John 5:32 - Printer Friendly

ESV: There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.

NIV: There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

NASB: There is another who testifies about Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.

CSB: There is another who testifies about me, and I know that the testimony he gives about me is true.

NLT: But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true.

KJV: There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.

NKJV: There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.

Jesus has been challenged by local religious authorities. 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). So, 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.

John 5:30–47 continues Jesus' response to His critics in Jerusalem. After healing a crippled man on the Sabbath and claiming to be equal with God, Jesus now speaks about evidence. Rather than simply saying, ''have faith,'' or ''believe Me because I said so,'' He offers reasons why He should be believed. These include human testimony, the miracles He is performing, and the words of Scripture. Jesus also makes the point that those who reject the prior words of God—the Old Testament Scriptures—aren't going to believe in Christ, no matter what.

Jesus again returns to Jerusalem, as required for the various feast days. While there, He heals a man who had been crippled for nearly forty years. Since this occurred on the Sabbath, local religious leaders are angry—more upset with Jesus for working on the Sabbath than amazed at His miracle. In response, Jesus offers an important perspective on evidence. Jesus refers to human testimony, scriptural testimony, and miracles as reasons to believe His declarations. Christ also lays claim to many of the attributes of God, making a clear claim to divinity.

Chapters 1 through 4 showed Jesus more or less avoiding publicity. Here, in chapter 5, He will begin to openly challenge the local religious leaders. This chapter is Jesus' first major answer to His critics in this Gospel. The fact that Jesus is willing to heal on the Sabbath sets up a theme of His upcoming disagreements with the Pharisees. Jesus also provides important perspective on the relationship between evidence and faith, which He will expand on in later chapters. This chapter also establishes a key point made by Jesus' critics: His claims to be God.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.

Accessed 5/7/2024 3:48:43 AM