Here is a teaching of part 2 of chapter 5 of the book of John. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
Part 2 of John Chapter 5:
31 "If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid. 33 You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light."
Okay, so I'm going to stop right there and discuss a few things with you guys. So like we know in the previous Bible study that the Jews sought to kill Jesus because he had performed miraculous signs on the Sabbath. Also in our Bible study from last week, Jesus talked to the Jews about the life through the Son. Now we're going into testimonies about Jesus and he says that if he testifies about himself then his testimony is not valid and he talks about John the Baptist and how his testimony is valid. In the Bible study I did in episode 49, I went over John the Baptist's testimony about Jesus Christ. John the Baptist came baptizing so that Jesus may be revealed to the world and that people may believe in him.
In these verses here, Jesus says that he doesn't accept human testimony, but he mentions it so that they may be saved. Now, as we know from these previous chapters that Jesus, God the Son, works for the will of his Father, God the Father, and that he was on a mission to save the world and to forgive us of our sins. Jesus knows what is in a man's heart, he knows everything about our hearts, he knows about every single thing, and so he doesn't accept testimony about humans, but he knows that these people did accept the testimony of John. A lot of people believed in John and came to get baptized from John the Baptist, so he says that he mentioned it so that they may be saved.
Jesus also says that John was a lamp that burned and gave light and they chose for a time to enjoy that light. So for a while, these people chose to believe John, John gave light to them and spread the gospel and let others know about Jesus. Jesus is the light of the world and the representation of John being like a lamp just goes to show, because a lamp doesn't have light on its own and Jesus is the light of the world, he gave light to John. He gave him light to burn so that John may testify about him, he came baptizing, and let others know about Jesus, and they chose to believe him and accept him for a while. We don't see about it here, but in Matthew, it talks about how John the Baptist is put in prison and he gets killed, so that's why here in these verses, Jesus says that they chose to enjoy his light for a time.
36 "I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life."
I'm just going to stop right here and discuss these verses with you guys. So Jesus says that the Father has testified himself concerning him and that the very work that the Father has given him to finish testifies that the father sent him. Jesus came onto the earth, lived a sinless life, performed all these miraculous signs that these people are seeing, revealed himself to sinners, healed the broken and the wounded, and we'll see further in these chapters that he died on the cross to forgive us of our sins and rose three days later. Jesus tells these Jews that the word of God the Father doesn't dwell in them because if it did they would believe in Jesus and they wouldn't seek to kill him just because he performed a miraculous sign on the Sabbath day.
These Jewish leaders think that by knowing and studying the Bible and really knowing these scriptures from the old Testament front to back, that they have some eternal life, that they know God, and that everything's going to be okay. But Jesus shows here that they really don't know God if they don't believe in Jesus and if they really believed in the scriptures that they're studying, they would believe in Jesus. Time and time again, it talks about Jesus Christ in the the Old Testament scriptures, about how there's going to be a King that saves the world and all of this stuff, so if they really knew the Bible and knew God like they thought they did, they would believe in Jesus.
41 "I do not accept praise from men, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 have I come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?"
So I'm just going to stop right there and discuss these verses with you guys. Jesus knows everything before it happens and he knew that they didn't have the love of God the Father in their hearts and that they were going to crucify him. In verse 43, he's prophesized here about the antichrist and how his descendants are going to accept the antichrist because of their foolishness in not believing in Jesus Christ and wanting to crucify him. That just goes to show the sinful nature of human beings. So what he says in verse 44 here, a big problem that these Jews had was pride, and they were so worried about getting honor and praise from each other, that they weren't even trying to have a relationship with God. They were studying these scriptures, thought that they knew everything about these scriptures, they had these laws in place and everything, but they weren't seeking praise from God. They weren't trying to have a relationship with God and really know him.
45 "But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you did not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?"
So those are the last verses that I'm going to read, but I'm going to discuss these here with you guys. So Jesus tells theses Jewish leaders that their accuser is Moses, and that they don't accept what Moses wrote. They're diligently studying the scriptures and doing all these things, but Moses writes about Jesus Christ. And if they don't believe in Jesus Christ and believe that he is the Son of God, then they don't accept Moses's testimony, they don't accept what Moses wrote. Since these Jews aren't accepting the testimony of John the Baptist, God the Father himself, the work that God the Son is doing, the testimony of the Scriptures in the old Testament, and of Moses writing about Jesus Christ, If they don't accept all of that, then how are they going to believe what Jesus himself says?
John Ch 5 Study Guide Part 2
1. What is the testimony about Jesus Christ that he says is valid?
2. What does Jesus mean by “a lamp that burned and gave light” in verse 35?
3. What are some other testimonies about Jesus that he talks about in these verses?
4. Why do these Jewish leaders study the Scriptures?
5. What is Jesus referring to in verse 43?
6. Why does Jesus tell these Jews that their accuser is Moses?
7. What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible Study?
Before I let you go, I did want to say a quick prayer. Lord I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. I pray that you open up their eyes to see the truth of your words, open up their ears to listen to what you have to say to them, open up their hearts and their mind to you, and that they see and receive the truth of your words. I pray that they spread the gospel to others and let them know about you and how amazing you are. I pray that every single person reading this right now accepts the testimony about Jesus Christ. I pray that they go out and spread the gospel and the testimonies about Jesus and they let everyone that they know and love know about Jesus and how amazing he is. I love you so much Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
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