"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
The second witness to Christ mentioned in these verses is borne by the miracles He performed (36). The Jews not only had John's word concerning Him, they saw His works. In the Synoptic gospels the miracles are presented as the credentials of His kingship and lordship. If the Baptist's word was 'Behold the Lamb', what the miracles were saying to the Jews was 'Behold your King', He came announcing a kingdom and proclaiming Himself a King, and these were the proof that His claims were not false. The Apostle John's attitude to the miracles, however, is rather different. They point, he says, beyond themselves to the message of the gospel which they illustrate. The healing recorded at the beginning of this chapter illustrates the life-giving, soul-transforming power of Jesus in the gospel. Today also, this witness is borne to Christ. The works He does are eloquent of His power to save. The gospel is not just a story, it is a power that invades men's lives. When our Lord's disciples were called Christians first at Antioch (Acts 11) they were so called because their lives were so distinctive that a new word was coined to describe them. Their opponents had to acknowledge, however grudgingly, that something had made them different. Nor is it otherwise today: it is through the testimony of changed lives that many are brought to Christ. They meet with people whose lives are different, and the difference bears witness to the power that has been at work in them. But sadly there are often those who see this difference, yet they reject the testimony. They love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.