Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Dial In - John 5:31-47 (Ep. 14)

Episode Date: April 16, 2020

Dial In is a devotional series with the intention of helping followers of Christ understand God’s word and love Him more. Jonny seeks to communicate the profound depth of scripture in a digestible and condensed format each weekday. The goal of the podcast is that our “minds would be renewed” as we behold who God is in His word. In this series, Jonny is walking sequentially through the Gospel of John.In this episode, Jonny covers John 5:31-47 and covers the eternal testimonies about Jesus’ deity. Those being: John the baptist, His signs and the scriptures themselves. Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. We're at a high point in John's Gospel where Jesus is proclaiming his own deity. Today we're in John chapter 5 verses 31 through 47. Let's dial in. John chapter 5 verses 31 through 47. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.

Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you are willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 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. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me.

Yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people, but I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 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. How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think I will accuse you to the Father. There is another one who accuses you, Moses, on whom you have set your hope.

For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? Now, this is one of the more challenging portions of scripture, but it's so important for us to understand because it details the identity of Jesus Christ. So this is obviously important. And what I love about the way Jesus teaches

is that he is constantly hammering home the fact that faith is not anti-intellectual. Jesus is never asking the Jews or even us today to leave our deductive abilities at the door when we follow him. In fact, here in this passage, we are going to see that he asked the Jews to consider and think and reason with their minds to come to the logical conclusion that he is in fact God. Now Jesus is still in the same conversation with the Jews that started as a result of healing a man on the Sabbath. And we saw in the previous section that Jesus declares that he is equal with God in nature and power and authority. Jesus tells them, in every sense, I am God. And because this is true, I deserve equal worship. You guys have spent your whole life trying to honor God. And

if you want to honor God, you must honor me. This is Jesus' self-testimony about himself. Now, at this point, Jesus has made some massive claims and he knows that the Jews will want some additional testimony to corroborate this monumental claim. So we read in verse 31, if I alone testify about myself, my testimony is not true. Now what is Jesus saying here? We know that he isn't saying that his testimony in of itself isn't sufficient because in John 8, 14, he says, even if I bear witness about myself, my testimony is true. So what is he doing? He is deferring to them. Jesus is probably referring to Deuteronomy 19, 15 here, where it says only on the evidence of two or three witnesses shall a charge be established. So in verse 32, Jesus is saying,

okay, boys, I'm going to play your game. There is another and another and another who testify about me and the testimony that they give about me is true. So starting in verse 32, Jesus provides three testimonies about his identity, all of which come directly from the Father. And in these three testimonies, there is a crescendo in the evidence that Jesus provides, ranging from the lesser to the greater. Now dial in here, because the truth that Jesus is about to communicate determines eternal destinies. What do you do with Jesus Christ? And this is John's purpose in writing his gospel. I write these things so that you may believe Jesus is the Christ. And Jesus is going to provide testimony to his deity.

And he does so by starting with John the Baptist in verses 33 through 35. Now, John the Baptist, and we've talked about this before, was the first prophet in 400 years. All of Jerusalem and all of Judea affirmed that he was a great prophet from God, and he would have been the most popular man in half a millennia, and there was nothing like him. Jesus then says, this guy's testimony did not originate in himself.

It came from my father. John preached a message from God saying, behold, the Lamb of God is here. The kingdom of God is here. John the Baptist, a preacher for God, paved the way for me, Jesus is saying. And then he tells them, you accepted the prophet and you are rejecting the one he preached. How can you accept him and reject what he says? Now Jesus moves on in verse 36 to the testimony of his signs or his miracles. Verse 36 says,

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. Jesus tells them, if you don't believe John the Baptist, if you don't believe the first prophet in 400 years, then believe the signs, believe my works. These signs authenticate my identity. And sometimes we get so familiar with hearing the story of these signs that we forget how powerful they would have been. And we see that all throughout the scripture. John chapter 3 verse 2, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.

John 7 31, yet many of the people believed in him and said, when Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done? John 10, 25, the works that I do in my father's name testify about me. John 12, 37, though he had performed so many signs, they were not believing in him. John 14, 11, believe in me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. John 15, 24, I have done works that no one else has done, and they have seen these. And then I love this final verse in John's gospel, John 21, 25. Now there are so many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written,

I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. This is a monumental, massive testimony. Jesus's signs authenticated his identity. And Jesus is telling these hard-hearted Jews, if you don't believe John the Baptist, believe the signs, believe my works. They come from my father. Now in verses 37 through 39, we are ramping up to the greatest testimony, the testimony of scripture. And in verse 39, Jesus says something radical. He tells them, you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. Now watch this. And it is they, the scriptures, that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. This is a clear indictment on the Jews. The word search here is an aggressive term when Jesus tells them that they

search the scripture and it refers to wild dogs tracking for food. But these were not pagans that Jesus is addressing. They were biblical scholars. And Jesus tells them, you pour over the scripture, you search the scripture, you fastidiouslyiously study and you've missed it. You've missed what is right in front of you. It points to me. The theme of scripture is me and you refuse to come to me. You refuse. This is an unambiguous indictment. You are disciplined students of the scripture because in them you think you have eternal life. How could you read these words and study this truth and devote your life to the scripture and not believe in me? The only Bible Jesus had and the only Bible that the Jews had was the Old Testament.

And the prophecy regarding Jesus permeated the Old Testament. I'll name a few. Isaiah 7.14, he will be born of a virgin. They knew the claims surrounding Jesus' birth. Micah 5.2, he will be born of a virgin. They knew the claims surrounding Jesus' birth. Micah 5, 2, he will be born in Bethlehem. Psalm 41, 9, even a close friend in whom I trusted who ate my bread has lifted up his heel against me. This is the prophecy of a betrayal by a close friend, and this is fulfilled in John 13, 18. Deuteronomy 18, a prophet is coming.

Leviticus, a final sacrifice is coming. Isaiah 53, a suffering servant is coming. And then Luke 24, verse 25, Jesus is walking with two of his followers on the road to Emmaus. And he says, oh, foolish men, haven't you read your Bibles? Come on, all of this scripture points to me.

And then in Luke 24, he says to his disciples, all the things that were written about me in the law and the prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled that the Christ would suffer and rise on the third day. Jesus is constantly reinforcing that the greatest testimony regarding his identity is the scripture itself. Jesus is constantly asking the Jews, have you not read? Have you not read? Have you not read? The scripture is the greatest evidence for who Jesus is, and we see this in 2 Peter 1, when Peter, who is an eyewitness of Jesus's glory and was there at the

Mount of Transfiguration, says, I've seen his glory. I've touched him. I've been with him, but I have something more sure, something more fully confirmed. What is it, Peter? He says, the word of God to which you will do well to pay attention. The word of God is the greatest evidence of the son of God. And we could go on for much longer, but this is amazing truth. So what is their response? We read Jesus's words in verse 40. It says, you refuse to come to me that you may have life. They refused and rejected the only source of life. This is a foundational doctrine in the Bible, the unwillingness to believe the truth even when faced with it. And we must understand this. God is never responsible for the unwillingness of a sinner to come to him. That's why the Bible constantly is saying, whoever believes, whosoever

repents, Jesus says, come unto me, come unto me, everyone come. Unbelief is never a byproduct of a lack of evidence. It is never due to God choosing people for hell or insufficient provision of testimony. All of the responsibility lies on those who refuse to believe. A sinner's only hope then is to cry out to God and ask God to provide them with the willingness to believe in Him. We give God all the credit for salvation, but we are responsible for believing. And Jesus says, whosoever believes, come unto me. There is a provision available for all of those who believe. This passage sets forth. Jesus is God. He testifies about himself and the father testifies about his identity through John the Baptist, the signs and wonders that Jesus does and through the perfect

and sure word of God. Stay dialed in.