A True Witness - John 5:31-47

[0:00] Hey guys, thanks for listening to our Calvary Chapel Charlotte podcast. I will walk by faith and not by sight.

[0:48] Good morning everyone, welcome to Calvary Chapel Charlotte. If you want, you can turn your Bibles to John chapter 5. As we continue through the book of John, averaging about a chapter a month right on schedule, we've made it halfway through this, I want to say discussion, John presents it to us as Jesus' monologue, essentially to the religious leaders at this time.

[1:16] Because he had been doing his father's works, he healed the man at the pool of Bethesda, and they didn't like that because it was on the Sabbath. And so he then, last time we looked at through verse 30, I think we got through, yes, it was Jesus establishing that, hey, my work is the father's work because guess what?

[1:32] It looks just like the father. The father's work is life. The father's work is life. And Jesus was here to display the will, the words, and the work of Jesus, I mean of the father.

[1:43] And he did that perfectly. Because why? Well, we saw that he was watching his father. He saw his works, so he then did his works. He was near his father, and he was submitted to his father.

[1:56] And all the things he did were in surrender and submission to the father, and in surrender and submission to the spirit. Because he said, what? I can do nothing of myself. In John 5 30 there, that last verse we looked at last time.

[2:09] I can of my own self do nothing. As I hear I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will, but the will of the father which sent me. Jesus did not self-initiate.

[2:20] He could have, but he didn't. He submitted himself to the father, surrendered himself to the spirit, and essentially then turns around before ascension and says, hey guys, I've left you a pattern. You need to be submitted to the father, surrendered to the spirit, and then you will be able to then do what?

[2:34] We'll be the body of Christ, just as he was in this world. And we looked at the three phrases, the three times Jesus used the phrase truly true, that everything Jesus says is truly true.

[2:46] He says, truly, truly, I say unto you, truly, truly, I say unto you. We'll see that phrase one more time, I believe. Maybe not this week. Maybe it's in a cross-reference I have, but it came up somewhere again.

[2:57] All of Jesus's words are truly true. But there are things that he wants us to know. There are things that he will emphasize that if we lose them, if we let go of them, they will affect the way we're able to see the rest of his words.

[3:09] If I don't see the, all of the words of Jesus is truly true. If there's some words that I kind of like and some I kind of don't, well, the problem is that's going to completely affect the way I view the entirety of his words.

[3:21] We're going to see that with these Pharisees or these religious leaders. They will view one part of the scripture perfectly fine. A-okay. Love that. Because of how they feel it validates themselves.

[3:32] But then what does that do? Man, they miss. They miss the bigger picture. They miss the whole thing. And so last week we saw those true words and works of Jesus. He displayed them to us.

[3:42] He showed that these are the works of his father. And this week then he's going to say, okay, I've shown you the true words and works. And well, this week now he's going to call a true witness. And he's going to, through the rest of this chapter, he's going to show us what that witness is.

[3:58] So we're going to look at this word witness today. It's going to appear seven times in the text across six verses, verse 31, 32, 33, 36, 37, 39.

[4:10] Most all of the text has this word witness. It'll appear in various, appear in various forms, but it all means the same thing. It's the word where we get martyr from in the Greek. It means to testify to, or I really like this definition, to attest to the surety of a fact.

[4:28] That's what a witness does. They attest to the surety of a fact. They're not a very good witness if they don't attest to that. They're not here to attest to the surety of something made up. They're not going to attest to the surety of a fairy tale.

[4:42] You know, it's to the facts. You don't call a witness to the witness stand and say, now, now tell me the facts. Well, I'm going to just make up a story that's going to sound better than the facts and it'll be entertaining. And you know what?

[4:52] You all will go home and feel really good about yourself. You'll be entertained. What were the facts? Well, the facts are that without Christ, we're all going to hell. But I don't want you to feel bad.

[5:03] So I'm going to make something up. Well, the facts are that we're incriminated. Well, the fact is that it's through the word of God that we can be set free. We see this concept in Deuteronomy back in the law.

[5:16] Moses says that the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses shall he that is worthy of death be put to death. But the mouth of one witness, he shall not be put to death.

[5:26] So Jesus is going to call his witnesses to show this. The idea of having sufficient witness then is for the purpose of judgment. Why do we need a witness? For judgment.

[5:38] So that we remember judgment is to separate. So we can correctly separate. We can correctly judge that which is true, that which is right, that which is not. You know, I looked it up and we are a one witness justice system.

[5:52] You can go to prison for life, for murder, based off of one witness. Whoa. But not really. You have to convince a panel of jurists that your word, your witness is true based on facts.

[6:07] But still, it is interesting that at the mouth of two or three witnesses, no one was going to be put to death by one witness saying, hey, I saw this. But what is the witness of the law? The witness of the law is for death.

[6:20] The mouth of two or three witnesses, they should be put to death. Jesus comes and he says, oh, I'm going to give you witnesses. But what is the witness of the son? It's for life, for life.

[6:32] Jesus has declared the reality of himself as being worthy to do the work of the father. So we looked at last week at the beginning here of this section. A work that leads to life, not death.

[6:44] And today we're going to see that he brings witnesses then to corroborate his testimony. These are our witnesses we will look at today. Verses 31 through 32, he brings this unnamed witness, a witness unnamed.

[6:56] And you already can kind of think of what would the unnamed witness be? And verses 33 through 35 is the witness of John the Baptist. Verse 36, the witness of works.

[7:07] 37 through 38, the witness of the father. And then lastly, 39 through 40, he elaborates more as the witness of the scripture. He is going to bring these witnesses to bear upon this.

[7:18] Let's jump in here to verse 31. So he's just established that, hey, I don't do anything of my own. It's of the father. It's of someone else. And guess what? If I bear witness, verse 31, of myself, my witness is not true.

[7:33] As we just read, I can do nothing of myself as I hear I judge. Proverbs 18, 17 says, he that is first in his own cause, he seems just, but his neighbor comes and searches him out.

[7:46] So it may seem right. You can bear witness of yourself. Oh yeah, this is all sad. This is just. This is right. But then another comes and searches him out. Brings other witness or other facts to bear.

[7:57] Proverbs 21, 2. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes. Boy, isn't that true? No, this day and age, every way of a man is right in his own eyes. And then he's going to get online. He's going to post and tell you about it.

[8:09] Every way of a man is right in his own eyes. He wants you to join with him. But the Lord ponders the heart. The Lord separates out. The Lord judges. The Lord weighs is what that word means.

[8:20] He weighs the heart. I can't weigh my heart. But yet you say, well, Jesus says here, if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. Is he undermining what he just said?

[8:31] We just looked last week at all these verses where he bears testimony of himself. Didn't he? Well, he did. It's not that his witness was false. It's just that for it to be true, it could not be alone.

[8:44] Essentially, if Jesus alone bore witness to himself, it would be false. It was easy to claim oneness with the Father. It's easy to claim I'm doing the Father's works.

[8:54] It's easy to claim I'm of God. I'm a Christian. You meet him all the time. It's very easy to claim that. But where's the proof? Where's the witness? So we could almost read verse 31.

[9:07] If I bear witness of myself alone, my witness is not true. Don't take my word for it, Jesus is saying. There is another, verse 32, that bears witness of me.

[9:17] And I know that the witness which he bears of me, or he witnesses of me, is true. Well, who's this other? So maybe it's the Father. Well, we're going to see in verses 37 through 38, he very specifically calls out the Father.

[9:31] He says, the Father also witnesses of me. He's going to give us John the Baptist and words and the works and the scripture. So who is this other one? Well, the word there in the Greek for another is the exact same word for others.

[9:46] When I was first studying this, I thought, oh, so it's saying there are others. And he's going to list all these others. But the Greek is interesting. The Greek is all about verb tenses. I don't speak any Spanish.

[9:57] Well, I do. Hola and gracias. That's it. You know, so the whole idea of like the way Spanish puts their verbs and things, it throws me off.

[10:10] And then the gender, like, you know, you accidentally say, hey, ma'am, and you're talking to some guy. It's like, oh, man, I don't do that well. Greek is even more difficult. But this word another, it's in the tense for singular masculine.

[10:27] So it's the voice saying it's one other and it's a man. It's masculine. So there is another that bears witness of me. And I know that the witness which he bears of me is true.

[10:39] An unnamed witness. Jesus will, in John 15 in the upper room, he'll eventually tell his apostles, he says, hey, get ready, guys. I'm going to give you a witness. I'm going to give you one to be with you.

[10:50] It's called the Comforter in John 15, 26. When the Comforter has come, who I will send unto you from the Father, one source, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me.

[11:05] And Jesus says there's another. There's another religious Jewish leaders. He's testifying here now because I'm here and he's working and I'm working in his power. He's alongside of you bearing witness to these truths.

[11:17] But ultimately, Jesus knows the testimony of this unnamed witness and then all the subsequent witnesses that will follow. He says, I know it's true.

[11:29] How does he know it's true? Because the source is the same. Because the source is true. James 1, 17. Every good and every perfect gift.

[11:40] What is the Holy Spirit given to the church? As a gift. Every good and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

[11:53] Jesus knows the testimony is true because the source is true. He's like, listen, look at the different witnesses. Look at their words and works. What do they all point back to? Where do they all come from?

[12:05] They're all coming from the same source. A true witness of Jesus. It only comes from one source. It all points back to one source. And that is the Father.

[12:15] He says, I have this unnamed witness you guys don't even know anything about. He's bearing witness that I am true. And I'm sure in that moment, their hearts were convicted as that witness was bearing that, hey, what he's saying is true.

[12:32] So Jesus will now call his next witness here in verses 33 through 35. You sent unto John. Remember, guys? You sent to John. He didn't call you up and say, hey, come on out here and check out what's going on.

[12:44] You sent to John. And he bare witness unto the truth. Remember, they came from the religious leaders. They came and they asked, who are you? Are you that one to come? Are you the Messiah?

[12:56] Are you the one Moses talked about? We're going to see that a little later. And he bare witness of the truth. They had witnessed something in John. They had seen something in John that caused them to want to understand more.

[13:08] So what is it with you, John? You dress in camel hair and you eat locusts. I mean, that's weird. But there's something else. There's something past the weirdness that I kind of like.

[13:19] You know, some of us are a little weird. It's okay. It's okay. But can I see past the weirdness? Is there something real there? Jesus didn't come for normal people.

[13:32] He came for us. John 6, 44 says, No man can come to me except the Father which has sent me. Draw him.

[13:43] And I will raise him up at the last day. You sent to John. He bare witness to the truth. Do you realize who's drawing you? Do you realize where you're being drawn to? The Father draws all men to Jesus by that witness of the truth.

[13:55] How faithful John was to witness to that truth. He bare witness. It's just something given to him to carry forth. Here, John. This is yours for a bit. The Father will draw all men to Jesus by witness of the truth.

[14:11] What did we see last week? What is that truth? That God's work leads to life. That is the truth. That is the truth that we have. That's the truth that draws all men.

[14:21] That God's work leads to life. The Pharisees said, We're going to kill Jesus because God's work leads to death. We need to kill this guy because he's interrupting God's work. He's healing on the Sabbath.

[14:32] At the mouth of two or three witnesses. So shall a thing be established. The mouth of two or three witnesses will one be put to death. To maintain this. It's the law. But under grace. With the Son.

[14:44] God's work leads to life. But you know, it's the same God of the Old Testament. It's the same God who gave the law. Why? Because he's interested in life. You don't put someone to death. Because God loves death.

[14:55] Because he was interested in life. The life of the ones who were being harmed. By that person. God knows it is much more injurious to a life.

[15:09] To have a miscarriage of justice. Than it is to carry out justice. God is a just God. If he wasn't, there'd be no cross. So Jesus was a faithful witness.

[15:20] He was a faithful witness to testify. I'm sorry. John was a faithful witness. Jesus was a faithful witness too. But John was a faithful witness. He testified to what he knew. And he didn't worry. Remember, we saw he didn't worry about what he didn't know.

[15:32] There's a lot John didn't know. But he was faithful to testify to what he knew. Jesus, in the middle of this discussion on John, he says here in verse 34, But I receive not testimony from man.

[15:46] And this same word testimony, that's witness. So I don't receive witness from man. Now don't think that I'm saying, well, John validated me and I need man to validate me. And I'm not looking for you guys to validate me. But these things I say for the reason that you might be saved.

[16:00] I'm not saying this about John for my sake. Does Jesus need man's testimony to establish who he is? He doesn't. Not at all. Does he use man's testimony?

[16:12] He does. But not to establish who he is. With no man's testimony, Jesus stands as Jesus. Why does he use man's testimony? For their sake.

[16:23] For the sake of man's salvation. See, the Jews at one point, they accepted John, the Baptist. So the idea is if they would accept John, they would then accept what John said about Jesus.

[16:37] Why does God use our testimony? Why does he use our witness? Because if they'll accept us, and they accept what we say, they'll accept the one we're speaking about, they'll accept him.

[16:48] See, it's not our job to convince people. Jesus will say in verse 36, but I have a greater witness than that of John. He's like, I don't need this. It was not our job then to convince people of who Jesus is.

[17:01] It's not our job to convince of his authenticity. He doesn't need our testimony. But he uses our authenticity, doesn't he? We're not out here.

[17:11] We're not looking to convince the world of Jesus' authenticity. But Jesus uses my authenticity for the salvation of someone else. Jesus uses the reality of what I have in my life and my relationship with him and says, hey, go share that with someone else.

[17:26] That's what draws people. It's our authenticity. authenticity with the work of the witness of the Father and the witness of the Spirit, the witness of the Son. But he uses us. He uses us to be authentic.

[17:37] To say, hey, there's a real work of God that's been done in my life. I hope you can see past the weirdness. And you can see that and that will draw you. Is that so that I can prove that Jesus is right in your life?

[17:49] No, it's so you can get saved. Because you need Jesus. Jesus is going to stand whether you agree or not. Now he goes back to talking about John. So he's saying, don't think I need validation, guys.

[18:00] But John was a burning and a shining lamp. And you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. It was a period of time where you thought this was the greatest thing. Rejoice in his light.

[18:11] The word rejoice there, the idea is to jump up and down for joy. They were so excited when John came. Why? They thought Messiah was coming. And they were right.

[18:22] They were right. Messiah was coming. But he came not as they expected. John the Baptist, he was a lamp that shone forth with a bright and clear light, wasn't he? And he didn't hide that light.

[18:33] He just shone it forth out of that camel hair. Now, at this time, this phrase here, a shining lamp, the Jews at this time would term an eminent doctor.

[18:45] Like, not like health doctor, but like a doctor of the law. One who was like a Nicodemus type. They would call them lamps of Israel. Oh, he's a lamp of Israel. He's a light unto Israel.

[18:56] So Jesus is using their terminology and saying, hey, he was a lamp, a shining lamp. And you received it for a bit. A lamp. What are some characteristics of a lamp?

[19:08] Does a lamp generate its own light? It has to have an external light. It must be lit. It doesn't just decide to, you know, when you wake up in the morning, it's like, oh, my light's turned on. Such a mind of their own.

[19:19] Now, some of them do if they're connected, you know, to the Internet or whatever. The power goes out. They all come back on when the power comes on. And, you know, you wake up in your room. You're like, what? What's going on?

[19:31] But they must be lit. A lamp dispels darkness. It's no good to have a lamp if it doesn't dispel darkness. It's no good to have a lamp that just looks beautiful. And it's just sitting there. And it's just, it's a family heirloom.

[19:44] It's been in my family for generations. Did you ever open it and read it? No. No, it's just, it's beautiful. Let it shine the light. Let it shine forth into your life.

[19:54] It dispels darkness. But a lamp, ultimately, eventually, this lamp that we're talking about in John's time, John the Baptist's time, it decreases. Over time, it will decrease.

[20:05] It will lose its source. It won't be as bright. And what did John say? He must increase. I must decrease. But there was a period of time where Jesus says, you were willing.

[20:17] You were minded. You had the mind to accept John. Because Messiah was coming. But they rejected Messiah. They rejected Messiah when he came.

[20:29] Because he did not fit their expectation. They're rejecting him now because he doesn't fit their expectation. They rejoiced in the light, but they wouldn't receive the light. See, what happened was the light shone upon them.

[20:41] And what did they find out? Ooh, I'm darkness. I don't like that. I thought like I was something and the light turned on and I found out I'm a cockroach.

[20:52] Oh, man. That's not a great place. Unless you realize Jesus redeems cockroaches and glorifies them. They rejoiced in the light. They rejoiced in the light, but it did not fit their expectation.

[21:08] Expectations will keep us from the truth when we expect the truth to be more in line with man's testimony than God's. When I expect the truth to line up more with man's testimony, with man's system of theology, with man's whatever.

[21:19] Well, this is how we've always done it here. When I expect that, then what it's going to do is it's going to keep me from the truth. It's going to eliminate an area of truth that my life has access to.

[21:33] At one point, these guys were very excited. They sent to John. Go down there and find out who this crazy kook is. Wow, he's got all Israel stirred up.

[21:43] Said that all Israel went out to him to the Jordan. And now they're like, no, we're done with John. And we're done with Jesus. Verse 36 here now, Jesus moves into his next witness.

[21:58] He said, so you've had this unnamed witness, an unknown witness. You have John. And now you have this witness that we just talked about last week, this witness of works. He says, I have a greater witness than that of John.

[22:09] For the works which the Father has given me to finish, the same works that I do, they bear witness of me. But the Father has sent me. What was the work that Jesus was sent to finish?

[22:23] What was the work that he was sent to accomplish, to fulfill? It's the only one, or it's the work that only he could do. He's the only one who fit that mold. He's the only one who could fit the cross-shaped hole of humanity.

[22:39] Jesus' witness, it was greater than John's. Greater in capacity. Greater in ability. Does that mean it diminished John's witness?

[22:53] John's witness was diminished because Jesus comes and it's so much greater? Not at all. What did Jesus' witness do for John? It validated it. It verified it.

[23:05] I think sometimes we think that we have to somehow validate and verify what God's doing in my life. You know, I need to let you know, because it could look a little different, like maybe than what you expect.

[23:17] Or God's moving me in a direction different than maybe what people in my life expected. And I need to somehow validate that and verify that. As if somehow God working in my life diminishes my validity.

[23:28] I think we measure our witness by its reach sometimes. I think, well, I know I expected to do this, but well, God's got me doing something different.

[23:39] And you think, oh, Lord, I just don't feel like I'm being used by you right now. But I know I'm walking with you. God, I don't feel like my reach is very far right now. But I know I'm in your will.

[23:49] And I want to be faithful. And that is what our witness is measured by. Not how far it reaches. But by how faithful it is. How faithful its record.

[24:00] Not how far its reach. We see here Jesus makes this statement that this witness of works, they come from the Father. They were given by the Father. They were given to the Son to finish.

[24:13] They're accomplished by the Son. They're exclusive to the Son. He's the only one who can do that. And specifically, he says they testify to the Son. He says, there's a work I've come to do that you should be ready for.

[24:24] Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Behind these works, he says, is the Father who sends, is the Son who fulfills, and the Spirit which enables. Truly, truly, I say unto you.

[24:37] I knew I had a truly true words of Jesus somewhere in here. John 14, verse 12. Another truly true word of Jesus. He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also.

[24:49] And greater works than these shall he do, because I go to my Father. Oh, I'm going to do greater works than Jesus. Jesus' works are going to be diminished. No, they're not. No more than John's works are diminished.

[25:01] Not at all. God glorifies himself through his work, because the works of God witness to the Word of God, to the Spirit of God, and to the Father. How do you know? How do you know in your life if your works are of the Father?

[25:16] How do you know if your witness is faithful? Well, where did your works originate? Where did that work originate? Did it originate out of emotion? Did it originate out of a desire to validate yourself?

[25:27] I need to feel spiritual. I need to feel like I'm not a sinner. You know, I read my Bible, and I go to church all the time. And I feel good about myself. Hmm. Do you?

[25:37] I dare say, going to church doesn't make me feel good about myself. Man, it makes me feel good about him. And that he loves me. Who accomplishes those works?

[25:50] Who's accomplishing the works in your life? Are you having to accomplish them? Is it through effort? So that you can pat yourself on the back? And then who do your works testify to? Who's getting the glory?

[26:03] Who's the one that you're pointing to? Well, in Acts chapter 20, as Paul is on the shore of Miletus, he's called all the elders from Ephesus, and he says, this is the last time I'm going to see you boys. He's going to go to Rome, and he's not going to see them any longer.

[26:17] And they're weeping because he's testifying to the fact that what awaits him is persecution, suffering, and probably death. In verse 24, he says, man, these things don't move me.

[26:29] Neither count I my life dear unto myself. Why? That I might finish my course with joy. And the ministry, the service, which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify, and there's our word, to witness to the gospel of the grace of God.

[26:44] Where do your works originate? Who's accomplishing those works? And what do they testify to? Paul says, hey, I know what my works are testified to.

[26:54] You know what? I also know that they're going to result in a lot of suffering. They're going to result in people thinking I'm a weirdo. They're going to result in maybe the expectations someone had in me are going to be disappointed.

[27:06] But I'm going to finish his work. I'm going to finish this course with joy. And his next witness now, the witness of the Father. And the Father himself, which has sent me, has borne witness of me.

[27:17] These works, they can only be accomplished by the one who comes from the Father. The whole point of the Bible is pointing to this point. And he says, and the Father himself, the one who sent me, he's borne witness of me.

[27:30] I like this where he says, the Father himself. It's very personal. It's a personal relationship. It's a personal sending. The Father's personally involved in this.

[27:41] He doesn't do it by proxy. It's not like, you know what? You come and report back to me how it's going. How's the Son doing? That's good. He's personally involved in this. He's involved in the work of the Son.

[27:53] There's no lack of God's witness. The Father himself will bear witness. There's simply a lack of receiving that witness. There's a lack of people who will respond to the validity of the witness of what God is doing in their life, through the works, and through his people.

[28:13] In Luke 3.22, that is a parallel passage to when Jesus is baptized. And it says, See, there's no lack of witness.

[28:34] But will they receive it? Will they receive the witness? Verse 38. And you have not his word, the Father's word, abiding in you, for whom he has sent. Him you believe not.

[28:47] You wouldn't receive John's witness, even though you're excited about it. You want signs and wonders. And the witness that God gave you in a sign and wonder, you wouldn't receive. You know the works that I do can only be done by the one that's sent from the Father, but you won't receive it.

[29:02] Why won't they receive this? It's the same reason people won't receive it today. And you have not his word. They will not receive the witness because they will not receive the word.

[29:16] They won't believe the word of God. They won't accept the word of God. They want it by some other means. I want to engage God by some other way. I want to get up on a Sunday morning and just go walk in nature and commune with God.

[29:28] I want it by some other means. I want to keep a system of religion. I want to go to a big place with, you know, a lot of statues and shiny things. And I feel good. And I want to engage God in some other way.

[29:39] They will not receive the witness because they will not receive that this is the word of God. We do not get to choose how God witnesses his truth to us. I don't get to pick that.

[29:51] I don't get to choose that. They wanted to hear God or see God before they would believe. But they wouldn't believe the proof that he gave, even in their sign and wonder.

[30:04] And the proof was in their response to the word. You see, if they had believed the word, they would have believed the signs and wonders. They would have believed the other witnesses. They would have believed John.

[30:15] In John 1, 1, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. And that word then in John 14 became flesh and dwelt among us.

[30:27] So the word became flesh. The word that was text, the word that was word, then became flesh. And they wouldn't accept it. They wouldn't accept the expression of God's word as a man, as Jesus, because they wouldn't accept the expression of God's word written on the page.

[30:45] In a true and healthy relationship, the witness of one's word is enough. I don't need a sign or wonder. The witness of the word is enough. You know, when I'm working during the day and I'm out on a job site, I text my wife, what's for dinner?

[31:01] You know, two best times of the day. Lunchtime and going home for dinner. Goes for dinner. She's like, oh, you know, tonight we're having meatballs. Like, oh, wow.

[31:14] Hey, can you send me a picture of the receipt and of the crock pot? Maybe take an audio message so I can hear the bubbling, bubbling. I'm not really sure I believe you. Like, would I need to do that? No, her word's enough.

[31:25] It's a true and healthy relationship. The word is enough. I can take the word. Now, if every time I text her that, she tricked me. I got home and I'm like, oh, meatballs.

[31:36] Oh, toast and jam. That's good. You know, if that happened continually, well, then, yeah, I'm going to be like, well, I need proof because I can't trust your word.

[31:49] But in a true and healthy relationship, the word's enough. When God says to me, hey, there's therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, Jared. Oh, Lord, can you take a picture and send me the receipt?

[32:02] He's like, yeah, that's right here. Thomas tried that. That's enough. The word's enough. No amount of spiritual experience can witness to a relationship with the Father.

[32:13] No amount of spiritual experience can fill that void of witness to a relationship with the Father unless it's real, unless it's already there. Only a relationship with the Son can witness to a relationship with the Father.

[32:25] There's no other means to do that. Jesus says now in verse 39, search the scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life, but these are they which testify, which witness of me.

[32:41] And his last witness here, the witness of the scripture. Search the scriptures. What is the solution? Examine in the Greek. Examine the scriptures. Look closely at them.

[32:53] Dig through them. Study to show yourself a workman approved that needs not reproach, rightly dividing the word of truth. Search the scriptures. They thought they had eternal life. And they thought it came from the word.

[33:03] Because the word told them that you were chosen by God as his people, the Jews, the Jewish nation, for a purpose in this world. That's true. Do you know you're chosen by God for a purpose in this world?

[33:15] Absolutely you are. Absolutely. Absolutely. Is that what validates my relationship with God? Is that what gives me a surety before him?

[33:25] God, I've been chosen for a purpose. And as long as I do that purpose well, I'll feel like I'm close to you. The Jews thought they had eternal life, not based upon examining the scripture, but based upon how they chose to use the scripture.

[33:42] They said, hey, we're going to use the scripture. We're going to use the scripture, not to examine it, not to see what it actually says. The Bible had become a tool for their religion. Simply was used to make themselves feel okay in whatever they were doing here.

[33:59] They had used God's word to the point where they were willing to put Jesus to death. And they thought they were in line with God's word. How do you know you're not rightly dividing the word to truth?

[34:10] You want to kill Jesus. If your understanding and examination of the scripture is pushing Jesus further away, then I don't think you're using the word correctly.

[34:23] But those who take time to examine the scripture, examine, examine to take the time to understand, to participate with. It's not just, I got my Bible app, I read my verse today.

[34:36] Well, I listened to a podcast. Well, I, listen, these religious leaders, they had the word and they were completely off base with it. Jesus says the solution is to examine the word because all who examine the scripture, they will always find the scripture pointing to Jesus.

[34:53] Always. Their erroneous view of Jesus was based on their erroneous view of the word. Paul warned Timothy. Second Timothy chapter three, verses 13 through 17.

[35:04] He says, evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse. They shall deceive and they will be deceived. But continue, continue thou in the things which you have learned and have been assured of.

[35:17] He didn't say, just keep on, you know, just read a verse. Continue in what you've learned, knowing of whom you've learned them. And that from a child, you have known the holy scripture to know by experiential knowledge, to know intimately.

[35:31] And they are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. They point to Jesus. Yes, there's life in them. These Jewish leaders, they were right.

[35:43] The Pharisees were right. There is life in the scripture, but it points to Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

[36:01] How do I know my works? Line up with the Father's works and examine the scripture. You see, the scripture will safeguard us from thinking that spiritual experience, hearing a voice, seeing a shape, just like he said that they have not heard a voice or seen a shape at any time.

[36:17] The scripture safeguards me from thinking that spiritual experience is proof of a relationship with God. You've met people like that. I've experienced in my own life. Oh, God works so mightily in my life.

[36:29] Yes, I must have arrived. I must be at a better place in my walk. We try to use that to validate. The scripture safeguards me from that. It keeps me on a path of, hey, you know what?

[36:40] My relationship with God is based on the word. It's not based on my experience. Because tomorrow my experience might go and fall off the cliff. Only as we examine the word and believe the word, do we have the witness of the word abiding in us?

[36:56] Because he says to them, search the scriptures, examine them. These are they which testify, which witness of me. But you will not come to me, verse 40, that you might have life.

[37:07] You see, if they had actually examined the scripture, the scripture would point to Jesus and they would come to Jesus and they would then have life. They were right.

[37:19] The scripture pointed to Jesus though. And in denying the son, they denied the scripture. The fact that they denied Jesus just showed, well, you don't accept the scripture. Because if you accepted the scripture, you accept Jesus.

[37:31] And denying the scripture then, they deny what? The author of the scripture. It's the whole point Jesus is getting at with these guys. You are not right with the father. They thought, we are children of Abraham.

[37:41] We are children of God. He said, no, you're not. Because you would believe the scriptures, you would accept the son, and the son would give you life. And the son cannot be separated from the scriptures.

[37:53] You cannot use the word of God without Jesus. You can't use it for anything else. Well, you know, there's a lot of good morals in here. We could kind of teach some good morals. We could teach, you know, how you should treat your families and treat your wife.

[38:06] Not apart from Jesus. Not without Jesus. Well, you know, the scripture, if I follow it, it'll keep me out of debt. It'll be a good basis for society, for a nation, for not without Jesus.

[38:21] You remove the power from it. Look at these religious Jews and look where they've come and look what they're looking to do because they've rejected the son, even though they thought they had the word.

[38:35] I receive not honor from men, Jesus says. Honor, praise, glory, opinion. Jesus is not worried about man's opinion. He's not looking for these men to validate him. What he's saying is, I don't need your okay.

[38:46] I don't need your validation. But I know you, that you have not the love of God in you. I'm coming my father's name. Jesus is not coming in his own name.

[38:59] He's coming in his father's name. And yet he says, you won't receive me, but you claim to understand and know the father. If another shall come in his own name, him you will receive. The Jews, they would only accept the Messiah that they would validate.

[39:15] They said, we want Messiah to come, but we have to give our stamp. We must validate you if you're going to be Messiah. Here's the boxes you have to tick. All right. You need to validate us in our position.

[39:25] Don't rock the boat. You need to get rid of Rome and you need to restore Jerusalem to its glory. And oh, by the way, we want to rule. As long as you do that, we'll receive you as Messiah. If they truly loved God, then they would love what came from God.

[39:42] What does Jesus say here? You have not the love of God in you. I am come in my father's name and you do not receive me. The Jews loved the witness of religion.

[39:54] They loved it. They didn't care about the witness of a relationship. They had turned their relationship with the word of God to be all about witnessing to their religion.

[40:04] Instead of witnessing to the reality of a relationship with God. So we would never do that. We're Calvary Chapel. We don't do that. We're Christians, don't we?

[40:16] Don't I use my witness of my walk as a witness of my relationship? I say, well, yeah, I've done this and I've done this and I go to church and I'm reading my Bible.

[40:29] I'm in ministry. So that must mean, therefore, I have a good relationship with God. Do you know how many men have fallen from ministry as God was using them, blessing their ministries, growing the church, edifying the body?

[40:46] For every Paul out there who's faithful to the end, there's a Samson who God uses mightily and falls hard. man, I don't want, I don't want the work done through my life to be in any way used to validate my relationship with God.

[41:05] I want my relationship to God to be the thing that undergirds everything about me and then everything else is incidental. Man, let it just be that the love of God is so real in my life, everything else just overflows.

[41:19] 2 Timothy 3.5, Paul will say that these people, they have a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof and do what? From such, turn away. There's nothing fruitful there.

[41:31] Well, we can, we can get together on this. We can have a faith-based event. We just have different views on things. Man, I'm sorry. You don't hold God's word as the basis for your relationship with God and for the basis for the work that you do for God.

[41:48] So I'm sorry, we don't really have anything in common here. There will be another who will come and the Jewish leaders at the time of his coming, they will accept him.

[41:59] And that is the Antichrist. It's the one who comes in his own name. 1 John 2.22, who is a liar, but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ. The Jewish leaders at the time of this person's coming, they will love him.

[42:13] He will deny Jesus is the Christ. So will they. He is Antichrist that denies the Father and the Son. Because they are seeking the one who will witness to their own validation instead of God's love, they want someone to say, you are okay.

[42:32] If they're seeking God's love, they would then seek what God loves instead. Jesus is saying to them, God's love cannot be received except through the Son.

[42:43] You do not have his love. If another come in his own name, you'll receive him. Because you do not have the love of God. Because the love of God can only be received from the Son. There is no other way. How can you believe?

[42:56] Which receive honor one of another and seek not the honor that comes from God only. They sought the praise, the glory, and the opinion of man. That was most important to them. How can you believe, Jesus says, saying these things are mutually exclusive.

[43:11] You cannot seek praise and glory and opinion of man to validate you and also believe and expect God to validate you. They're opposed to one another. Self-affirmation will lead to self-deception.

[43:23] If I seek to be self-affirmed, I will be self-deceived. Because self cannot be affirmed. Self must be brought to the cross and it must accept that it be buried with Christ and raised again in newness of life.

[43:38] So seeking the praise and glory of man, what does that do? It undermines my faith. If I seek man's praise and glory, it undermines my ability to believe. I won't believe the word. I don't need to.

[43:48] I got someone else telling me everything's fine. I got someone else telling me things are good. It's okay. You spend too much time at church anyway. Your whole life seems to be about church. I mean, you read your Bible yesterday.

[44:00] Don't you read your Bible multiple times a week? I read my Bible once a year and I'm okay. I'm sure you're fine too. You're a good person. You're a really good person. Listen, you're definitely a Christian.

[44:13] Because of my relationship with the Father? Well, no. No, I'm just self-affirming you. Be careful. We live in a world that is making tools all the time to self-affirm.

[44:27] Between social media, AI, entertainment, you can be as self-affirmed, but it'll undermine your faith. It'll cut the legs right out from under your faith.

[44:39] The only opinion that matters is that of the Father. Does the opinion of the Father, does it bear witness to the fact that I've believed and received the Son? That's the only thing that matters.

[44:49] Can I go to the Word and say, you know what? The opinion of the Father is that I've believed of the Lord Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him would not perish but have everlasting life.

[45:04] And the witness of the Father is telling me that I've believed the Son and I've received Him. That's the only opinion that matters. He says, verse 45, do not think that I'll accuse you to the Father.

[45:16] There is one that accuses you, even Moses, in whom you trust. The religious Jews, they had the Scripture, they read the Scripture, and they used the Scripture. However, they did not understand the witness of the Scripture because they would not examine it.

[45:30] We can hold and read and use the Scripture, but if we don't use it correctly, it won't lead to Jesus. They were using the Scripture to honor men instead of honoring the one who the men of the Scripture honor.

[45:47] Oh, we honor Moses, a mighty man. Well, Moses honored God. He honored the Son. He honored the Father. They were using the Scripture to honor the men of the Scripture. in the New Testament, Paul will write, say, stop saying, I'm a Paul, I'm a Peter, I'm a, well, I go to this church, I've met this pastor.

[46:05] You know, I said, you know I had my picture taken with Pastor Chuck Smith once. I don't have that picture. Someone else took it and I never got it from him. I know this person. But the men of the Scripture honor the Son.

[46:20] Man, are you of the Scripture? Then honor the Son. A correct use of Scripture will not lead to thinking that God is one who accuses. Jesus says, don't think I've come to accuse you.

[46:30] I'm not here for that purpose. A correct use of Scripture will lead to the Son who leads to the Father. An incorrect use of Scripture will elevate men and men's opinion every time.

[46:43] How do you know Scripture is being used correctly? What's being elevated? Is it man? Is it man's opinion? Is it man's philosophy? Man's idea? Man's interpretation? Man's theology? Now man's philosophy, ideas, interpretation, and theology are not always wrong.

[46:55] But we don't elevate that. Scripture is what we elevate. Be careful. There are those that would place man's view before the examination of Scripture.

[47:10] For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me. He wrote of me. But if you believe not his writings, how are you going to believe my words? The entire Scripture points to Jesus.

[47:23] And the entire Scripture is needed to understand Jesus. Be very careful of any understanding of Scripture that does not witness to the need for the entirety of Scripture. We go line by line, verse by verse, through the Scripture for that reason.

[47:35] because all Scripture is given by God. It's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction. The man of God may be thoroughly equipped into every good work. It's under God's inspiration.

[47:45] Be careful of any understanding that is not witness to the need for the entirety. Jesus is saying, if you had read the Old Testament, you would have known about me. We cannot understand the New Testament without the Old Testament.

[47:56] We cannot understand Jesus without Moses. We cannot understand the need for a Savior if I don't understand sin. I don't understand why I need, what's the, a sinner? Well, yeah, yeah, because you do bad things.

[48:08] That doesn't make me a sinner. I do bad things because I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner because of Genesis. We cannot understand the cross if we don't understand the need for sacrifice. Leviticus, Numbers, Exodus.

[48:23] Acts 3, 22, Peter would say, As Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me. Moses wrote of Jesus. Him shall you hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

[48:38] So Jesus says, if you don't listen to Moses, you're not going to listen to me because he said to listen to me. Be careful. Be careful. There are winds of doctrine blowing through the church today because people will say, well, we don't really need the Old Testament anymore.

[48:51] We don't really need Moses. Jesus. We've got Paul. We've got Jesus. We've got, and we've got replacement theology because of it. And we have people who don't understand the purpose of why they're here.

[49:06] Well, we've got dominion theology. The church is going to take over the world and build a kingdom. When Jesus said, man, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom was of this world, then would my servants fight for me?

[49:16] But now is my kingdom not from here. Be careful. We cannot understand the need of the Savior without first understanding why he came. All scripture is faithful to witness to all scripture.

[49:29] There'll be no scripture that will not witness to all scripture. All scripture is faithful to witness to the Son. All scripture is faithful to witness to the Father. And all scripture is faithful to witness to the Spirit.

[49:41] Just as there is no experiencing the love of God without the Son, there's no relationship with God apart from the Word. You're not going to have a relationship with God apart from His Word. If you have believed John 3, 16, it's because those words or the meaning of those words or the reality and the truth behind those words were accepted by you.

[50:02] So we have seen our witnesses today. We have very true witnesses to these true words and works of Jesus. Our true witnesses, one, God's people, two, God's Spirit, three, God the Father, and four, God the Son.

[50:19] We saw the witness of God's people in John the Baptist as our example. We have God the Spirit through the works of God and the unnamed witness. We have God the Father through the love of God. We have God the Son through the Word of God.

[50:33] If at any point we deny any of these witnesses, we deny them all. You cannot have the Father without the Son. You cannot have the Father and Son without the Spirit. And you cannot have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit without the people of God.

[50:48] It's just how it works. If at any point we deny any of these, we deny all of these. How do we keep ourselves open to the witness of God? How do I do that?

[51:00] Maybe you're the type of person, you are so social, you're like, I just can't wait to be with people. I just thrive off of it. Yes, yes, yes. But to like think of sitting down and actually doing a Bible study yourself and going through the Word is like, oh man, I don't like school.

[51:17] Maybe the opposite. And you're like, people, oh no. Oh, church would be great if there weren't people there. You know? It all goes together.

[51:28] It all goes together. And you're like, man, I just love reading about Jesus. I spend all my time in the Gospels. What did Jesus do? It's like, yes, but there's a work God wants you to do and you need to grow and you need to be deep and you need to have edification.

[51:42] You need to continue past the Gospels so that God the Spirit can work through your life. Maybe you're like, I just want to know I'm going to heaven. Am I good with the Father?

[51:53] All right, I'm good. I don't need church. I don't need my Bible. I'm good. Man, if we deny any of these, we deny all of them. And I don't mean that, oh, I knew it. I really haven't been examining my Bible like I should so I probably lost my salvation.

[52:05] I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying we have a life that's been given us to live. Why are you here? I was thinking of it this week. Why am I here? Why am I, are you here just to feel good?

[52:19] Are you here to seek validation? There's better places to go to seek validation. Better teachers and speakers and more comfortable surroundings.

[52:30] There's much better places to go. Are you examining the Word? Why not? Start examining the Word. There's no condemnation. Don't beat yourself up over it, but start examining the Word.

[52:43] Jesus said to the Pharisees, you thought that would give you life, but it testified of me. How do I keep myself open to the witness of God? How do I do this? I abide.

[52:56] John 14, 23, Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man love me, he will keep my words. Did he say, if a man keep my words, he will love me?

[53:09] No, he said, if a man love me, the result of loving God, of having a relationship with the Father and the love of the Father is I keep his words. And my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him.

[53:23] He will come and abide with us. And then John would write eventually in 1 John, and now little children, abide. Abide in him. Abide in him.

[53:43] Those two words are contrary to one another. The polar opposites there. Confidence and shame. The idea is, my head's lifted up or my head is hung. Abide in him.

[53:53] Little children, that when he shall appear, as we examine the scriptures, the life of God abides in us, the word of God abides in us, and the love of God abides in us. I don't want to end up like one of these guys.

[54:08] I don't want to end up in a place where I have not abided, and all of a sudden, I don't even understand what it means, his appearing. Jesus is appearing? What does that even mean? I don't understand his promise that if he's gone to prepare a place, he'll come again and receive me to himself.

[54:24] And no, in that moment, for a moment, the trumpet sound, with a shout, and the voice of Archangel, and the dead in Christ shall rise, and we which are alive remain, we shall be caught up to meet him in the air.

[54:39] I don't want in that moment of transformation and metamorphosis, I don't want to be ashamed. I don't want to have a reason to hang my head. Is there condemnation? Absolutely not. But I can tell you this, I don't want to be seeking my own validation when Jesus says, hey, come on up here.

[54:56] Abide. Examine the scriptures. We're going to examine our hearts this morning. No, we're not. We're going to let the Lord examine our hearts. Sorry. We're going to take communion. Because there's a witness that bears witness to the love of God in our lives.

[55:14] And it's the cross. 1 John, John would write again in chapter 5 and say, there are three that bear witness in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. And these three are one.

[55:26] And there are three that bear witness in the earth. The Spirit, the water, and the blood. If you remember, we looked at that in John chapter 3 with Nicodemus. He must be born of water and of the blood, which points back to Ezekiel, which is the new covenant.

[55:40] A water that can cleanse. Cleansing from sin. And the blood, the sacrifice. The Spirit, the water, and the blood. And these three agree in one.

[55:50] If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. Do you believe the people sitting around you? Do you believe me that these things are true? The things that we claim have happened in our lives have?

[56:02] That God loves us? Well, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God, which he has testified of his Son. This is the witness. This is the work where Jesus said, man, I do greater works.

[56:14] My works that I do, they are so great, nobody can do this work. Nobody can fulfill this work. It testifies to me. This is the witness of God, which he has testified of us.

[56:26] So I just encourage you, you should partake as we take communion. The guys will pass it out. Just wait, I'll come back up after the song and we'll partake together. Let God examine your heart.

[56:39] Not for the purpose of validating you. You're already validated by the cross. That's the point of communion. He has validated us. He's received us. Let him examine your heart and whatever it is that's in the way, that he can remove that so that you can be about examining the word, examining your walk with him.

[57:01] Live a life that abides. Father, thank you that we have this wonderful word of Jesus this morning. The witness, the witness of God's people, the witness of the spirit, witness of the father and the witness of the son.

[57:16] And they all come together in communion. They all come to this place where you have given us something that's so much greater than man's word.

[57:28] So much greater than an experience. So much greater than seeing a vision or hearing a voice. We have the word of God. And if I believe the word and I act upon it, I get the witness of the father, his love in my heart.

[57:44] The witness of the son that his blood has cleansed me from my sin. The witness of the spirit that he will work through me and in my life. That is wonderful. And I can live in that every day as I examine the scripture.

[57:55] Lord, I pray for my brothers and sisters as you examine their hearts. Lord, what they would find is you have not come to accuse. You have come to validate them not based off their works but based off this finished work.

[58:09] Thank you, Jesus, for finishing this wonderful work. Thank you for coming and abiding with us. We love you. Amen.