John 5:30-32 30I can do nothing on my own. Just as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me. 31If I myself testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32There is another who testifies about me, and I know that the testimony that he testifies about me is true.
Verse 30 summarizes the previous verses (see verses 19-20) and prepares for the following verses. Jesus came as the voice of the Father. Everything he did was directed by the Father. There are several implications from this verse. One is that this claim legitimizes his words and gives them divine authority. He did not speak his own words but those given to him by God. Even more than the prophets of old, he was God’s voice to the people. Second, related to this is that Jesus has the power to judge because he is so connected to the Father as to know how the Father would judge. Third, Jesus got his directions from the Father. He lived in perfect obedience, setting us a model for prayer, faith, and dependence upon God.
These verses are packed with first-person references with the pronouns or verbs. Jesus defends his ministry and reveals more of who he is. This section of John connects the Son to the Father, showing Jesus as the living Word of God to humanity. Verse 31 emphasizes this connection in a negative way in that Jesus’ words were not based on him alone. If he made it all up, then they would not be true (alētheia) or correct. The point, however, is that he did not invent his testimony, referring to his message about God and God’s purposes for humanity. He got his words directly from God. Verse 32 puts the same idea in a positive way and indicates that Jesus got his message from another, clearly referring to God the Father. Jesus had intimate and complete knowledge of the message the Father wanted him to speak. The evidence that God was pleased with Jesus was his ability to do miracles and change lives. For those with eyes of faith, the evidence was convincing.
Those with closed hearts and minds could not see through their unbelief. Jesus has been speaking to the Jews who questioned his authority to heal on the Sabbath (verse 18). They were putting themselves into this latter group by refusing to believe in Jesus. This passage gives one of the strongest warnings in the Bible about the need to accept Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. Not accepting this testimony, given by Jesus and written down by John, will lead to judgment.
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