Turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 5.

A few weeks ago we read about Jesus going up to Jerusalem for a ceremonial feast (probably the Passover) and, coming to a pool named Bethesda, healed a crippled man on the Sabbath Day. The Jews had a number of different Sabbaths or Shabbat. Not only did they observe a Saturday Sabbath, but four special Sabbaths, as well as a Sabbatical Year.

The Sabbaths were to be times of rest where no work
was done, but God was celebrated.

When Jesus healed this cripple man on a Sabbath (probably a High Sabbath), the Pharisees were incensed! They started “headhunting” Jesus.

John 5:16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

This is repeated again in:

John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Jesus did not try to be politically correct, and so that current cancel culture decided they would revoke Jesus’ life! They felt they were justified in doing this because the Law of God demanded death for blasphemy. God said:

Leviticus 24:16 (ESV) Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

In order to execute a person for blasphemy there had to be two or more witnesses that the evil was done. Jesus counters the charges leveled against Him (- that He made Himself equal to God, and – that He did something unlawful on the Sabbath). You see, Jesus neither committed blasphemy (for He IS equal to God), neither did He do wrong on the Sabbath.

Jesus calls on four witnesses to stand up
for Him against the Pharisees.

John 5:31-39 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. 32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. 33 Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. 34 But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. 35 He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. 36 But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. 37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. 38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. 39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Jesus said in verse 31, “If I bear witness (μαρτυρέω martyréō, [pronounced mar-too-reh’-o]) of myself, my witness (μαρτυρία martyría, [pronounced mar-too-ree’-ah]) is not true”. Jesus is not saying that what He Himself speaks in not true. He is saying that, according to the Law of God, the witness of ONE was not accepted. There had to be two or more witnesses to the truth. Jesus said in verse 32, “There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of Me is true”. There are other witnesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah sent from God. And if Jesus IS the Christ, the Messiah sent from God, then He is NOT guilty of blasphemy.

John The Baptist Is The First Witness
That Jesus Is The Messiah

John 5:33-35 Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. 34 But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. 35 He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

When the Messiah came, it was prophesied that He would come with a Herald appointed by God. We read:

Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in …

Isaiah 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

According to the Gospels, John the Baptist came as a fulfillment of these prophesies (John 1:23; Mark 1:2-5; Matthew 3:1-3). When John was still forming as a baby in his mother Elisabeth, when Mary came to visit her cousin. As soon as Mary spoke to Elisabeth, that baby John leaped in her womb (Luke 1:41). Elisabeth told Mary,

Luke 1:44 … as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

John was born about six months before Jesus Christ Himself came into the world. His ministry started about six months before Jesus’ ministry started. John was asked at one time if he was the Messiah. John told that he was NOT the Messiah, but that “the One Who is coming is over me, who’s shoestrings I am not worthy to untie” (John 1:27). When John saw Jesus, he told the crowd:

John 1:29-31 … Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

John’s entire mission of baptizing was to make Jesus Christ “manifest to Israel” as the Messiah. John the Baptist told the Pharisees:

Matthew 3:11-12 He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy {Spirit}, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

John foretold that Jesus would be the judge of all – the fan is in His hand to burn up the chaff and gather the wheat (the believer) into the Kingdom of God. John the Baptist is a witness that Jesus is the Christ.

The Miracles Jesus Did Are The Second
Witness That Jesus Calls For His Defense

John 5:36 But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.

This is not the first time Jesus referred to the “works” that He as the witness that He is Messiah. In Chapter 10 the Pharisees come to Jesus, and directly challenge Him:

John 10:24-26 … How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. 25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. 26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

That is very clear. “The works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me”. The Messiah – Eternal God become perfect man – did miraculous works, works that only God could do. When later John the Baptist was thrown into prison by Herod, he sent messengers to Jesus asking,

Matthew 11:3 (ESV) … Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?

The message that Jesus sent back was consider My works:

Matthew 11:4-6 (ESV) “… Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

When Jesus healed at crippled man at Bethesda, His very action proved that He is the Messiah. God is the Source of life and light. The Bible says of God:

Psalm 104:1-2 Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, 2 covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent.

Jesus Christ is God the Father’s Only Begotten Son. He brings light to those who wander about in darkness. He brings love to those who need it most. Jesus said:

John 8:12 … “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 9:5 … “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Jesus, like God the Father, has “in Him no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Jesus alone is the “the light of the world”. Everywhere Jesus went, He made the broken whole. In the Gospel of John alone Jesus:

Turned water into wine in Cana (2:1-11)
Healed an official’s son in Capernaum (4:46-54)
Healed a crippled man at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem (5:1-18)
Fedover 5,000 near the Sea of Galilee (6:5-14)
Walked on the water of the Sea of Galilee (6:16-21)
Healed a blind man in Jerusalem (9:1-7)
Raisedthe dead Lazarus in Bethany (11:1-45)

Jesus angered the Pharisees when He healed people on the Sabbath. But the fact that He could do these miraculous things – even the cast out of devils – proved that God was behind His ministry. When the Pharisees accused Jesus of “casting out demons by the power of the devil” (Luke 11:15), Jesus responded by saying:

Luke 11:20 … if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Jesus worked the works of God. These miracles proved He is Messiah.

God the Father Is The Third Witness
That Jesus Calls To The Stand

John 5:37-38 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. 38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.

On the day that John the Baptist baptized Jesus, the Bible tells us:

Matthew 3:16-17 (ESV) … when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

The Holy Spirit descended to rest on Jesus “like a dove”, then the Father spoke, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased”. It has been said that God has many sons by faith in Christ, but only ONE Son “in Whom He is well pleased”.

Later in His ministry, our Lord Jesus will lead Peter, James, and John to the Mount of Transfiguration where the Father will speak.

The Bible says that Jesus was transfigured before them, and His face shined like the sun, while His clothing was white as light (Matthew 17:2). As Elijah and Moses stood talking with Jesus, Peter spoke up.

“Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three places of worship here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

While Peter was speaking, the Father interrupted him, saying (Matthew 17:5):

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to Him.”

Later Peter would write of this witness. We read:

2 Peter 1:16-18 ….we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

Peter said, “We heard the Father endorse the Son”. The Apostle John, who was with Peter at the mount of transfiguration, wrote:

1 John 5:9-12 (ESV) If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Though the Pharisees “have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen God’s shape” (John 5:37), those who believed in Jesus and walked with Him heard the Father’s endorsement. Jesus said in another place:

John 8:18 … I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.

Jesus Christ is the Messiah! But there is one more witness that Jesus calls to His defense against stoning.

The Fourth Witness Jesus Calls Is The
Scriptures The Pharisees Studied

Jesus said in John 5:39 … Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

When Jesus speaks of the scriptures, He is referring to the Old Testament, the Bible that was written at that time in history. Jesus gets a little more specific toward the end of this chapter. Read with me:

John 5:45-47 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. 46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

Moses, under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, wrote the first five books of our Bible. Called the Pentateuch or the Books of the Law or The Torah, these books are the foundation on which the rest of the Scripture is laid. The New Testament often quotes the Old Testament to affirm Christ as the Messiah. In Galatians we read:

Galatians 3:7-9 (ESV) Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Paul is quoting the promise that God made to Abram (Abraham) back in Genesis 12 – the writings of Moses. He is saying that when God said:

“in you {Abraham} all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
(Genesis 12:3)

that God was speaking of the Gospel of Christ. Those who receive Jesus Christ as THE Christ shall be blessed whether they are Jews or Gentiles. “in thee ALL the families of the earth shall be blessed”. Jesus said the Old Testament Scriptures – especially the writings of Moses – spoke of Him and His ministry. Listen:

• In John 2:17, Jesus drives the money changers out of the Temple. This was prophesied in Psalm 69:9.
• In John 6, Jesus spoke of the manna that God gave Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 16:15). Then Jesus said, “The Bread of God is He that comes down from Heaven, and gives life to the world”. He made Himself to be the manna of Heaven!
• In John 6:44-45 Jesus said “no one comes to Me unless the Father that sent Me draws him”, and then quotes Isaiah 54:13, “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God”.
• In John 7:38-39 Jesus compares the Holy Spirit to Living Water. In the Old Testament the Spirit is compared to water a number of times (Isaiah 44:3; Ezekiel 36:25-26).

Throughout Jesus’ ministry He often said “it is written”, then quoted Old Testament texts. Jesus told us:

Matthew 5:17-18 (ESV) “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not a {jot or tittle}, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Our Jesus did not come to erase the Law, but
to be the Fulfiller of the Law.

I could quote many more quotations from the Old Testament texts that Jesus used. The Old Testament – especially the writings of Moses – testify that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. But there is one text I’d like to read that is particularly pertinent.

When Moses got ready to leave Israel (for his time was up), he told that nation:

Deuteronomy 18:15-19 (ESV) … “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.

God promised through Moses that He would raise up a replacement who would stand in Moses place. Early in John’s Gospel we read:

John 1:17 … the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Jesus is that Prophet Who would come and lead God’s people instead of Moses. Israel looked for the coming of the Messiah. When Philip met Jesus, he ran to tell Nathaniel:

John 1:45 … We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

When Peter spoke of the need to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, he said:

Acts 3:18-23 … those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. 20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. 23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

Jesus Christ is THAT Prophet, the Messiah. Moses gave us the Law, but Jesus Christ as Messiah fulfills the Law, giving us Grace and Truth. What does this mean for us today?

If Jesus Is The Christ, The Messiah, There Is
No Other Way To Be Made Right With God

So many people today believe there are “many ways to God”. But based upon the fourfold Witness Jesus gives to us (John the Baptist, Christ’s miraculous works, God from Heaven, and the writings of Moses) there is only ONE way to God – that is, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus told the Pharisees:

John 5:40 … ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.

There is no other Source of Eternal Life but faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. To be saved from eternal judgment you must receive Jesus Christ as He is, the One and only Savior and Lord. I am going to close by quoting the Apostle John:

1 John 5:11-12 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

If you have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have life. A better life now, and a blessed and eternal life later. Do you know Jesus? If not, then I beg you, give your life to Him this very day. None of us knows the last day of our life, none but God. Choose wisely. Choose Jesus. For life. May God the Holy Spirit and His precious Word draw you to Jesus this very day. Amen and Amen.