Why We Should Believe
TRANSLATION
(30) “On my own I can do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me. (31) If I alone testify about myself, my testimony is not trustworthy. (32) There is another who testifies about me, and I know that his testimony about me is trustworthy. (33) You sent to John, and he has testified regarding the truth. (34) The testimony that I receive is not (only) from human origin, but I say these things so that you may be saved. (35) John was a burning and shining lamp, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light. (36) But the testimony which I receive is greater than that of John, for the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, testify about me (to show) that the Father has sent me. (37) And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me. His voice you have never heard at any time, nor have you ever seen his form. (38) And you do not have his word dwelling in you, for the one whom he sent you do not believe.”
OBSERVATIONS
Attestations to the person and work of God’s Son arose from three sources beyond Jesus’ testimony about himself: from the testimony of John, from the testimony of miraculous works Jesus was given to perform, and directly from God, the Father, himself. Repeated words again point us to the thrust of this segment, the second part of Christ’s great discourse on the responsibilities given by the Father to the Son. In the opening verse we find a cluster of related words, “judge…judgment…just,” that speak of the Son’s authority (vs. 30). “Will” occurred twice in the same verse, indicating that the Son came to do the Father’s will (vs. 30). “Sent” is found four times (vss. 30, 36, 37, & 38). “Testify/testimony” was used nine times (in vss. 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, & 37) and is the key word of the segment. “Trustworthy” occurred twice (vss. 31 & 32). “John” was found twice (vss. 33 & 36). “The Father” occurred three times (twice in vs. 36 and once in vs. 37). “Works” was repeated in the same verse (vs. 36).
OUTLINE
I. Jesus did nothing on his own but only that which the Father had sent him to do. (30)
II. Three witnesses of Jesus’ person and work included the testimony of John the Baptist, the works themselves, and the Father who sent him. (31-38)
IDEA STATEMENT
Our faith in the person and work of God’s Son is solidly based on the testimony of thoroughly reliable witnesses.
APPLICATION
The concept of “a blind leap of faith,” attributed to the Danish philosopher and theologian, Soren Kierkegaard, is understood to mean “the act of believing in or accepting something outside the boundaries of reason.” Many view the faith Christians place in Christ as such a blind leap of faith. However, Jesus never called his disciples to set aside their powers of reasoning and simply accept his claims without a solid basis for doing so. The Scriptures repeatedly give us strong arguments for our faith, more than adequate grounds on which to build our confidence in the Savior.
In this passage alone we find four witnesses testifying to the validity of our faith: John the Baptist, Jesus himself, the works Jesus performed, and the Father whose testimony was recorded many times in the pages of Scripture. Not even mentioned were the witness the Holy Spirit bears within our hearts and the testimonies of other believers whose lives have been transformed by the power of God. When we consider all the reliable bases on which to build our faith, we realize that the term, “a blind leap of faith,” is misleading to say the least. The only blindness of which the Scriptures speak in this regard is the blindness that afflicts those who refuse to believe because “the god of this world…has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4). We who place our faith in the Savior do so with eyes wide open. We trust Christ because, by the enablement of the Holy Spirit, we have clearly seen and trust the truth of who he is, who we are, and our desperate need for the salvation he alone can give us.