Thursday of Week 4 of Lent – Gospel
31“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true. 33You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. 34Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36But I have a testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. 37And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, 38and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent.
39“You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that testify on my behalf. 40Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. 41I do not accept glory from humans. 42But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. 43I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God?, 45Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”
Commentary on John 5:31-47
Today we continue on from yesterday’s words of Jesus to the Jewish religious leaders. In four ways, John’s Gospel reaffirms that God himself is the witness to the truth of all that Jesus says:
- The testimony of John the Baptist gives witness, although that was only human testimony (vv 33-34).
- The works of Jesus give clear testimony of the divine origin of all that Jesus does:
The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.
The leaders could not see this, but the crowds often testified to it with enthusiasm (v36).
- The Father himself has given testimony, although that has not been seen directly by some of the Jews:
And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form…
Perhaps this is a reference to Jesus’ baptism or to the Transfiguration (vv 37-38).
- A careful reading of the Scriptures will show they give testimony to Jesus (vv 39-40).
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
This is clearly shown later on by Jesus when explaining the Scriptures to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35).
Although Jesus clearly comes in the name of his Father, he is not accepted or believed in. Yet some other individual will come in his own name, and they will accept him. Further, they keep looking to their own traditions, rather than looking further to someone who clearly comes from God.
Jesus will not accuse them before his Father. Moses, in whom they claim to believe, will be their accuser.
If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?
By “Moses” is meant the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch. Their authorship is attributed to Moses, although we know now by the dating of the various parts that this could not be possible. It was common in ancient times to attribute the authorship of a work to a well-known personality.
How much of all this applies to us? Where do we ultimately put our faith—in the Christ of the New Testament, or in a Jesus we have tailored to our own wants? How familiar are we with the Word of God in the New (and Old) Testament? Where do we clearly see the Risen Jesus bringing God into our lives every single day?
