Receiving the Testimony of the Father
John 5:31-47
Rev. Bruce Brown
April 23, 2017
I. John the baptist and Miracles (verses 31-36)
II. The Witness of scripture (verses 37-40)
III. Missing the Message (verses 41-47)
John 5:31-47 (ESV)
31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
“There is more here than first meets the eye. Self – glorification will keep us from the truth, and in fact any moral deficiency is capable of doing so. Finding the truth is as much a matter of the heart as of the mind… So when we come to the Scriptures, there must be a yielding of our lives, a focus not on self but on God. Then we will be able to hear what the Scriptures have to say to us.” R. Kent Hughes
Prosperity Presbyterian Church, 5533 PPC Drive, Charlotte, NC 28269 - 704-875-1182 ext 4.