John 5:34 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.

NIV: Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved.

NASB: But the testimony I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.

CSB: I don't receive human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved.

NLT: Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved.

KJV: But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.

NKJV: Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.

Truth is truth, whether people believe it or not. If Jesus had stood on the streets of Jerusalem and said nothing more than "I am God and the Messiah," this would have been true. As God, there are certain things which only He could know (John 8:14). And, the truth of those claims does not depend on human approval. Of course, because human beings are stubborn and fearful, not many people would have reacted well to such an approach.

Out of love, mercy, and grace, God chose to show humanity that Jesus is the Promised One in many different ways. Jewish legal procedure required two or three witnesses in order to establish a fact (Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:6). For the sake of our souls, and our salvation, Jesus does not appeal to blind faith. Nor does He reject the normal human need for evidence. Rather, He provides what our weak and limited perspective requires.

Jesus is currently explaining the first of three forms of evidence, which is human testimony. The Pharisees had previously interrogated John the Baptist, who pointed to Jesus as the Promised One (John 1:24–28).

In upcoming verses, Jesus will also refer to evidence through observation—His miracles (John 5:36)—and to the written Scriptures (John 5:39–40).

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.