01-18-09 Sermon Review

Divine Apologetics
John 5:31-47

There is a field of study in Christianity called Apologetics. You might have heard of it. It is not a study of how to say sorry. The word comes form a Greek word that means defense. Apologetics is the study of the proofs and defense of Christianity. You don't have to be a Christian long to find out that Apologetics is absolutely necessary. When you're out sharing your faith, one of the most frequent questions you'll hear is, "How do you know?" Anyone making such a claim as the ones Christianity makes must be able to make his case and answer this recurring question adequately.

We find Jesus in the same situation. In the previous passage He has claimed equality with the Father. No one can make such a claim without any basis. Anticipating the demand from the Jews to prove His assertions, Jesus moves on to defend what He just said in verses 31 to 47. I am sure you'll be amazed at how Jesus defended His own claims to His divinity.

John the Baptist - Most people would point to a witness, a human witness, when making a claim, and so Jesus starts giving John as a witness. It would have been an adequate maneuver, but Jesus was not willing to rest His case on a man's testimony. Sure, John the Baptist was a prophet, but he was still human. If Jesus pointed to John as the basis for His divinity, John the Baptist becomes of higher authority than Jesus and humanity has authority over the deity. Therefore, Jesus explicitly states that He receives not the testimony of man. What a way to defend His divinity! What Jesus then follows up with is even more amazing.

Jesus' Works - What can be greater than a human eye witness? In the court of law, nothing holds more weight than an eye-witness testimony. Yet Jesus claimed that there is a witness greater than the witness of John, and that is the witness of the signs that Jesus did Himself (vs. 36). This is an interesting witness to the claims He made. He was ultimately claiming that He is the Messiah because He is the Messiah! He does what the Messiah is supposed to do. The greatest sign that He will show to prove His deity and Messiahship is the resurrection. He lays down His life and takes it up again. Who can do this? No one but God can. Jesus is God because He does what only God can do. His actions, His power, His words, they all proclaim that He is the Son of God.

The Father's Declaration - Next, Jesus points to the witness of the Father: "And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me"(vs. 37). There are two events recorded in Scripture where the Father makes an unmistakable declaration regarding the Son. First is Jesus' baptism, and the second is Jesus' transfiguration (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5). Both testify to the deity of Jesus. God calls Jesus His Son and gives the logical response due Him in the form of a command in the transfiguration declaration, "Listen to Him." This does not simply mean to hear Him, but stresses that we obey Him.

The Scripture's Testimony - Lastly, Jesus points to the Scripture. This is another amazing claim in and of itself. Jesus states, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me" (vs. 39). Jesus claimed He was this author of life, and the Scriptures are there to support His claim. The Scriptures, the guide to eternal life points only to the author of life. What an amazing statement. The Scripture gives life by pointing to Jesus Christ. But how does this prove that Jesus is indeed divine? If the scribes could only see, they would see that Jesus, because He is the Messiah, is the only one who fits the picture of the Messiah given in the Scriptures. But they missed that. They missed it big time. The author of life stood before them, and it could not have been any clearer. Yet they missed it.

Here is what's interesting about Jesus' defense of His deity: He only points to that which is of divine origin to prove His deity. And that is fitting, for there is no higher authority to point to. If He indeed is divine, but trusted in any other authority to testify to His deity, He would no longer be the self-existent, sovereign Lord of the universe that He claims to be. No one talks like Jesus. No one. If you boil down His argument, He is simply stating, "I am God because I am. God says I am, God's Word says I am, I say that I am, and I am." Discussion ends. No one talks like Jesus. The Jews were right if Jesus was only a man; He deserved to die. But He surely was and is the Son of God, Savior and Lord of all, and the Jews should have bowed down to worship. Are you amazed at Jesus' defense? Then bow down to worship. Listen to Him. That is the only logical response. Stay strong in the Lord and God bless!