“If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.” vs31-34

Jesus is speaking to us for our salvation. This is a mercy of the Son of God to give us testimony to the truth of the gospel and evidence to inherit eternal life. This is the goodness of His purpose and ambition - to hold out the water of life, persuasively.

I read something from Charles Spurgeon,

“Preach as you would plead if you were standing before a judge, and begging for the life of a friend, or as if you were appealing to the Queen herself on behalf of someone very dear to you. Use such a tone in pleading with sinners as you would use if a gibbet were erected in this room, and you were to be hanged on it unless you could persuade the person in authority to release you. That is the sort of earnestness you need in pleading with men as ambassadors for God.”

Is this how we preach? I’m reproved. Too much analysis without enough heart and entreaty may be the guilty verdict on all our preaching, and yet we say, “Teaching, teaching, teaching,” but with little persuasion and earnestness. We present the truth, so that people can be saved… if they want to… but rarely do we warn, argue, and plead. I think we lack DESIRE for others to be saved. We want to do our duty, be great preachers, and have all kinds of other ambitions, but there is so little yearning to deliver men from hell.

Christ had earnestness! He had a mission on His mind. Glorifying the Father meant saving others: it was much more than being right.

Secondly, the Lord Jesus was bold and direct. vs37-38

“And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.”

He was not mincing words, trying to be liked by people. He wanted more than a popularity contest. He wanted people to know the truth, and He knew that rebuke was part of it.

He talks about hell, and the wages of sin [vs29]. He talks about laying down our life to serve Him [Luke 14:33]. He tells us that we must serve Him now, strive to enter the straight gate, and we must endure to the end. He talks about the kind of fruit that we must bear, causes us to examine ourselves, and He tells us where our treasure must be, which is in heaven [Matt 6:19-24]. He speaks all kinds of difficult truth, because it is true, and He valued our salvation and faithfulness to God above all.

How much disagreeable truth do you say? I’m not talking about preaching against those outside of your church, but those in the crowd? I’m not talking about meanly and callously degrading others with culture wars and mocking tones. I’m talking about pleading with the men in front of you, motivated by love, telling them hard things and calling out the wrongs?

If we preach God’s word, then we’ll surely rebuke! We don’t need a “discernment” ministry. We simply open the word, text after text, and preach the exact words of Christ, the Apostles, and Prophets. We leave no stone unturned as we exposit Scripture, and we deal with things that people don’t want to hear. This is our job, and being faithful demands it. Let us do it with love. No one loved more nor spoke more face to face than Jesus.

Finally, if we set our hope upon Moses, then we’ll perish! vs45-47

“Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope.”

If we read the Bible with anything in mind except seeing Christ, we’re going to hell. If we’re satisfied with Bible reading, instead of SEEING CHRIST, then our souls will be famished and our lives ruined. We must have Christ, if we’ll have God.

Yet, men continue without a mediator! They are caught up in religion. They see rules and duties, but they don’t see Christ. They despise the loveliness of His Person. Oh, how arrogant men are, and even good men are blind to Christ in the Scriptures. They see Him in the new testament but not the old, because they don’t understand what they are saying, nor do they read the new testament and see how clearly it was pulled from the old! Others are proud, blasphemous, and dangerous. Anyone preaching the Bible and not preaching Christ is a soul murderer, the blind leading the blind, and he’s a mutilator of the text!

We must preach Christ as God, Man, and the Savior. He gives life to poor sinners, and He’s the judge, deciding who’s saved and damned. He is the rightful King - the One that earned His throne “wading through the pool of His own blood.” He is the faithful Prophet and the Teacher. He lived to God’s glory and condescended to save us, not only by faithfully teaching us, but also by performing His work unto the end, even the death of the cross. We thank God that we have Him, and without Him, we have nothing.