What Does It Mean To "Bear Witness"? - Bible Verse Study

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JOHN 5:31-35 31 “If I bear witness about Myself, My witness is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness about Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses about Me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 But I do not receive witness from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. 35 He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

Why does Jesus say, “If I bear witness about Myself, My witness is not true” (John 5:31)? He is citing a Jewish legal principle, that uncorroborated testimony doesn’t count.

Who is “the truth" in John 5:33? It's Jesus Himself: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

So what is Jesus saying in John 5:32-35? John the Baptist’s testimony already satisfies the above legal principle. They listened to John for a while. He has “borne witness” (John 5:33) of Jesus but they missed it, so they should go back to John's words and start over. And Jesus isn't saying this because He needs testimony from a man, but for their sake, “that you may be saved” (John 5:34).

JOHN 5:36-38 36 “But I have a greater witness than that of John, for the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish - the very works that I do - bear witness about Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father, who sent Me, has Himself borne witness about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. 38 And you do not have His word living in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.

What does Jesus reveal above? The “greater witness” than John the Baptist's witness is the “works” (John 5:36) that Jesus is doing and which prove that the “Father has sent” Him.

When did the Father Himself bear “witness about” (John 5:37) Jesus? When He had been baptized, Jesus immediately came up out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17)

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