July 21, 2024
Morning Service

Last week we saw Jesus have a confrontation with the Jewish religious leaders as they were angry with Him, not for performing a miracle of healing a lame man, but for doing it on the Sabbath.  The leaders were so furious with Him, as He proclaimed His equality with God (being His Father) that they wanted to kill Him.  Jesus tried to explain to them His true agenda in coming was not to defeat the Romans, but to defeat our biggest enemies of sin and death.  His work upon the cross defeated them once and for all and we can only be saved through Him by believing that gospel message.  This morning Jesus, knowing His audience, begins to use a legal tone to His defense.  These leaders all knew the Law of Moses and that any truth must be established by two or three witnesses.  Jesus knows that His words alone will not prove who His is to them, so He calls four witnesses to His defense.  His first witness is John the Baptist.

Joh 5:31-35 "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.

            These leaders knew John firsthand and had all been stirred when he came out of the wilderness speaking boldly that the coming of the Messiah was drawing very near.  John was not pointing men to himself as the One, but stated He was coming soon and eventually identified Jesus as the One.

 

Joh 1:26-30 John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  (27)  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  (28)  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.  (29)  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  (30)  This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'

            Notice that John was also given the revelation of Jesus’ agenda as he proclaims that Jesus would “take away the sins of the world.”  John was the one chosen to fulfill the scripture, that these leaders all knew, of being the “voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.” (Is. 40:3) Jesus call His second witness and it is the works that they all see Him doing; including healing the lame man that very day.

 

Joh 5:36 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.

            Jesus proclaims that the miracles that He is preforming before their eyes (given to Him by His Father) are a greater witness than John’s words.  In determining if someone is telling you the truth about themselves, the greatest witness is not what they say, but what they do.  For example, what is more meaningful, the words “I love you” or the actions that prove it?  It actually is the actions that give the power to the words.  In doing these unseen before miracles of giving sight to the blind, healing the lame to walk, removing demons, curing leprosy instantly, and even the dead to rise, Jesus’ works prove that His words must also be true.  No one could do all these things without God’s presence.  This is also very true with each of us.  We can confess that we are following Jesus, but it is our works, our changed life that proves it to others.  Words without actions are empty, but a changed life creates a powerful platform for us to witness from.  Jesus calls His third witness and does not even have to swear Him in as He cannot lie; His Father.

 

Joh 5:37-38 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.

            The voice of God actually was heard twice testifying of who Jesus was, but was not heard by these men.  At His baptism, and at the Mount where Jesus was transfigured, God spoke from the heavens proclaiming; “This is My Son in whom I am well pleased, hear Him!”  They all however had studied the scriptures intensely in which God the Father revealed to them that Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies of the Messiah.  These words of the Father did not “abide in them” and that hindered them to believe.  Many study scripture searching for answers that fit their agenda rather than searching with an open mind and heart for God to be revealed to them through His Words.  We have been blessed with the Holy Spirit to guide us down that path today as we read and study His Word.  God has chosen to speak to us through His Words recorded here in our Holy Bible.  If we humbly ask the Spirit to guide our study, He will reveal to us the true meaning and depth of these Words.  Jesus now calls the Old Testament scriptures and Moses as His final witness to prove He is speaking the truth.

 

Joh 5:39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.

            The exact number of prophecies Jesus fulfilled from the Old Testament are hard to determine but it is at least 300 and could be as many as 570.  To put this into perspective let’s look at the statistical odds for Jesus to have fulfilled only 8 of these prophecies. The odds are 1 in 10 followed by 27 zeros!  A visual of that is given if we took silver dollars and stacked them 2 feet tall over the entire state of Texas and marked a single one; the chances of grabbing that single coin is the same as Jesus fulfilling only 8 of the 300 plus prophecies! If you ever wanted to bet your life on something knowing the odds were in your favor, it is that Jesus is indeed the Christ the Son of the Living God.  Prophecies written hundreds of years before Jesus was born were all fulfilled through His life.  That He was born in Bethlehem, born of a virgin, was Abraham’s descendant, was David’s descendent, entered Jerusalem on a donkey, stayed silent at His trial, was crucified, and was resurrected are all fulfilled prophecies that prove without a doubt of His true identity as the Messiah!  The evidence is there now for us to see, and it was there then for these religious leaders to see.  Jesus now shows them why they are failing to recognize Him even with the help of these 4 strong witnesses.

 

Joh 5:40-47 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?"

            The real reason these leaders did not believe in Jesus, was not the lack of proof our even their understanding of it.  It was there lack of faith.  They chose to ignore these 4 witnesses and chose instead to follow their own will in how they wanted things to go.  They were religious in their actions and appearance, but their heart was seeking the approval of man rather than diligently seeking God.  A man who chooses his own will over God’s is very shortsighted and selfish.  He loves his sinful life more than he desires to truly see who God is. He misses the big picture.  It is one of the curses we live with here in this United States.  Life can be very good and enjoyable, so much so that we begin to seek the worldly pleasures over what God offers to us. Our thoughts, time and energy are all spent trying to achieve true happiness here in this life and God is pushed to the back seat.  It is a trap that never ends well even if we achieve all of our financial and career goals and do it “my way” without God there is still an empty hole there that only God can fill. True happiness cannot be achieved without God.  I have found it to be true than when I put God first, I am able to enjoy the things of this world at a whole new level.  He has come to give us life more abundantly! (Jn. 10:10) 

            What can we grab onto with this today?  The proof that Jesus is who He says He is overwhelming.  We must ask ourselves are we like these religious leaders and just going through the motions of following Jesus?  Or are we truly seeking God and His will for our life? This scripture from Hebrews is the one God spoke to me through confronting me with whether I was sincerely seeking or just playing religious.  

 

Heb. 11:6But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

          To please God, we must have faith which means we “must believe that He is.”  We must also “diligently seek Him” through our lives and the actions we choose.  I had to ask myself those two questions; do I truly believe?  Am I diligently seeking Him?  The answers for me were yes and no.  I decided to change that and put God first seeking His will for my life over my will.  It was the best decision I ever made and I will never regret it.  How would you answer?