...in our Bible, if you will,
tonight to John chapter 5. We're going to continue with
looking at this chapter, which began several weeks ago. But
tonight we've come to verse 31. I would just remind us that the
Lord Jesus Christ healed a man, a man in Jerusalem, who had been
paralyzed for 38 years. and he healed him on a Sabbath
day. And in doing so, he told the
man, take up your bed and walk. And so the Jewish rulers, they
charged that he had broken the Sabbath. Now this time, rather
than show that the law of the Sabbath did not prohibit works
of mercies, that's the way many times the Lord Jesus Christ answered
that charge. But this time he proclaimed his
oneness, his unity with the Father. That he is Lord of the Sabbath
as he is one with the Father in all things. Now remember,
this is Jesus Christ speaking as the God-man, as the mediator. And he proclaims his oneness
with the Father. He is Lord of the Sabbath. He
is the Son of God and one with the Father in essence, in will,
and in purpose. He said, what things, notice
in verse 19, what things Verily, verily, I say unto you,
the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what things He seeth the
Father do, for what things whoever He doeth, these also doeth the
Son likewise. As the God-Man, He says that
what He did, the Father did. What the Father did, He did. We see that unity, that union,
that oneness between Him, because He is God. To him, as a God-man,
we see that all judgment has been committed unto him. And
I believe I pointed out that when we think of that or read
that verse of scripture where he tells us that all judgment
has been committed unto him, we normally and naturally and
most often think of the last judgment, the great white throne
judgment, that he will be the judge of all men. And that's
true. It includes much more when he
declares here that all judgment has been committed unto him.
He is declaring himself to be Lord over all. As man, as the
God-man, as the God-man, he is Lord over all. Yes, Lord of the
Sabbath as well as everything else. He must reign. He is reigning, and he must reign. The Apostle Paul tells us, "...until
all enemies are under his feet." Keep your places here, but look
with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. This is a wonderful chapter
that deals almost exclusively with the resurrection of our
bodies, that is, the resurrection of believers. And Paul brings
forth many arguments showing how the men will be raised, that
the bodies of believers, though their bodies are turned back
to the dust, one day when the Lord descends from heaven, our
bodies shall be raised from the dead, reunited with the souls
which are with God, and we will be with Him them forever. But look here, beginning with
verse 22. He said, For as in Adam all died. Now, every person was in Adam. Every man, woman, boy, and girl
that had ever walked on the face of God's earth was in Adam. That
is, similarly in him. He was the head of mankind, and
he was a representative head as well. And in Adam we die. Remember he brought sin into
the world and death into the world. Paul says, for in Adam,
for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive. Those two words, all important,
are they not? In Christ. Chosen in Christ. Loved in Christ. saved, accepted
in Christ. You see that over and over in
the New Testament. And the question that each one
of us must ask ourselves tonight, am I in Christ? Am I in Christ
or am I just on the edges, you know? Am I in Christ? Do I know Christ? All in Christ,
he says, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." And it is
true that all in Christ are made spiritually alive. We are quickened
by the Spirit of God with the gospel. We are made alive spiritually,
but in this place, Paul is speaking of the resurrection of the body.
And everyone that has died in Christ, their bodies, yes, lie
in the grave, but in Christ. shall all be made alive. But he says, every man in his
own order. Christ first, Christ the firstfruits,
but just as in the Law of Moses, remember the feast, the five
feasts, and one of those feasts was the Feast of Firstfruits.
And that's when the harvest was just beginning to become ripe. And they would be taken and brought
to the tabernacle, and they'd be waved before the Lord as a
wave offering. But it showed that there was
fruit that was still in the field. The harvest was still there.
Firstfruits was waved. Christ was the firstfruits, the
scriptures here tell us. But every man in his own heart
of Christ, the firstfruits. But you see, because He came
out of the grave, the first truth that tells us that many more,
many more are going to come out of the grave. Everybody. Everybody
is going to be raised. Afterward, they that are Christ,
that is coming. Over 2,000 years ago, now Christ
walked out of that grave, didn't He? That's just a very fundamental
truth that The gospel declares unto men. And men, the natural
man, he said, that's not possible. That's not possible that a man
could be dead and live again. I thought about that verse over
in Job. I think that's one of the questions that he asked.
If a man died, and I thought about that word if. If. There's no if about that. It's
appointed unto men once to die. We're going to die. But Job said,
If a man die, shall he live again? Well, what does the Word of God
declare? Those in Christ. When He comes again, afterward
they that are Christ's at His coming. Yes, we shall live. This body shall be raised incorruptible. But now notice, Then cometh the
end. And there's an old message in
that. The end. What that means. Then cometh
the end. when he shall have delivered
up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put
down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign."
Now, he's reigning. As the God-man mediator, he's
reigning today. All power, all authority, he
said, is given unto me, both in heaven and in earth. And he's
reigning over all things for the good of his church. to complete
his purpose of saving each and every one of those who were given
to him and he has redeemed. Then cometh the end when he shall
have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when
he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power,
every harm against him. will be defeated and overcome,
for he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy, the last enemy
that shall be destroyed is death." You remember the first enemy
of man, Adam in the garden? There came Satan, the serpent. The second enemy of man was sin. The third enemy, death. The last
enemy, when Christ comes again and raises His people, He, at
the end, the last enemy shall be destroyed is death, for He
hath put all things under His feet. But when he saith, All
things are put unto him, it is manifest that he is accepted,
that is the Father, God. He is accepted which did put
all things unto him. And when all things shall be
subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject
unto him that put in awe." This passage of scripture
in no way teaches the inferior nature of God the Son. He is
equal with the Father. But as the God-man mediator,
he reigns over the kingdom, his mediatorial kingdom. He reigns. And one day kingdom to the father. I think it was Matthew Poole,
one of the commentators, he likened it to a king who was reigning,
and his son, who would become king at his death, became a co-reigner
with him. They both shared the throne.
And there was a rebellion in their kingdom, and so the father
sends, he designates the son to go and put down the rebellion. And he does so, and when he comes
back, he takes his place at the Father's right hand. He is one
with the Father. More so, the Son of God, the
eternal Son of God, is more so with God the Father. All of these
illustrations we try to come up with, they all break down,
because there's no one like God. He asks them, who are you like
in the middle of the day? We use illustrations and analogies
and things like that, but they all break down sooner or later.
Because, think about it, as God-man, He said, what I do, the Father
does. The same will, same purpose,
same works. He's Lord. He's King. He rules
over all. Now, three things back in our
text here in John chapter 5. The three things that I want
us to think about tonight. First of all, what is meant by
saying his witness would not be true? In verse 31, this is
where we left off last time. The Lord Jesus Christ said, if
I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. What is
meant by the Lord Jesus Christ saying that if he bore witness
of himself, his witness was not true? Well, this must be understood
in the light of what would take place and what was true in a
Jewish court. Now, remember, he's in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is where the Seventy, the Sanhedrin, the rulers of
the nation, that's where they sit. And he is speaking. I don't
know all of them, but these rulers, they're the ones that have brought
this charge against him. And what he is saying is, if
I'm the only one who witnesses, then my witness is not true.
It would not be accepted. Yes, anything he says is true. He is the truth. We know that. But it would not be accepted
in a court of law. Try to illustrate that. In our
land, we have a judicial system, a legal system, and if a man
is charged with a crime and he comes into court and he witnesses
for himself, he takes an oath and he says, I'm innocent. What
does the judge then say? Well, case is closed. We've got his witness. We've
got his testimony. He said he's innocent. No, it's
going to take more than his witness. It's going to take more than
his testimony if there's charges brought against him. Is this
witness true or valid? Man in the court, it may be the
truth. But to be recognized as the truth, to be valid, it's
going to be, it will need to be substantiated by other witnesses. The statements which he made
concerning himself in verses 19 through 30, they were true. He is the truth. But in a court
of law like the Jewish Sanhedrin, his witness would not be accepted
as true, as valid, just because he gave it. And he said that. If I'm the only one who bear
witness of myself, it's not true. Now later in John chapter 8 and
verse 14, he said, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record
is true. The Lord Jesus could speak nothing
but the truth. But he recognized that in their
court, in their judicial system, his testimony concerning himself
would not be need for other witnesses. And so the first witness we have,
that's the next thing I want us to see, is the witness of
John the Baptist, beginning with verse 33. You sent unto John,
and he bare witness unto the truth, But I received not testimony
from man, but these things I say that you might be saved. He was
a burning and a shining light, and you were willing for a season
to rejoice in his light. You sent to John," now this tells
us something about who he is speaking to. These are for officials. You sent to John. We have that
recorded back in John chapter 1. If you want to turn back here,
John chapter 1, beginning with verse 19, And
this is a record of John, when the Jews, there it is, when the
Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who
are you? Who art thou? And he confessed
and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they
asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith,
I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he
answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who
art thou? that we may give an answer to
them that sin us. What sayest thou thyself? He
said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight
the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. And they
which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said
unto him, Why baptizest thou them, if thou be not that Christ,
or Elijah? Neither that prophet. John answered
them, saying, I baptize with water, But there standeth one
among you." Now, he, what did our Lord say? You sent to John
and he will witness to me. John said, why are you baptized?
Who gave you this right? Well, John said, I baptize you
with water, but listen, there's someone standing among you whom
you don't know. He it is who coming after me
is preferred before me. Now, what did he testify, first
of all? He testified, first of all, to
his eternity. His eternity. He is before me. He it is that is coming after
me. As far as his birth, he was born six months after John the
Baptist. So, in that sense, he came before. or came after John, but he is
preferred before me. His eternity, he testified, he
bore witness, first of all, to his eternity. Only God is eternal. And the
second, he bore witness to his dignity, whose shoe-latching
I am not worthy to unloose. But notice down in verse 29,
He bore witness to His office as the Mediator. Behold the Lamb
of God which taketh away the sins of the world, by pointing
Him out as God's Lamb. And all of the scriptures, the
Old Testament scriptures had spoken of a Lamb. many types in the Old Testament
pictured him as the Lamb, and God now points him out as THE
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. He testified
to his being the Mediator, the Mediator who is the Lamb of God,
who is Prophet, and particularly Priest, taking away the sins
of the world, and also King. And our Lord said, now, John
was a burning and a shining light. And for a while, now back here,
John chapter 5, for a while, he says, you rejoiced. You rejoiced in his life. When
he first showed up preaching, he was an austere man. He preached
repentance. He declared, repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand. read in one passage of Scripture
that all the people hailed John to be a prophet. And at first,
these rulers, they rejoiced. They rejoiced to think that God
had raised up one of their nations to be a mighty prophet as John
the Baptist was. They rejoiced through that. Then when he pointed out the
Lord Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, as the Messiah who was
promised, he was not the Messiah that they were looking for. His
kingdom was not the kingdom that they expected to come. They expected a kingdom of this
world in which, because of their religiosity, they would have
some high places, places of dignity and places of prominence. And they expected this only because
they were children of Abraham. They were physical descendants
from Abraham, and they thought that entitled them to the kingdom
of God, to the highest places in the kingdom of God. Gentiles,
maybe they need some extra work. Maybe they need something else,
but no, no, not us. We're children of Abraham. You remember, some went out to
be baptized with John one day. And John said, who warned you
to flee from the wrath to come, you generation of vipers? He
wouldn't baptize them, would he? He said, you need to bring
forth fruits, meat for repentance in order to be baptized. Now,
repentance, we know, means a change of mind. All men must repent
or perish. Our mind has to be changed because
by nature almost everything, if not everything, we think about
God by nature is wrong. It's just wrong, that's all you
can say. We think God is like we are.
That's just as common to mankind as can be. We all think that
God is like we are. But He's not, and He declares
Himself not to be. We've got to repent. We've got
to change our mind about God. It's God with whom we have to
do. Who is He? He's not some wannabe
God. He's God Almighty. He's God who
has spoke to worlds into existence, who's created all things by the
Word of His power, who upholds all things by the Word of His
power. He doesn't need us. He doesn't need His creatures
in any way. We've got to repent. We've got
to change our mind about ourselves. We're not the good persons that
we imagine that we are. You ever read that list of Romans
chapter 3? There's none good. That's talking
about me. That's talking about you. That's what God says. There's
none good. No, not one. We've got to change our mind.
We've got to repent. We need a Savior. We can't save
ourselves. repent. The Lord Jesus Christ
said, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish. John the Baptist did testify
of Christ, and the Lord speaks of him for their sakes. Verse
34, he said, But I received not testimony from man, but these
things I say, that you might be saved. You rejoiced in John's
testimony and his witness for a while, but notice our Lord
says, I have a greater witness. If I witness of myself, my witness
would not be accepted in the court of law. John witnessed
of me, but I want you to know I have a greater witness than
John. Notice that in verse 36a. But I have greater witness than
that of John. And that brings me to my last
point. Who is the greater witness? Who
is the greater witness? Well, the greater witness, greater
than any man, even a man like John the Baptist, is God Almighty,
the Father which sent the Lord Jesus to be the Savior And the Lord tells us that the
Father's witness is threefold. It's threefold. Number one, the
works. The works, verse 36. But I have
greater witness than that of John for the works which the
Father has sent me to finish. The same works that I do, they
bear witness of me that the Father hath sent me. Now, most of the
commentators, the writers, they agree that by works it means
miracles. I think it would include all
of his works, of course, but miracles especially, the works
that I do. They testify of me. And when
I think about his miracles, I thought, well, where do we begin? Where
do we begin to mention? Oh, that's a great miracle, isn't
it? A man born blind. That man who
experienced that, he said, it's never been heard of since the
foundation of the world that someone born blind has given
sight. He unshoved the ears of the deaf. He cleansed lepers with a touch. I think about that song, Shocked
by a Heavy Burden. He touched me. He had a heavy burden, didn't
he? Shut out from his family, from society, unclean. Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean. I will. And he touched me. He cleansed lepers. Some could not speak. They had
impediment of speech. He unloosed the tongue. And here
were some who had never spoken before. And immediately they
spoke plain. He cast out demons. He fed thousands,
thousands. fish and just began to break
and give out and multiply and create and create. The works,
they testify of me. And then he raised the dead.
What a miracle. Miracle, when he raised the daughter
of Jairus, she'd just been dead just a few, maybe hours at the
most. And then the son of that widow
woman, a little bit longer. But here's Lazarus, four days. His sister said, don't, don't
throw that stone away. By this time, his body has already
begun to decompose. The stench would be awful. The works which my Father gave
me to do, gave me to finish. The same works that I do bear
witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. Remember even Nicodemus,
when he first came to our Lord, he said, Lord, no man can do
these works which thou doest, except God be with him. Number
two, the voice. Notice in verse 37, my father
and the father himself which hath sent me hath borne witness
of me. You have neither heard his voice
at any time nor seen his shape. At his baptism, you remember,
the father spoke from heaven declaring, this is my beloved
son. Doesn't that thrill you? "...in
whom I am well pleased in Christ." The same is true of you, in whom
I am well pleased. Greater Witness and John, the
works, the voice from heaven, and Peter, James, and John, they
heard that voice a second time, didn't they? When they were with
the Lord, Peter says, on the Holy Mount, when he was transfigured. This is my beloved son, here
he is. And then the last thing, the
threefold witness, the Scriptures. The Word. Notice what he says
in verse 39. Search the Scriptures. Now, some
say that could be set as a declarative statement
or interrogative statement. Do you search the Scriptures,
talking to them? That's all they did. That was
their job. Do you search the Scriptures?
There they will testify of me. And you will not come to me,
that you might have life. Search the Scriptures. Surely
if it were not for your prejudice and your blindness, you would
see that the Scriptures testify of me, of Christ, that I am the
Christ. You remember Peter in the house
of Carnelius, he said this, To Him, that is to Christ, to Him
give all the prophets witness that through His name, whosoever
believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins. How many prophecies,
when you look in the Old Testament, how many prophecies, how many
types, how many pictures, And they all testified of Christ. They all spoke of Him. And they
were familiar with the Scripture. Remember when those wise men
came seeking Him that was born, He that was born King of the
Jews. They looked up and they found out He's going to be born
in Bethlehem. But not any of them took the
time. after he began preaching, to
find out where he was born. They just assumed he was born
in Nazareth. But we know that wasn't true. You will not come to me that
you might have liked. To come to Christ is to believe
in Christ, to trust in Him. May God give all of us grace
to come to Christ, to trust in Him. For in Him is eternal life. Let's sing a couple of verses
of a hymn.