Journey through John 5:31-47

Good Morning Church Family – Journey Through John

Read John 5:31-47

Devo Thought: In today’s passage, Jesus finishes his thoughts on his position as the Son of God gives him authority to do and say the things that he does and says. In this passage, he focuses in on what he calls witnesses. I like to think of witnesses in this sense as a form of endorsements. Jesus is pointing to others or other things that give him the credentials to do and say all that he does. In Jewish Law, one needed to back a claim up with two or three witnesses in order for a claim to be considered true or credible. So, what type of endorses does Jesus provide for himself? First, he points to John the Baptist, who at the beginning of the Gospel of John very clearly said that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Jewish leadership, while they didn’t really like John, had respect for him. Then, Jesus turns to his works, these miracles he has been performing, and says these are telling you that I am legitimately the Son of God, sent by the Father. I’ve turned water into wine, healed the official’s son, and healed a man who had been an invalid for 38 years (three witnesses). After that, Jesus points to the Scriptures and says that these are all about me. The Scriptures are here to show you who I am, he says. Finally, he points to Moses as his final witness. This is especially powerful because, as Jesus said, they had “set [their] hope” on him. In other words, they had “loved” the Law and the author of that Law, Moses, and for Moses to accuse them, would be a powerful witness against them. Jesus is the Son of God, and he has all the endorsements he needs to back that claim up (pay attention that he provided four witnesses, more than required).

Let us thank God that we don’t have a pretender prophet but the very Son of God to save us.