"30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgement is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 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. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”"
John 5:30-47
It will help us to see the significance of this final section of our Lord's teaching here if we look at the general structure of the chapter. First of all, there is the miracle of healing and restoration, then the reaction of opposition and the interpretation of the miracle in spiritual terms; and now the closing verses speak of a fourfold witness to Christ. This seems to flow from what has gone before. Jesus has claimed authority to bestow life (24) and to judge men at the last day. And now, in face of the opposition against Him, He points out that the Jews have had a fourfold witness to Him, and that there can therefore be no excuse for them not coming to a knowledge of salvation. 'Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life', He cries in 40. The way was open for them, by this fourfold witness, and they would not take it. In the same way, this fourfold witness is given to us, and to every man. There is no need for any man to miss eternal life. The way to heaven and home is clearly set forth for all who will take heed.
The first witness mentioned in these verses is John the Baptist (33). On their own confession, all that he spoke concerning Jesus was true (10:41). He was not the light, but a lamp whose shining illumined the darkness for any who had a mind to see the light. What he had said was, 'Behold the Lamb of God...', and the result was that some had received the witness and followed after Christ. Of others, however, Jesus very penetratingly said that they 'were willing for a season to rejoice in his light' - that is, they were attracted to John's ministry and message for a time, but when they saw what it implied and involved, they turned back. The seed had fallen among thorns and had been choked. Men have the witness of John today also, in the proclamation of the Word. This is the initial and primary means by which men enter into life. Preaching bears witness to Christ and, in one way or another, cries 'Behold the Lamb of God'. To refuse, therefore, such witness is to leave men without excuse. They will not come to Him that they might have life.