Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-january-25-2024
John 5:31-47
Testimonies About Jesus
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.
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 very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
41 “I do not accept praise from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have 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 but do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
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 do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
I have to admit that this is a passage I’ve tended to skip over when it’s come up in the lectionary. That’s probably because it doesn’t immediately connect with our 21st century understanding of the world. But my take on it is that anything that Jesus says is worth trying to understand (him being God in human form and all), so we should take a little time to figure out what he’s saying.
The first point Jesus is making is that there were other voices speaking up in support of him and his ministry. He’s recognizing a basic fact of human perception – that nobody is regarded as completely credible when they vouch for themselves. We have a natural tendency to doubt what a person might say on their own behalf. We assume that when a person speaks, their testimony about themselves is tainted by self-interest. (In fact, this idea is written into the Laws of Moses, which require that important matters be established by two or more witnesses.)
But Jesus says there are in fact other authorities that ‘give testimony’ about him – that help to establish his credibility. The first example he gives is John the Baptist. From the gospel accounts, it’s pretty clear that John was widely respected by the Hebrew people at the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. John had come to prepare the way for Jesus, and then he had pointed out Jesus to others as “the Lamb of God” and “the Son of God.”
But then Jesus goes on to say that an authority even higher than John the Baptist has vouched for the credibility of his ministry, and that ‘higher authority’ is God himself. Jesus says that the word of God, as it speaks through the scriptures, foretells his coming and gives clues to the work he has come into the world to do. Jesus says that the Jewish religious leaders of his day had spent their lives studying the details of the Hebrew scriptures, hoping to find the secret of eternal life. But now the author of those scriptures is standing right in front of them in the flesh – offering the gift of eternal life – and they don’t get it.
The religious leadership is happy to bask in the praise of other people, but they miss out on a much more valuable blessing, one from God himself.
But Jesus makes it plain that he has not come to “accuse” people before God. And specifically, he seems to mean the religious Jews and their leaders. Because he goes on to say that it’s Moses who accuses them. In saying this, Jesus seems to be using Moses as a symbol of the Law of God. Moses was remembered as the “law-giver,” the one through whom God had handed down his law into the life of the covenant people. And because the Jewish people and their tradition had failed to live in obedience to that Law, they were, in a sense, accused by Moses.
Jesus’ real point seems to be one that he also makes in other parts of the gospels: that his life and ministry are the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets – the fulfillment of the history of God’s relationship with the covenant people. So if the leaders of the Hebrew tradition fail to understand that fact, then they’re not going to understand the authority he has been given. And more importantly, they’ll miss out on the eternal life he offers those who follow him.
From our perspective, this might all seem like an ancient dispute between Jesus and a bunch of long-dead Jewish leaders. But it seems to me it has something important to say to us as 21st century followers of Jesus. If Jesus and his ministry really are the fulfillment of the Law of Moses, which we find in the Old Testament, then there’s no denying that it’s important for us to study it, and not to dismiss it as ‘a bunch of old Jewish stories.’ And if the Hebrew scriptures really do bear witness to our master, then since we’re called to continue his work, their witness applies to us, as well.
It’s kind of interesting to note that when Jesus says that he will not accuse the Jews and their leaders before God but that Moses will, he’s referring to an idea that might seem a little foreign to us. The name ‘Satan’ is actually Hebrew for “the accuser.” So Satan was understood by the ancient Jews, not just as an evil power who tempted them to sin, but also as one who accused them of their sins before God. (As Satan does in the story of Job.) It would have been very startling for Jewish listeners to hear Moses – whom they understood to be a kind of ‘saint’ who interceded for them to God – described as one who actually accused them before God.
So, as we said, this passage takes a little digging, but it does have some resonance for us as followers of Jesus in our time.
Let’s pray: Lord, we thank you for the gift of the scriptures and their witness to Jesus and his work for the kingdom. By your Spirit, give us a greater dedication to studying those scriptures so we can come to a better understanding of his place – and ours – in salvation history. Amen.
Blessings,
Henry
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