The Witness of the Baptist
For the Lord’s Day:  the 9^th of January 2005

John 5: 30-35

“I can do nothing on my own.  As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.  If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true.  There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.  You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.  He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.”

Introduction:  About a year and a half ago, I had applied for an advertised position as a college instructor of religion.  I sent along the usual resume and also gave a reference to the sermons posted on our web site.  When I sent the paperwork in, I was not really all that hopeful, since I did not consider myself a typical academic applicant.  Indeed, I learned later on - how pagans and perverts totally dominated that particular religion department.  Looking back, I probably should have applied for the positions in psychology and biology – since I do not believe in either psychology or evolution – I might have had a better chance of being hired, given the predominate positions in the religion department?  However, in the midst of today’s politically correct environment – we all realize how futile any human witness and intellect can challenge the worldly mythos.  Indeed, even with any judicial power on our side – it still remains almost impossible to challenge the academic mindset across this country of ours.

I say this by way of introduction because of the general attitude amongst the Jewish leaders at the time of Jesus Christ – there was nothing in the way of human evidence that could ever have persuaded them that He was indeed the Lord of life!  Their insensible minds were carved in stone.  Thus, the Lord speaks well in the first sentence of our passage for today:  “I can do nothing on my own.”  By this we would understand Calvin’s explanation that “we ought not to judge him from the outward appearance.”  To the Jews of His time and to the majority in our own day – Jesus was simply a man, another prophet perhaps, but a mere man nevertheless.  The worldly persist in this fictional assessment even today, because they will not consider the totality of the witness outlined in the Word of God and the prophetic messengers made present in the flesh.

In another sense, we should take the same words “I can do nothing on my own,” to indicate every action, word, deed and accomplishment that flows from our Triune God is totally one in will and purpose.  This would be the better understanding of this announcement – but the other is nevertheless true as well.  But let us wrap up our first point this morning with this idea:  The Lord God intended to use the hardness of heart on the part of the Jewish leadership to accomplish the sacrifice of the very Lamb of God.  And while some elected individuals within the Old Covenant Church would indeed find their way out of any self imposed dark counsel – still the greater majority would remain blind and oblivious to what they truly accomplished in the end!

Development:  Now let us take up a separate issue, that of necessary witnesses to establish theological and legal credibility.  A contemporary commentator, R.V.G. Tasker notes that any evidence given by Him in His own defense “would by itself be invalid, for according to Jewish law there must be two or three witnesses.”  We find that biblical requirement in the book of Deuteronomy (19: 15) where Moses demonstrates the mind of God in this matter:  “a single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed.  Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.”  This principle is carried over into the New Testament as well.  Jesus cites this principle in Matthew 18: 15 regarding Church discipline. And further in 1 Timothy 5: 19 we read the same application again.

Certainly, we understand that the God of heaven is competent to speak.  Indeed, Tasker reminds us that “God Himself is the only witness in fact whom Jesus regards as important as far as His own vindication is concerned.”   However, Jesus goes on in this passage to mention the necessary human witnesses to provide an opportunity for believers to hear and know by the power of God in the Spirit through their words.  And that is the purpose of this whole section at the end of the fifth chapter.  Indeed, over the next few weeks we will consider four witnesses altogether:  The Baptist, the Father, the Word and Moses.  This is more than necessary of course, but many trials today go on and on for months on end. 

The Peterson Case is one that we are all tired of hearing of the last year or so.  Months and months of testimony marked the course of events.  And while the mountain evidence was only circumstantial, still the jury accepted the totality and voted not only for conviction but also execution.  If we may apply that example as one that established credibility in the minds of a human jury, then in the understanding and application of our text today: much more factual evidence is available to establish the cause of Christ here in the hearts of believers.

Now, I do not agree with statements attributed to Gordon Clark that the biblical evidence is enough in and of itself to convince an unbeliever that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  That accomplishment can only be gained through the work of the Holy Spirit.  However, God: the Father, Son and Spirit have chosen to work in and through the agency of ministers and earthly witnesses to bring the elect to faith.  And it is for this reason that Jesus here commends the work of John the Baptist.  In verses thirty-three and four Jesus tells His listeners:  “You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.”  So this then is our second point for the morning:  that God in Christ will work through the human agency of His appointed prophets in order that others may come to faith.

As we work our way to the end of this section today, there is an important phrase at the beginning of verse thirty-three:  “You sent to John.”  By this we know that John’s testimony was originally taken with some serious thought.  However, this initial curiosity quickly changed.  In verse thirty-five we read Jesus’ assessment of John’s situation:  “He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.”  Tasker reports that “when faced with the austerity of John’s demands, as he struck at the roots of national privilege, they said he was possessed, and none of them came to his support when he was unjustly imprisoned and martyred.”

Calvin is stronger in his condemnation, comparing the Jews of Jesus time to wanton party animals, wasting the light given to them in the Baptist and in Christ.  In recent weeks, very many of us have spent hours, if not several days without electricity.  And once reconnected – what were your priorities?  Light of course, then heat and water?  At what point was the computer and television engaged?  You get the drift?  Our priorities do indeed tell something about our character. 

Before Christmas, when the roads were barely open, I was able to make my way up the four-lane to my home county.  One single lane, kept open primarily by truck traffic.  The busiest intersection I went through was the one at the recreation center, where skiing was being enjoyed even before anything else was opened up.  Interesting?  Indeed, earlier that morning, those of us blocked in a motel had watched the frantic antics of a driver with skis on the back of his small beetle.  He spent at least two hours and forty-five minutes gaining all of a hundred and fifty yards over to the gas station and from there the open road.

Application:   Such misplaced priorities infect every age and place under the sun.  Reports have come in from South Asia that the very day after the tragic flooding, some few were back on the beaches soaking up the sun, as if they had no cares in the world.  Others of course, voluntarily began to work with the local relief agencies.  One such person was interviewed a week or so after the initial tragedy, and he was staying on to see as much repair done as possible.

Yes, in Jesus’ day, some people did take the trouble to consult John the Baptist, and they heard him speak and took his words to heart and thereby they found the greater Light to whom John testified.  This too takes place in every age and place.  We are all called like John to be light bearers for the cause of Christ.  A month ago, in a Christmas exchange, I received a package with four flashlights.  Once I got home, I opened the package, inserted the batteries and placed the lamps in several places where they would be needed most.: car, truck, office and bedside.  They constituted an exceptionally practical gift, because I have used at least three of them in the last week. 

In the last month of the old year, the annual opportunity to speak boldly about our Lord and Savior came around as always.  While we may disparage the worldly habit of taking every holiday to use as an excuse for their party and business interests – we must use such seasons for a greater agenda.  And that agenda is the same as the responsibility given to John the Baptist:  to shine the Light of Christ into every nook and cranny of this old world.  Remember, this is always the cause of the church, in every circumstance – to raise up Christ before the world and thereby, just as in the Baptist’s day – the elect will see, hear and come to the Lord.  May John’s work be ours in this New Year.  Amen.

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PREACHING RESOURCES
Calvin, John:  Commentary on the Gospel of John.
Tasker, R.V.G.  Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: The Gospel According to St John.
The Holy Bible:  English Standard Version.

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