John 5:33-36 33You yourselves sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. 34And I do not receive the testimony from a human, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35That one was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36But I have the testimony greater than John. For the works that the Father has given me so that I might fulfill them, these works that I am doing bear testify about me that the Father has sent me.
Jesus begins to apply his strong words to the Jews who were listening (verse 18). Likely, everyone with power, influence, or position in Jerusalem had heard about John the Baptist. The crowd who was listening to Jesus in the temple were some who had sent representatives to check out John in the wilderness (1:19-28). No one could deny that God was with John and that his words had power and truth. John had also given a clear testimony of Jesus’ identity as the Lamb of God (1:29-34). Verse 34 indicates that Jesus did not need John’s testimony to establish his own message and the truth. John prepared the way for the Messiah by preaching a message of repentance, but Jesus came with the message directly from God the Father. The last phrase in verse 34 is significant because it shows Jesus’ motive in speaking the strong words of warning in this chapter. He hoped they would believe and be saved from the judgment he talked about.
Verse 35 is a short defense of John’s ministry. Light is a significant metaphor in John’s Gospel for truth and righteousness. People liked John and make long trips to find him in the wilderness around the Jordan River. Jesus indicates that even the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem found John appealing and his message true for a while, but something happened in their thinking, perhaps when Jesus came. They could not accept that part of John’s testimony.
Verse 36 sets up an a priori type argument: if the Jews believed in John, an even greater person than John was present, so the truth should be even clearer and stronger. As far as the New Testament record goes, John did not perform miracles but only preached and baptized. Now before the Jews was someone who did miracles, namely, healing of the invalid from the Pool of Bethesda. The proof of divine commission and authority was right before their eyes. No human could do what Jesus did. Clearly, he was sent from God and had God’s approval. The key point is that since the miracles proved Jesus was from God, then the words he spoke also were true. Therefore, the Jews, the readers, and we today should believe in what Jesus said about himself and God’s plan of salvation through him. We must not harden our hearts like the Jews who confronted Jesus on that day. They were able to see firsthand the miracles. We have to trust in the truth of the “signs” John wrote in his Gospel. We also have the Holy Spirit who will convict us of the truth of Jesus.
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