John 5:35 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

NIV: John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

NASB: He was the lamp that was burning and shining, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

CSB: John was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

NLT: John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message.

KJV: He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

NKJV: He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.

Jesus is currently providing evidence to support His radical claims (John 5:18). Rather than telling people, "just believe," or pointing out that truth does not require any human being's approval (John 8:14), Jesus graciously fulfills the requirements of Jewish law by supplying three "witnesses" on His behalf (Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:6). This is done out of love, to see souls saved (John 5:34).

The first witness Jesus refers to is human testimony. When John the Baptist began to preach, he was met with great excitement. There was so much commotion that religious leaders of Jerusalem felt the need to investigate (John 1:19–24). Many people were excited at the thought that John might be the Messiah. However, during the investigation, John pointed His testimony toward Jesus (John 1:25–28).

The gospel of John refers to John the Baptist—a different figure from the author of this Gospel—as a witness to "the" light (John 1:7). "The true light, which gives light to everyone …" is Jesus Christ (John 1:9). Here, Jesus refers to John the Baptist as "a" light, somewhat like a lantern which only reflects. John's entire purpose was to point people towards Jesus (John 1:8–9).

In the following verses, Jesus will explain two more "witnesses"—forms of evidence—which prove His message to be true.

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. In fact, they are 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 avoiding major 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 an 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 disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. 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"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.