WTTW HIS WORD "TESTIMONY"

TEXT: JOHN 5:31-47  SERMON: “Testimony”

In today's passage, John told his first century readers that the Jews failed to believe Jesus was God's Son sent to save them despite the testimonies of:

1. John the Baptist (Mal 4:5; Isa 40:3)

2. His Works (Isa 53:11; Jn 3:17)

3. God - The Scriptures (Deuteronomy 4:12; Isaiah 26:10)

4. Moses – The Pentateuch (Gen 3:15, 49:10; Ex 12:21; Lev 16:5; Nu 24:17; Dt 18:15)

The first thing John told his first century readers is that the Jews failed to believe Jesus was God's Son sent to save them despite the testimony of:

1. John the Baptist (Mal 4:5; Isa 40:3) vv 31-35
 

Explanation:

³¹ “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. ³² There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

³³ “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. ³⁴ Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. ³⁵ John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

witness or testimony used 33 times in the Gospels

used to describe the attestations to Jesus' character and power

v 31 Jesus' testimony about himself not acceptable without support from God - "Revelation"

John 8:14 ¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. BASED ON PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE  NOT LEGAL GROUNDS

His own testimony - "not valid" - Jewish law self-testimony not accepted in court

v 32 "another" The Father's testimony vs John the Baptists

the latter more likely because v 33 elaborates v 32

v 33 "You have sent to John"

- the delegation from the Jewish Leaders who went to John the Baptist

John 1:7 ⁷ He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.       

        "He has testified"

John's testimony was important and had they believed him they would have been saved.

Jesus' main point: they couldn't have consistently accepted John's preaching and rejected him.

v 34 Not that I accept human testimony

1 John 5:9 ⁹ We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.

John's testimony was not as important as that of the Father

Acts 16:30-31 ³⁰ He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

Ephesians 2:8 ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

v 35 "John was"

past tense used - John dead or imprisoned, his work done

        "burned and gave light"

his light cost him

Daniel 12:3 ³ Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

        "for a time"

the Jewish leaders never understood John's message

their responses were at best tentative and superficial

2 Peter 1:19 ¹⁹ We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Illustration:

Drug company makes a claim about its product (JESUS ABOUT HIMSELF)

For Example: Drug Company's Self-Endorsement/Advertising of Tagamet                                                                                                              

(ANALOGY TO JESUS SELF-TESTIMONY) www

"Now it's possible to control your heartburn. And enjoy the special moments that happen every day.

Many heartburn sufferers feel like heartburn controls their life. Not true with Tagamet HB 200^®. Tagamet^® lets you enjoy life and eat what you want. Take a few minutes and see how Tagamet^® can help you enjoy every day by preventing and relieving heartburn symptoms and acid indigestion or sour stomach, you can take Tagamet^® before eating."

About Advantage Brands  Endorsement of Tagamet                                    

(ANALOGT TO JOHN THE BAPTIST TESTIMONY) www

The Advantage Brands are a collection of products that consumers have trusted for decades. They're tied together by one common denominator: they all make a healthy impact on the people who depend on them. Taken daily or on an as-needed basis, these brands are designed to help consumers deal with the physical realities of everyday life. We proudly help people lead better, healthier lives. That's why Advantage Brands are... The essentials for living well.

Application:

This morning, John is telling us that there are those today who fail to believe Jesus is the Son of God sent to save them despite the testimony of John the Baptist who Malachi prophesied would come and prepare the way for him by testifying to who he was.

John is telling us that there are those who fail to believe Jesus is their Savior despite His Gospel recording what John said about Jesus and how his saying this fulfilled Malachi's 400 year old prophecy.

John is telling us that the result of those who fail to believe Jesus is their Savior is that they remain unsaved.

John the Baptist's testimony was human although its fulfillment of 400 year old prophecy is supernatural.

Despite this, there were those 2000 years ago, and since then, and today who reject his testimony and thus reject Jesus as their Savior.

It raises two questions:

The first is do we accept John the Baptist's testimony concerning who Jesus is - that he is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world?

The second is if we do, like John the Baptist, do we testify as to who Jesus is to those who have yet to call him their Savior?

If we accept John's testimony concerning Jesus don't we have a duty to also testify, to let our light shine, to let others know what accepting John's testimony has meant to our lives?

If we accepted the Advantage Brands' testimony about Tagamet and that this changed our life by healing our acid reflux would we stay silent about what we knew if those around us were suffering the effects of acid reflux?

What about those who are suffering from the effects of their sin?

Are we willing to give testimony to them as to what has healed our iniquity, our guilt, our sin?

  

Transition:

John told his first century readers that the Jews failed to believe Jesus was the God's Son sent to save them despite another testimony, the testimony of:

2. His Works (Isa 53:11; Jn 3:17) v 36

Explanation:

³⁶ “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.

v 36 "work"

Jesus miracles testified to who he was and to his divine mission

deeds revealing his divine nature:

-his moral standards; -skill; -personal competence; -superhuman in compassion and power

Jesus regarded his miracles as valid proof of his claims

John's Gospel lists seven of these works:

1. turning of water into wine (2:1-11)

2. healing the official's son (4:43-54)

3. healing of a paralytic (5:1-15)

4. feeding of the multitude (6:1-14)

5. walking on the water (6:16-21)

6. cure of the blind man (9:1-41)

7. raising of Lazarus (11:1-44)

signs = because they point to something beyond themselves & often followed by a confession of belief on the part of many spectators

John 10:25 ²⁵ Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me,

John 14:11 ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.

John 15:24 ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.

John 3:17 ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

1 John 5:9 ⁹ We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.

Illustration:  Discovery: How Tagamet Works

Question: How does Tagamet HB 200® achieve such long-lasting relief?                    ANALOGY TO JESUS' WORKS www

Answer: Tagamet HB 200® is the result of a revolutionary discovery that earned British scientist Sir James Black a joint Nobel Prize. In the late 1970s, Black studied a hormone called histamine and its role in acid production in the stomach. Histamine attaches to specific cells in the lining of the stomach, stimulating them to produce stomach acid. Black discovered a chemical that "blocks" histamine from attaching to these stomach cells. This reduces the production of stomach acid for eight hours or longer. In 1995, the Food and Drug Administration approved H2 blockers for over-the-counter heartburn medication, and Tagamet HB 200® was introduced. By keeping stomach acid production low, Tagamet HB 200® prevents heartburn from returning.

Application:

John is telling us here that Jesus' miracles clearly indicated who he was.

In John 20:31, He tells us that he recorded the miracles of Jesus so that by believing we may live.

But there are still some today that don't believe in miracles.

Thomas Jefferson didn't. He took all the miracles out of his Bible.

And there are those today that believe there is nothing outside of the natural, that the supernatural doesn't exist.

There are those today who despite the miracles built into our bodies, e.g. our retina, and into the universe, e.g. the depths of space, the galaxies, the stars, and in nature, e.g. the precision of our distance from the sun, the tilt of our axis, - even the miracles of Modern Medicine and the miracle of life itself - disbelieve God exists.

Contrast Jesus claims with those of British Scientist Sir James Black who showed that histamines stimulate cells in the stomach to produce acid and H2 antagonists like Tagamet block the production of stomach acid and thus prevent heartburn. He was believed so much he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his work.

What do we think of Jesus' miracles?

There are 6 recorded in John culminating in his raising Lazarus from the dead.

Do his miracles tell us who he is and do they motivate us to tell others about him?

Do Jesus' miracles tell us he has power and control over his creation?

Do Jesus' miracle tell us he has power and control over life itself?

Transition:

John told his first century readers that the Jews failed to believe Jesus was God's Son sent to save them despite a third testimony, the testimony of:

3. God's Word - The Scriptures (Deuteronomy 4:12; Isaiah 26:10)  vv 37-44

Explanation:

³⁷ And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, ³⁸ nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. ³⁹ You study^[a] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

⁴¹ “I do not accept glory from human beings, ⁴² but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. ⁴³ I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God^[b]?

v 37 "the Father... has himself testified.. You have never hear his voice"

Even though God's voice is recorded as being there in the Scriptures

Deuteronomy 4:12 ¹² Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice.

His voice of approval at Jesus' baptism

Matthew 3:17 ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am

well pleased.”

God's audible voice- Others: Matthew 17:5 (Transfiguration), Mark 1:11 (Baptism), 9:7 (Transfiguration); Luke 3:22 (Baptism), 9:35 (Transfiguration); John 12:28 (Jerusalem)

Voice from heaven should have had an effect on the Jews but it didn't!

John 8:18 ¹⁸ I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

      "nor seen his form"

John 1:18 ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and^[a] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

1 Timothy 1:17 ¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

lack of spiritual perception of who Jesus really is

v 38 "you do not believe"

Their failure to believe Jesus shows that the Jews didn't realize what God was saying

1 John 1:10 ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

1 John 2:14 ¹⁴ I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.

John 3:17 ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Isaiah 26:10 ¹⁰ But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the LORD.

v 39 "You diligently study"

After destruction of Solomon's Temple in 586BC - scholars of the exile substituted study of Scripture for observance of temple ritual and sacrifice

The leaders studied the minute details of Scripture

believed the study of Scripture itself would bring them life!

missed the forest through the trees - missed God's Revelation in the minute detail they studied

Despite their reverence of Scripture they didn't recognize Scripture bears supreme testimony to who Jesus is

Romans 2:17-18  ¹⁷ Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; ¹⁸ if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;

Matthew 25:46 ⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Luke 24:27, 44  ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself... ⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Acts 13:27  ²⁷ The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.

v 40 "yet you refuse to come to me to have life"

John 6:44 ⁴⁴ “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.

v 41 "praise from men"

He didn't accept human praise or human testimony

John 5:44 ⁴⁴ How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

v 42 "love of God"

theirs for him vs His for them (probably the latter)

people's love for God is in response to His for them

1 John 4:19 ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.

they couldn't interpret and apply the Scriptures - in being unable to give praise to Jesus they gave indication of their inability to make the connection between the Scriptures and the Savior

v 43-44 The Jews attention was fixed on the praise of people and was self-seeking-indicating they did not accept Jesus as coming from God and therefore they did not get the praise that comes from God

v 44

Romans 2:29 ²⁹ No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.

they accepted the credentials of others acting on their own authority

they were interested in establishing their reputations for scholarship in the Scriptures more than in obeying God's Revelation and obtaining his approval

Illustration:  The Creator of Tagamet & The Objective Literature on Tagamet

Scientific Support for Tagamet   (analogy to God) www

The discovery of the compound cimetidine by researchers at the UK laboratories of Smith Kline & French* in the 1970s, transformed the lives of millions of people. Sold under the trademark Tagamet®, it was the first effective anti-ulcer drug and had a revolutionary impact on treatment. Tagamet® profoundly decreases acid secretion, thus promoting healing and avoiding the need for surgery.

A new era of logical drug design  (anaology to Scripture)

The research program leading to cimetidine also represented a revolution in the way pharmaceuticals are developed. Traditionally, the development of a new drug would often depend on the fortuitous discovery of a plant or microbial extract that showed some of the required biological activity. Using that first extract as a lead, many similar compounds would be made and tested for pharmacological effectiveness. In many cases, the researchers did not know how the drug worked, so finding an optimal compound was difficult.

The development of cimetidine was radically different: it was one of the first drugs to be designed logically from first principles. SK&F's multidisciplinary research team first looked at the physiological cause of acid secretion. They confirmed that a molecule found in the body called histamine triggers the release of acid when it binds to a specific receptor (now called the H2-receptor) in the stomach lining. Their aim was to find a molecule that successfully competed with histamine in combining with the receptor, but then blocked, rather than stimulated, acid release. Such a molecule was called a histamine H2-receptor antagonist and represented a new class of drugs.

Chemists Graham Durant, Robin Ganellin, and John Emmett joined Black on the project together with Mike Parsons, a pharmacologist. Their aim was to make chemical variants of histamine and test them for antagonism using a combination of in vitro and in vivo assays.

The new lead compound, cimetidine, passed every test with flying colors and in November 1976 was launched as Tagamet® (derived from the anTAGonist and ciMETidine). Tagamet® was greeted with great enthusiasm by doctors and patients alike. Ten years after its introduction, it had achieved sales of one billion dollars and had become the world's number one prescription drug.

Application:

John talks to us today about the voice of God.

He tells us in John about God speaking of His Son's glory and in Matthew, Mark and Luke He spoke about being pleased with his Son at his baptism and about how his Son should be listened to at his transfiguration.

John also reminds us how God speaks about Jesus throughout his Written Word - something we'll talk more about in a few minutes.

He tells us that God has spoken both audibly and through the writers of the books of the Bible (in this case the OT) about his Son and who he is.

Do we believe God has spoken?

Do we believe what He says about His Son?

That He is His son, that He is pleased with him, that we should listen to him, to what he says, that he was glorified.

These are pretty strong endorsements.

The creator of all, the author of life declares that Jesus is His Son.

Pretty strong evidence about who he is.

Does this impact us?

Does it impact our belief?

Does it impact our life?

Does it impact our testimony to others?

Can we, are we willing to point others to what God says about His Son? 

If we are willing to take a medication based on the testimony of scientific studies that have been peer reviewed and published in reputable medical journals,

Are we willing to accept God's Son based on what is published in His Holy Scriptures?

And are we willing to testify to others about what is in His published Word?

Transition:

John told his first century readers that the Jews failed to believe Jesus was God's Son sent to save them despite a final testimony, that of:

4. Moses – The Pentateuch (Gen 3:15, 49:10; Ex 12:21; Lev 16:5; Nu 24:17; Dt 18:15) vv 45-47

Explanation:

⁴⁵ “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. ⁴⁶ If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. ⁴⁷ But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

v 45 "Your accuser is Moses"

Moses was the Law Giver and was the pride of the Jews

they wouldn't knowingly do anything contrary to the teachings of Moses!

their hope of favor and blessing with God came through their relationship with Moses

it is paradoxical they would be accused by the one they took pride in!

Law of Moses condemned them

their failure to believe in him was a rejection of Moses who prefigured Jesus

John 9:28 ²⁸ Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!

Romans 2:17 ¹⁷ Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;

v 46 "he wrote about me"

All NT writers stressed or assumed that read rightly the OT points to Christ

Luke 24:25-27, 44  ²⁵ He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself... ⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Jesus applied this truth to the writings of Moses:

1. Genesis 49:10 ¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,^[a]
until he to whom it belongs^[b] shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.

Messianic - initially fulfilled in David and then in Christ

2. Exodus 12:21 ²¹ Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.

Jesus is our Passover Lamb sacrificed once for all (1 Corinthians 5:7, Hebrews 7:27)

3. Leviticus 16:5 ⁵ From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

One was the sin offering and one was the scapegoat.

Sin offering - blood sprinkled in the Most Holy Place and its body burned outside camp symbolizing the payment of Christ's atonement

Scapegoat - sent away alive and bearing the sins of the nation symbolized the removal of sin and guilt

No single offering can signify the atonement of Christ

4. Numbers 24:17  ¹⁷ “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob;
a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the people of Sheth.

Messianic - fulfilled initially in David but ultimately in Christ

Israel's future Deliverer will be like a star and scepter in his royalty and will bring victory!

5. Deuteronomy 18:15  ¹⁵ The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.

collective reference to the prophets who will follow

Messianic expectation uniquely fulfilled in Jesus!

v 47  

Luke 16:29, 31  ²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’... ³¹ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

John 6:2 ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick.

John 2:11 ¹¹ What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Illustration:  Dogma blinds: Writing about future discoveries

10/3/2005  (analogy to MOSES) www

Two Australian physicians have won the 2005 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for showing - at least partly by accident -- that many ulcers are the result of a bacterial infection.

The finding by Barry Marshall, M.B., and Robin Warren, M.B., transformed the treatment of peptic ulcers, and has led to an increased understanding of the role that infection plays in several diseases.

But the prevailing wisdom of the times was that ulcers were caused by stress and lifestyle, and his findings were dismissed, even ridiculed.

The medical establishment said that bacteria couldn't survive -- let alone cause disease -- in the acidic environment of the stomach, so the next step should have been to test the hypothesis in animals.

Currently, said Dr. Normark, the medical establishment recognizes that between 80% and 90% of all peptic ulcers are due to infection by H. pylori -- an understanding that has revolutionized the treatment of the condition.

As a result of their work, treatment of gastric ulcers now includes routine testing for H. pylori followed by one of the following FDA-approved triple therapy regimens:

"Any new discovery in science is going to be controversial and initially most people won't believe it because you are going to be knocking over some kind of dogma," Dr. Marshall told reporters in Australia after the announcement.

"We were surprised that it took so long to be accepted but really for the last few years we've become vindicated," he said. "It has become mainstream treatment in Australia and in most countries."

Application:

Who is our Moses today? What is our dogma today?

Who do we look to to tell us about God and how He saves?

Who do we rely on?

Who is our prophet?

Who is our authority?

What is our dogma?

What we learn from John is that our authority must always be God and what He says through Scripture - not some person, not some dogma.

What we learn from John is that we can never allow a mere human to become our authority with respect to who Jesus is and we can't allow our dogmas to become all things.

Even our religious teachers, our pastors, your pastor as a person can't be relied on as your authority - and the words we speak can't become mere dogma.

Your authority is God and His Word and it must remain real, true and alive in our hearts.

Human's are to relay what God says, to relay what God's Word is, to be the spokes person for God, not the one who determines what God says about His Son but the one who interprets what God says about His Son.

And likewise, you too are not your own authority.

You also do not determine what God says about His Son, but instead are to interpret what He says about Him.

If you or I try to be the authority, the one who determines what God is saying, then we will miss what God is saying like the Jews of Jesus day.

We will idolize man rather than worship God and in the process of doing so we will be accused by the Truth about God's Son we end up distorting.

The Jews of Jesus' day were dogmatic about Moses.

The medical establishment was once dogmatic about ulcers.

It was difficult for the Jews to accept Jesus as something new - as the new wine.

It was difficult for the medical establishment to accept the cause of ulcers was something new - an infection, a bacteria.

But the truth can't be denied in either situation - the dogmas of each day cannot rule in the face of reality, in the face of the truth.

Transition:

In today's passage, John told his first century readers that the Jews failed to believe Jesus was God's Son sent to save them despite the testimonies of:  

1. John the Baptist (Mal 4:5; Isa 40:3)

2. His Works (Isa 53:11; Jn 3:17)

3. God - His Word (Deuteronomy 4:12; Isaiah 26:10)

4. Moses – The Pentateuch (Gen 3:15, 49:10; Ex 12:21; Lev 16:5; Nu 24:17; Dt 18:15)

Conclusion:

In today's passage, John tells us that some fail to believe Jesus was God's Son sent to save them despite the testimonies of:  

1. Today's Prophets - preparing his way, rather than sitting in silence hiding their light

2. His Miracles - proving who he is, rather than ignoring the miracles of today

3. God's Word - endorsing who he is, rather than ignoring His voice and His Word

4. Today's Preachers - explaining who he is, rather than perpetuating our dogmas

In the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Amen.