I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than [that] of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.

John 5:30-38

John the Baptist preached the undeniable truth that Jesus is the Son of God. However, many did not believe what John said.

Jesus is not denying that John’s message was true. He is explaining that He did not get His power and identity from the testimony by John. The miraculous works and ultimately the work of salvation on the cross show that Jesus’ identity and power come from God the Father.

This testimony cannot be rationally denied.

There are two fundamental things that I think we need to see in this portion of scripture.

First of all, Jesus did not become the Son of God by John saying it. John was simply testifying of the objective truth of Who Jesus already was. The same is true with our sonship. We do not become children of God by our testimony. Therefore, our testimony needs to be a declaration of what God has already done!

The next important point is that just because someone doesn’t believe the message of the gospel doesn’t make it untrue. John believed it and preached it. Many of the Jews did not believe it and fought against it. Regardless of how any man reacted to it, the fact remains that Jesus is the Son of God and His works testified as much.

Our witness (or testimony) about Jesus Christ should be declarations of the facts of Who Jesus is according to the Bible. As we relate our personal experiences, we need to make sure that we define those experiences by the truths of the Bible.