INTRODUCTION
Ravi Zacharias in his book "Can Man live without God?" tells the following story. A young somewhat cocky cowboy was riding his horse one-day when he spied a hunched over old farmhand on a mule. Deciding to have a little fun the young cowboy drew his 6 shooter and told the old man to get down of his mule. He then asked the old man "if he had ever danced" and began to empty his revolver at his feet with great laughter. The old man slowly turned back to his mule (unamused) and put his hand into his pack and drew a shotgun and aimed it at the now bulletless young cowboy and he said, "did you ever kiss a mule?" To which the young cowboy said with fear "no but I have always wanted to!" TS--There is nothing like a bullet for motivation. While the Lord does not put a gun to our heads he does give us the stories of the Bible for direction and motivation. Are you listening?
Jesus was having a discussion with a group of men who neither motivated nor listening.
Jesus was having a discussion with a group of religious leaders who were not motivated to accept Jesus as the Son of God. If you remember in the beginning of John 5, Jesus had healed a man on the Sabbath.
The religious leaders took issue with Jesus healing this man who had been crippled for 38 years. The religious leaders attacked Jesus for doing this good deed on the Sabbath.
Jesus counters by saying that He was equal to God, that God was His Father. In verses 19-47 Jesus has been giving a defense of the assertion that He and God are one in the same, or equal.
As we getting to the end of chapter five, Jesus says that He is not the only one who testifies to the fact that He is the Messiah or that He is God.
Today as we look at the evidence that Jesus presents that backs up His claim to being God, I hope that we will be motivated to recognize Jesus as Lord and that we will accept the evidence presented and that we will give ourselves completely over to Him!
SERMON
I. THE WITNESS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST 33-35
In verses 31-32 Jesus is going to explain to these people that they do not just have to accept His own testimony about Himself.
The proof would not be decisive if Jesus testimony was the only one that the Pharisees had to go by. The Old Testament Law did not admit a man to testify in his own case, but required witnesses, Deuteronomy 17:6
Jesus testimony was true, but it was not in itself sufficient reason for others to believe. They had a right to expect other testimony or evidence to back up the statement that He had come from God. Jesus is not afraid of your questions.
Jesus is going to provide witnesses and evidence that He indeed came from God and that He was equal to God.
The first witness that Jesus appeals to is John the Baptist. READ VERSES 33-35.
In John 1:19-ff, the Pharisees sent people to John to see if he was the Messiah, they wanted to know who he was.
His response was found in John 1:23 which says, "I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ’Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said."
He quotes from Isaiah 40:3. The Pharisees understood what John was implying when he quoted this passage. These words introduce the great closing section of the prophecy of Isaiah (chapters 40-66). These chapters are full of rich promises and revelations about the coming Messiah. By implication, John by quoting this opening prophecy and saying that he is fulfilling it is announcing the approaching fulfillment of that whole section of Isaiah.
John’s testimony about Jesus should have been enough for many of the religious leaders who believed in John.
Jesus said that John was the “lamp” but that He was the “light” in that lamp.
The term “lamp” was in common use to denote a distinguished hero or teacher. The Rabbis were called “lamps of the Law”. David was called the ‘Lamp of Israel” (2 Sam 21:17)
Jesus was the light (John 1:8), John was the lamp that carried the light.
READ VERSE 35 again.
Some of those whom Jesus was speaking to were the some of the same ones who came to John in the wilderness and acknowledged that John was a prophet.
They enjoyed the ministry of John for a short time.
The people accepted John’s message for a while, they saw him as a distinguished prophet, so why did they stop enjoying his light? Was it because it pointed toward Jesus?
We have the same thing with people today, they will follow Jesus for a while until they start to see some things they do not like or want to do.
Jesus was still trying to lead them down the path of salvation.
II. THE WITNESS OF HIS DEEDS 36
Jesus has stronger, more compelling evidence for the people to see.
This would include the miracles, the healings but it also includes the work of redemption which ended with Jesus words on the cross, “It is finished”
Nicodemus in John 3:2 says that the works that Jesus was doing could only come from God. God would not give such power to someone whom He did not approve of.
When you think about it, if someone was truly God, you would expect them to be able to back that claim up by their deeds. Jesus healed the sick, made the dumb speak, the blind see, the lame walk, the dead rise! Jesus lived a sinless life and He defeated death by rising in the third day.
The Apostle Paul tells us that if this did not happen, then we are to be pitied. (1 Corinthian 15:19)
Jesus words and His actions all point to the fact that He is God. I am not sure how these leaders could ignore what He had been doing and what He was to do later in His ministry. Jesus did what He did in secret. His works were on display for all to see. Jesus did not heal people of ailments that could not be verified Jesus healed people that there was no doubt they needed it.
Not only could Jesus appeal to the witness of John the Baptist and Jesus’ own works but He also had the witness of the Father.
III. THE WITNESS OF HIS FATHER 37-38
God testified about Jesus in three ways:
1. By direct or audible voice and the visible sending of the Spirit as a dove during the baptism of Jesus
2. By revelation of the Old Testament Scriptures through the prophets and angels. This may have been intended to be the most powerful of the three.
3. By the miracles done by Jesus.
Jesus was rebuking the Jews for not believing the evidence that Jesus was the Messiah.
God spoke through the prophets and audibly from time to time. Jesus is saying that the proof that they had not heard God was in the way that they had rejected Him!
It is like a parent who tells a child to do something and the child elects not to do what they were told. They would tell us they did not hear us or we would ask them if they heard us.
Jesus is saying to the Jews that they do not believe that He is equal to God, and they have not ever seen God to know. God had been revealing Himself to the nation throughout the history of the nation, but they still did not know God.
How many times in our lives has God revealed Himself to us only for us to deny what happened or we were quick to give coincidence the credit?
In verse 38 we find the third charge against the religious leaders. The first one was that they had not obeyed the command of God, the second one was that they had not regarded his appearance and this charge, they did not yield to what He said in the Old Testament.
As much as the Pharisee’s loved the Old Testament and prided themselves on their knowledge of it, this must have been a stinging rebuke to them.
These people knew the Word of God, but they did not have it abiding in them. The Word was void of power in their lives because they did not let it penetrate their hearts.
Had they let their hearts be molded by the Word of God, they would have accepted Jesus.
IV. THE WITNESS OF THE SCRIPTURES 39-47
READ VERSES 39-40
The Pharisees did not hear the voice of God, nor have they seen Him, so they search the Scriptures because they thought the scriptures contain eternal life, they revere them because of this, yet they did not have the word within them. They did not see that the Old Testament Scriptures were a witness to Jesus.
The word “search” means to diligently search as a miner would search the earth for precious metals because of their great value.
“In them” is emphatic. They thought that by mere study of the scriptures that they will obtain eternal life.
The Pharisees knowledge of the scriptures was so great that they knew how many letters there was in the Old Testament but they could not see the forest for all the trees. They missed the chief treasure contained in the Old Testament.
Had you ever been looking for something, and you were starring right at it and missed it?
Christians and those who proclaim to be Christians need to understand that there is a difference between know God’s word and knowing God. If you know God, His word will live in you and it will show in you attitudes and actions!
Jesus says in verse 40 that these people were not willing to come to the very one that they were searching so diligently for! Once again Jesus is telling them that in Him is life. He is telling you that today!
As we get into verse 41, Jesus is reading the hearts of the Pharisees. He s going to reveal the real reason that they are rejecting Him. READ VERSES 41-44
A newly promoted colonel moved into a nicer office. He was getting unpacked when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a private with a toolbox coming his way. Wanting to look important, he grabbed the phone and said, "Yes General Schwartzkopf. Of course, I think it’s an excellent plan. You’ve got my support sir. Let’s touch base again soon, Norm. Good-bye, sir." The colonel looked down his nose at the private and said, "What can I do for you private?" The young man reluctantly said, "Umm, I’m just here to hook up your phone sir."
Being a Pharisee was a very prestigious position to have and they men did not seem to want to let go of that prestige.
As Jesus looks into the hearts of these men. He is saying that they do not have a love for God within them, they have a love of what being perceived as loving God has for them.
The central thought throughout this last section of text is “you refuse to come to Me.” If we love God, then we will not worry about receiving honor from man. If they loved God, they would not SEEK the praise of man.
Jesus is saying that when others come proclaiming to be Messiah, they will follow them and obey them as a teacher.
If this “false Christ” comes in his own name and by his own authority seeking the glory of men, these Pharisees will fall in line to follow him because that is the concept they have of what a Messiah will want because that is what they want.
Even the Disciples struggled with this at times with this. See Mark 10:35-ff.
In verse 43, Jesus accuses them of being studious of praise, and living for pride, ambition and vain glory. This desire was another great reason why they did not believe in Him
They wanted a Messiah who was full of splendor. They would not accept one of such humble beginnings. If Jesus had come in pomp and power, the Pharisees would have gladly followed Him because they would see it as an honor and they would also receive honor for following Him.
Jesus says that He was seeking glory and praise from the Father while they wanted the praise of man. They did not seek the glory from God nor would they receive the one that the Father sent to them. They were seeking glory from men that should have gone to God. They were giving glory to men that should have gone to God.
Jesus closes out this discussion by saying He was not going to be their accuser before God, but Moses would be.
Jesus wants to be their savoir not their accuser. Jesus wants to be your savior, not your accuser.
I have had people tell me that if Jesus would stand before them and tell them to follow Him they would. Jesus says if we reject the Scriptures, that we would reject Him also. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, Abraham tells the rich man in Luke 16:29 that if people of the day had Moses and the prophets and if they would not listen them, they would not listen to a man who came back from the dead.
Today of you are waiting for God to give you a message in a bottle or if you are waiting for Him to come to your house and ask you to follow Him in person, it will not happen.
One of the reasons studying the scriptures is so important is the scriptures are the place that we get to know the will and mind of God. It is the place we go to so that we can learn more about the God who loves us!
CONCLUSION
I wonder if any of those who heard Jesus that day really gave any thought to what He said?
I wonder how many of us today will go home and consider the claims of Christ?
Too many of us are living like Jesus is just some guy on the street. Jesus is the one and only Son of God. Jesus is the only way to get to God. Jesus is the one we will give an account to when our life is over.
Today I want to challenge those who have not accepted Jesus. Take the time to really study the claims of Christ. For those who have given their lives to Jesus, I challenge you to go out of t his place and live like you believe that Jesus is God!
If you want to make Jesus your Lord and King, we invite you to come forward to surrender your life to Christ!
