John 5:31-40

More Testimony About Jesus

5:31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 5:32 There is another ¹  who testifies about me, and I know the testimony he testifies about me is true. 5:33 You have sent to John, ²  and he has testified to the truth. 5:34 (I do not accept ³  human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved.) 5:35 He was a lamp that was burning and shining, ⁴  and you wanted to rejoice greatly for a short time ⁵  in his light.

5:36 “But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deeds ⁶  that the Father has assigned me to complete – the deeds ⁷  I am now doing – testify about me that the Father has sent me. 5:37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You people ⁸  have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time, ⁹  5:38 nor do you have his word residing in you, because you do not believe the one whom he sent. 5:39 You study the scriptures thoroughly ¹⁰  because you think in them you possess eternal life, ¹¹  and it is these same scriptures ¹²  that testify about me, 5:40 but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.

Hebrews 2:4

2:4 while God confirmed their witness ¹³  with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed ¹⁴  according to his will.

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Hebrews 5:6-12

5:6 as also in another place God ¹⁵  says, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” ¹⁶  5:7 During his earthly life ¹⁷  Christ ¹⁸  offered ¹⁹  both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion. 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered. ²⁰  5:9 And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 5:10 and he was designated ²¹  by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek. ²² 

The Need to Move on to Maturity

5:11 On this topic we have much to say ²³  and it is difficult to explain, since you have become sluggish ²⁴  in hearing. 5:12 For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, ²⁵  you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances. ²⁶  You have gone back to needing ²⁷  milk, not ²⁸  solid food.

[5:32]  ¹ sn To whom does another refer? To John the Baptist or to the Father? In the nearer context, v. 33, it would seem to be John the Baptist. But v. 34 seems to indicate that Jesus does not receive testimony from men. Probably it is better to view v. 32 as identical to v. 37, with the comments about the Baptist as a parenthetical digression.

[5:33]  ² sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[5:34]  ³ tn Or “I do not receive.”

[5:35]  ⁴ sn He was a lamp that was burning and shining. Sir 48:1 states that the word of Elijah was “a flame like a torch.” Because of the connection of John the Baptist with Elijah (see John 1:21 and the note on John’s reply, “I am not”), it was natural for Jesus to apply this description to John.

[5:35]  ⁵ tn Grk “for an hour.”

[5:36]  ⁶ tn Or “works.”

[5:36]  ⁷ tn Grk “complete, which I am now doing”; the referent of the relative pronoun has been specified by repeating “deeds” from the previous clause.

[5:37]  ⁸ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to clarify that the following verbs (“heard,” “seen,” “have residing,” “do not believe”) are second person plural.

[5:37]  ⁹ sn You people have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time. Compare Deut 4:12. Also see Deut 5:24 ff., where the Israelites begged to hear the voice no longer – their request (ironically) has by this time been granted. How ironic this would be if the feast is Pentecost, where by the 1st century a.d. the giving of the law at Sinai was being celebrated.

[5:39]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Study the scriptures thoroughly” (an imperative). For the meaning of the verb see G. Delling, TDNT 2:655-57.

[5:39]  ¹¹ sn In them you possess eternal life. Note the following examples from the rabbinic tractate Pirqe Avot (“The Sayings of the Fathers”): Pirqe Avot 2:8, “He who has acquired the words of the law has acquired for himself the life of the world to come”; Pirqe Avot 6:7, “Great is the law for it gives to those who practice it life in this world and in the world to come.”

[5:39]  ¹² tn The words “same scriptures” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the referent (“these”).

[2:4]  ¹³ tn Grk “God bearing witness together” (the phrase “with them” is implied).

[2:4]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and distributions of the Holy Spirit.”

[5:6]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:6]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Ps 110:4.

[5:7]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “in the days of his flesh.”

[5:7]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Christ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:7]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “who…having offered,” continuing the description of Christ from Heb 5:5-6.

[5:8]  ²⁰ sn There is a wordplay in the Greek text between the verbs “learned” (ἔμαθεν, emaqen) and “suffered” (ἔπαθεν, epaqen).

[5:10]  ²¹ tn Grk “having been designated,” continuing the thought of Heb 5:9.

[5:10]  ²² sn The phrase in the order of Melchizedek picks up the quotation from Ps 110:4 in Heb 5:6.

[5:11]  ²³ tn Grk “concerning which the message for us is great.”

[5:11]  ²⁴ tn Or “dull.”

[5:12]  ²⁵ tn Grk “because of the time.”

[5:12]  ²⁶ tn Grk “the elements of the beginning of the oracles of God.”

[5:12]  ²⁷ tn Grk “you have come to have a need for.”

[5:12]  ²⁸ tc ‡ Most texts, including some early and important ones (א² A B* D Ψ 0122 0278 1881 Ï sy Cl), have καί (kai, “and”) immediately preceding οὐ (ou, “not”), but other equally significant witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א* B² C 33 81 1739 lat Or Did) lack the conjunction. As it was a natural tendency for scribes to add a coordinating conjunction, the καί appears to be a motivated reading. On balance, it is probably best to regard the shorter reading as authentic. NA²⁷ has καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.