John 5:31–47
Jesus said, ‘If I testify about myself, my testimony
is not true. There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his
testimony to me is true. You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the
truth. Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that
you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to
rejoice for a while in his light. But I have a testimony greater than John’s.
The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am
doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. And the Father who
sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or
seen his form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not
believe him whom he has sent.
‘You
search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and
it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have
life. I do not accept glory from human beings. But I know that you do not have
the love of God in you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept
me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe
when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes
from the one who alone is God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the
Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. If you believed
Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe
what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?’
Reflection
Jesus said, ‘If I testify about myself, my testimony
is not true.’ How often
that I testify about myself, with my family background, academic and
professional qualifications, and even how much I make?
Do I have the love of God in me and do I accept Jesus who comes in the Father’s name?