Charles Ellicott Commentary John 5:36

"But the witness which I have is greater than [that of] John; for the works which the Father hath given me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me." — John 5:36 (ASV)

For "has given Me" read, with the better manuscripts, gave Me. The pronouns in "But I have" and in "that I do," are emphatic.

In this verse He returns to the thought of John 5:32. The parenthesis in John 5:33-35 shows that John was not the other spoken of there, and this verse shows that the special form of witness to which He referred was that of the works, which works He was then doing, and whose voice they should have heard.

These "works" are not confined to what we speak of as miracles, but include the several parts of His Messianic work, which it was His food to finish (John 4:34), and which He speaks of as finished (John 17:4; see Note there). There is a special reference here to the power to give life and authority to judge, in John 5:21-22.