceiving many. The phrase "last hour” is qualitative2 and is describing the nature of the days between Christ’s first and second advents.
In the Greek "the Christ” literally means "the anointed one.” Antichrists are claiming to be "anointed ones.” John tells us in 1John 2:20 "But you have an anointing from the Holy One and you all know.” He reassures his Christian readers that they all are anointed and have knowledge of the truth. Therefore those teachers who arose from within the church, claiming a special anointing, and claiming to have unique knowledge because of that anointing were offering something Christians do not need. They are already anointed and have access to the truth that is in Christ and all the revealed truth that is in God’s Word. The Antichrists with their grandiose claims have nothing to add but lies and deception. So it is in our day.
To avoid deception we need to keep something very clear in our minds. All true Christians are anointed by God. 2 Corinthians 1:21,22 teaches us: "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.” The word "anointed” in the Greek is "Chrisma.” Therefore the "antichristos” is one who claims to have special "Chrisma” which in fact all true Christians already have. We do not need whatever they claim to have. They claim a superior spirituality, special anointing, special revelations, and do not openly claim to oppose Christ. If they did they would never find followers in churches, which are their primary target.
Likewise we all have knowledge of the truth and have no need for any supposed "anointed one” who claims to give us teachings we would otherwise have no access to: In 1John 2:27 we learn "And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”
Thank You El Shaddai, Lord God Almighty, for opening our eyes to Your Truth.
44 How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?
He then questions how they can possibly believe when their main concern is not the praise and glory of God but their own praise and glory. For the truth is that if men are to know the truth they must be wholehearted in their search for it. But these men longed for the praise of their fellowmen and so they lived and believed accordingly. If they had really sought praise from the central source, ‘the only God’ they would have known the truth about Him. The phrase stresses that they boasted of their belief in the one and only God, and yet looked elsewhere for their praise. They looked to men. They were double-minded. It is thus they who were living independently of God, not Jesus.
The stress is on the fact that there is no value in pretending to love ‘the only God’ if their thoughts and obedience are not centered on Him. Those who seek their praise and honor from men demonstrate that it is men whom they love, and whose verdict they desire, not He Who alone Is God. They were so eager to get men to live in accordance with their own ideas, that they did not have time to contemplate God and recognize that some of their ideas were wrong which by the way was why the signs done by our Messiah passed them by.
45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
But let them not think that He would act as their accuser. It was not necessary. Moses himself accused them, the Moses on whom they had set their hope. They should take note of the fact that when they face God at the final judgment it is Moses who will be their accuser, the very one whom they have exalted and relied on, and it will be because they have refused to listen to his testimony to Jesus. So their failure to believe in Jesus is very much a failure to believe the very writings of Moses which they revered and meditated in constantly.
Indeed had they believed Moses they would have recognized in Jesus, from the very purity and impact of His words, the ‘prophet like unto Moses’ of whom God said ‘I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them all that I command them’ (Deuteronomy 18.18). They would have seen in Him the One Who was bruising the serpent’s head by His power over evil spirits (Genesis 3.15). They would have recognized the Seed through Whom the whole world would be blessed as large numbers, including Samaritans, experienced the blessing of God through Him (Genesis 22.18). They would have recognized the One from the house of Judah, to Whom all the obedience of the peoples would be (Genesis 49.10). They would have recognized the Star and Sceptre from Israel (Numbers 24.17).
Had they listened to Moses they would not have tried to build around themselves a wall of righteousness by making a multitude of requirements that they were actually unable to fulfill, and have ignored the deeper implications of the Law which would have convinced them of their own sinfulness and need for God’s mercy. The sacrificial system was itself proof that they could not keep the Law, and yet they were trying to use the Law as a means of justifying themselves. But even the sacrificial system pointed to Him, for as Isaiah had drawn out in his interpretation of the Law, in the end the sacrificial lamb must be a unique human being, suffering for the sins of His people (Isaiah 53).
They had set everything aside apart from their trust in Moses and his writings. These determined the course of their whole lives. And yet because of their blindness, and because of their desire for the approbation of their fellow seekers, they had missed Moses’ essential message, the message of a Coming One Who would bring all to rights. There is also some evidence that first century Jews believed that Moses would intercede for them at the judgment. But if only they realized it there was only One Who could do that, the One Whom they were now rejecting.
