What does John 5:32 mean?
Local religious authorities have challenged Jesus. These men are offended by Jesus' breaking Sabbath traditions and claiming to be equal to God (John 5:18). Rather than appealing to blind faith, Jesus acknowledges that some claims need to be supported by evidence (John 5:31, 34). In accordance with Jewish law, Jesus provides the three witnesses necessary to establish something as fact (Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:6). Two of these are observations, in the form of Jesus' miracles (John 5:36), and the evidence of Scripture (John 5:39).In this verse, Jesus begins to explain the evidence of human testimony. Early in the gospel of John, the Pharisees had sent investigators to John the Baptist (John 1:19–24). John, true to his calling, had pointed those men away from himself and towards the Promised One (John 1:25–28). That Promised One, as John would later make clear, was Jesus (John 1:29–31). In the next verse, Jesus will specifically refer to this message from John the Baptist and endorse it as the truth.