Church Fathers Commentary John 5:31-40

"If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. It is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. Ye have sent unto John, and he hath borne witness unto the truth. But the witness which I receive is not from man: howbeit I say these things, that ye may be saved. He was the lamp that burneth and shineth; and ye were willing to rejoice for a season in his light. 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. And the Father that sent me, he hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he sent, him ye believe not. Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me; and ye will not come to me, that ye may have life." — John 5:31-40 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: He now brings proof for those high declarations about Himself. He answers an objection: If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. These are Christ’s own words. But does Christ not bear witness to Himself in many places? If all this is false, where is our hope of salvation?

From where shall we obtain truth, when the Truth Himself says, My witness is not true? We must believe, then, that "true" here is said not with reference to the intrinsic value of His testimony, but to their suspicions. The Jews might say, “We do not believe You, because no one who bears witness to himself is to be depended on.”

In answer, then, He puts forth three clear and irrefutable proofs—three witnesses, as it were—to the truth of what He had said: the works which He had done, the testimony of the Father, and the preaching of John. He puts the least of these first, namely, the preaching of John: There is another that bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses of Me is true.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He knew that His own witness to Himself was true, but in compassion for the weak and unbelieving, the Sun sought for lamps, so that their weak sight might not be dazzled by His full blaze. Therefore, John was brought forward to give his testimony to the truth. Not that there is such testimony really, for whatever witnesses testify about Him, it is really He who bears witness to Himself, since it is His dwelling in the witnesses that moves them to give their witness to the truth.

Alcuin of York: Or, another way: Christ, being both God and man, shows the proper existence of both natures by sometimes speaking according to the human nature He assumed, and sometimes according to the majesty of His divinity. If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true—this is to be understood of His humanity. The meaning is, “If I, a man, bear witness of Myself—that is, without God—My witness is not true.” And then follows, There is another that bears witness of Me. The Father bore witness to Christ by the voice that was heard at the baptism and at the transfiguration on the mount. And I know that His witness is true, because He is the God of truth. How then can His witness be anything but true?

St. John Chrysostom: But according to the former interpretation, they might say to Him, “If Your witness is not true, how can You say, I know that the witness of John is true?” But His answer meets the objection: You sent to John, and he bore witness of the truth. It is as if to say, “You would not have sent to John if you had not thought him trustworthy.” And what is more remarkable, they sent to him not to ask about Christ, but about himself. For those who were sent did not say, “What do you say of Christ?” but, Who are you? What do you say of yourself? They held him in such great admiration.

Alcuin of York: But he bore witness not to himself, but to the Truth. As a friend of the Truth, he bore witness to the Truth, which is Christ. Our Lord, for His part, does not reject John’s witness as unnecessary, but shows only that men ought not to give such attention to John as to forget that Christ’s own witness was all that was necessary for Himself. But I receive not testimony from men, He says.

The Venerable Bede: Because I do not need it. John, though he bore witness, did not do it so that Christ might increase, but so that men might be brought to the knowledge of Him.

St. John Chrysostom: Even the witness of John was the witness of God, for what he said, God taught him. But to anticipate their asking how it was apparent that God taught John, as if the Jews had objected that John’s witness might not be true, our Lord anticipates them by saying, “You yourselves sought him to inquire of him; that is why I use his testimony, for I do not need it.”

He adds, But these things I say that you might be saved. It is as if He said, “I, being God, did not need this human kind of testimony. But since you listen more to him and think him more worthy of credit than anyone else, while you do not believe Me even though I work miracles, for this reason I remind you of his testimony.”

But had they not received John’s testimony? Before they have time to ask this, He answers it: He was a burning and a shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. He says this to show how lightly they regarded John and how soon they had left him, thus preventing him from leading them to Christ.

He calls him a lamp because John did not have his light from himself, but from the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Alcuin of York: John was a lamp lit by Christ the Light, burning with faith and love, shining in word and deed. He was sent before to confound the enemies of Christ, according to the Psalm: I have ordained a lamp for My Anointed; as for His enemies, I shall clothe them with shame.

St. John Chrysostom: I therefore direct you to John, not because I need his testimony, but so that you may have it. For I have a greater witness than that of John, namely, that of My works: The works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.

Alcuin of York: That He enlightens the blind, that He opens the ears of the deaf, opens the mouths of the mute, casts out demons, and raises the dead—these works testify of Christ.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: The Only-begotten God shows Himself to be the Son, not only on the testimony of man, but of His own power. The works which He does testify that He was sent from the Father. Therefore, the obedience of the Son and the authority of the Father are set forth in Him who was sent. But since the testimony of works was not sufficient evidence, it follows, And the Father Himself who has sent Me, has borne witness of Me. Open the volumes of the Gospel and examine their entire scope: no testimony of the Father to the Son is given in any of the books other than that He is the Son. What a slander it is, then, for people now to say that this is only a name of adoption, thus making God a liar and names meaningless.

The Venerable Bede: By His "being sent," we must understand His incarnation. Finally, He shows that God is without a body and cannot be seen by the physical eye: You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.

Alcuin of York: The Jews might say, “We heard the voice of the Lord at Sinai and saw Him in the appearance of fire. If God, then, bears witness of You, we should know His voice.” To this He replies, “I have the witness of the Father, though you do not understand it, because you have never heard His voice or seen His form.”

St. John Chrysostom: How then does Moses say, “Ask… whether there has been any such thing as this great thing is: did people ever hear the voice of God, speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard and seen?” Isaiah also, and many others, are said to have seen Him. So what does Christ mean here? He means to impress upon them the philosophical doctrine that God has neither voice, appearance, nor form, but is superior to such ways of speaking of Him. For just as in saying, You have never heard His voice, He does not mean to say that God has a voice, only one not audible to them, so when He says, nor seen His form, no tangible, perceptible, or visible form is implied to belong to God. All such ways of speaking are pronounced inapplicable to God.

Alcuin of York: For God is heard not by the physical ear, but by the spiritual understanding, through the grace of the Holy Spirit. And they did not hear the spiritual voice because they did not love or obey Him, nor did they see His form, since that is not seen by the physical eye, but by faith and love.

St. John Chrysostom: But it was impossible for them to declare that they had received and obeyed God’s commands, and therefore He adds, You do not have His word abiding in you—that is, the commandments, the Law, and the Prophets. Though God instituted them, you do not have them. For if the Scriptures everywhere tell you to believe in Me, and you do not believe, it is clear that His word has departed from you: for whom He has sent, Him you do not believe.

Alcuin of York: Or, another way: they cannot have the Word who was in the beginning abiding in them if they do not keep in mind or fulfill in practice the word of God which they hear. Having mentioned the testimonies of John, the Father, and His works, He now adds the testimony of the Mosaic Law: Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and it is they that testify of Me. It is as if He said, “You think you have eternal life in the Scriptures and reject Me as being opposed to Moses, but you will find that Moses himself testifies that I am God, if you search the Scripture carefully.”

Indeed, all Scripture bears witness to Christ, whether through its types, its prophets, or the ministry of angels. But the Jews did not believe these intimations of Christ and therefore could not obtain eternal life: And you are unwilling to come to Me that you may have life. This means, “The Scriptures bear witness of Me, but you are unwilling to come to Me nonetheless; that is, you are unwilling to believe in Me and seek salvation from Me.”

St. John Chrysostom: Or the connection may be given this way. They might say to Him, “How, if we have never heard God’s voice, has God testified about You?” So He says, Search the Scriptures, meaning that God had borne witness to Him through the Scriptures. He had indeed borne witness at the Jordan and on the mount, but they did not hear the voice on the mount and did not pay attention to it at the Jordan. Therefore, He sends them to the Scriptures, where they would also find the Father’s testimony.

He did not send them to the Scriptures simply to read them, however, but to examine them attentively, because Scripture often veiled its own meaning and did not display it on the surface. The treasure was, so to speak, hidden from their eyes. He does not say, “For in them you have eternal life,” but, For in them you think you have eternal life, meaning that they did not reap much fruit from the Scriptures, thinking, as they did, that they would be saved by the mere reading of them, without faith. For this reason He adds, And you are unwilling to come to Me—that is, you are unwilling to believe in Me.

The Venerable Bede: We know that "coming" is used for "believing," as in, Come to Him, and be enlightened. He adds, that you might have life. For if the soul that sins dies, they were dead in soul and mind. And therefore He promises the life of the soul, that is, eternal happiness.