In the final section of John chapter 5, we have a kind of courtroom drama playing out. Jesus, like a skillful defense attorney presenting His final argument before the Jewish religious leaders, details the weighty testimonial evidence for His claim to be the Son of God.
He begins in verse 31 by acknowledging that according to their Law which required two independent witnesses to establish the truth of a matter, serving as His own witness is insufficient. That’s what He means when He says, “My witness is not true.” He doesn’t mean that He’s telling a lie. He’s simply agreeing that under their system, His personal testimony alone is not enough.
So, over the remainder of the chapter, He reminds them of the powerful testimony they’ve already heard from not just two, but FOUR INDISPUTABLE witnesses. And in verse 32, before elaborating in detail later in the passage, He teases them with some of what is coming when He says, “There is another who bears witness of me.” A clear and unequivocal reference to God, the Father.
And reading those words again yesterday caused my throat to tighten with emotion and my eyes to tear up as I was reminded of the forceful impact of the testimony of my Heavenly Father in the recurring case of the Devil’s suit against my salvation. It seems that almost daily Satan attempts to call into question the right to consider myself a child of God. And he skillfully introduces as evidence all the dirt he continues digging up from the remains of my sinfulness.
And it can be VERY convincing. When the fruits of my wickedness are paraded through the courtroom of my soul, I can often find my personal witness to God’s grace losing ground against the testimony of my sinful past.
But…“There is another who bears witness of me.”
God has declared in John 1:12 that because I have placed my faith in Jesus, I have been given LEGAL standing as a child of God. And Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
So, if you find yourself today being tempted by the “Accuser” to doubt your place in God’s family because of something he dredged up from your past, remember 1 John 1:9. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and JUST to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.”
Case closed.