{"id":30686,"date":"2024-04-19T22:00:57","date_gmt":"2024-04-20T05:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-5_19-30-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-03-26T23:08:56","modified_gmt":"2024-03-27T06:08:56","slug":"john-5_31-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/john-5_31-40\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus and The Father"},"content":{"rendered":"

John 5:31-40\u00a0 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is John 5:31-40.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

John 5:31-34 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid.
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth.
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 31-34:\u00a0 To help show the credibility of Jesus\u2019 claim that he is the Son of God, Jesus references the court system that his listeners would be very familiar with.\u00a0 According to the Jewish law, any claim that a person made in court needed to be established by two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15; Matthew 18:16).\u00a0 That is why Jesus says in verse 31, \u201cIf I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whereas the Jewish law required two or three witnesses, in John 5:31-40 Jesus will cite four witnesses who testify about him.\u00a0 Jesus does this not because he personally feels any need for a human witness (\u201cNot that I accept human testimony\u201d \u2013 v34a) but so that people with questions about Jesus can be assured about Jesus\u2019 credibility (\u201cbut I mention it that you may be saved\u201d \u2013 v34b).<\/p>\n

The first witness Jesus calls is John the Baptist (v32-33).\u00a0 John the Baptist was one of Israel\u2019s most respected leaders and thus his testimony about Jesus gave weight to Jesus\u2019 claims.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Like John the Baptist, when you live a life that others can admire and respect, your good reputation lends credibility to your words.<\/strong>\u00a0 People will be more open to what you have to say.\u00a0 Conversely, if you have a bad reputation, people will have trouble believing you, even if you are right.<\/p>\n

John 5:35-36 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n35\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
\n36\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 35-36:\u00a0 A second \u201cwitness\u201d that Jesus cites to back up his claim that he is the Son of God is the miraculous works Jesus was doing.\u00a0 The body of miracles that Jesus was performing \u2013 \u201cthe very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing\u201d \u2013 \u201ctestifies that the Father has sent\u201d (v36) Jesus.
\nWhat can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Jesus\u2019 own actions supported his claims as the Son of God.\u00a0 Similarly, may your actions \u2013 not just your words \u2013 speak to others about who Jesus is.<\/strong><\/p>\n

John 5:37-38 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n37\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
\n38\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 37-38:\u00a0 A third witness Jesus cites to back up his claims as the Son of God is God the Father.\u00a0 In verse 37 Jesus says, \u201cthe Father who has sent me has himself testified concerning me\u201d (v37).
\nHowever, Jesus acknowledges that the people\u2019s ability to hear the Father\u2019s testimony about Jesus is blocked by their unbelief.\u00a0\u00a0 As verses 37-38 say, \u201cYou have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you,\u00a0for you do not believe the one he sent<\/u>\u201d.\u00a0 This suggests to me that\u00a0if you want to see God and hear God\u2019s voice, it begins with believing in Jesus, the One God sent.<\/strong><\/p>\n

John 5:39-40 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n39\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me,
\n40\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0yet you refuse to come to me to have life.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 39-40:\u00a0 Jesus cites a fourth witness that testifies about Jesus being the Son of God.\u00a0 That fourth witness is the Scriptures.\u00a0 Jesus says that the Scriptures \u201ctestify about me\u201d (v39).\u00a0 One of the big themes in John is that the Old Testament points to Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. These verses also show us that studying the Bible by itself does not give you eternal life.\u00a0 As Jesus says in verse 39, \u201cyou diligently study the Scriptures because you think by them you possess eternal life\u201d.\u00a0 However, many of Jesus\u2019 hearers had missed the point of the Scriptures.\u00a0 For as important as studying and memorizing Scripture is, eternal life does not come just from studying and memorizing the Scriptures.\u00a0 The ultimate purpose of the Scriptures is to point us to Jesus.\u00a0 For where Jesus is there is life.\u00a0 So Jesus points to the sad and ironic reality that many of his hearers would study and memorize the Scriptures, and \u201cyet you refuse to come to me to have life\u201d \u2013 v40.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t forget the reason why God gave us the Scriptures.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0As important as studying the Scriptures is, life does not come just from studying and memorizing the Scriptures.\u00a0 Life comes from believing the one whom the Scriptures are pointing to: Jesus the Son of God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, thank You that John the Baptist, your powerful works, God the Father, and the Scriptures all testify about who You are: the Son of God.\u00a0 May I join this quartet of witnesses and be a witness who, through my actions and words, testifies to others of who you are and the difference you make.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is John 5:31-40.\u00a0 I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

John 5:31-34 (NIV)
\n31\u00a0\u00a0“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.
\n32\u00a0\u00a0There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid.
\n33\u00a0\u00a0“You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth.
\n34\u00a0\u00a0Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved.<\/p>\n

On verses 31-34:\u00a0 To help show the credibility of Jesus\u2019 claim that he is the Son of God, Jesus references the court system that his listeners would be very familiar with.\u00a0 According to the Jewish law, any claim that a person made in court needed to be established by two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15; Matthew 18:16).\u00a0 That is why Jesus says in verse 31, \u201cIf I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30686"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30689,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30686\/revisions\/30689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}