It is another who testifies about me. I know that the testimony which he testifies about me is true. You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. But the testimony which I receive is not from man. However, I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
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John 5:32-35 sits inside this longer paragraph.
“If I testify about myself, my witness is not valid. It is another who testifies about me. I know that the testimony which he testifies about me is true. You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. But the testimony which I receive is not from man. However, I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John, for the works which the Father gave me to accomplish, the very works that I do, testify about me, that the Father has sent me. The Father himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form. You don’t have his word living in you, because you don’t believe him whom he sent.
Parallel Translations
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It is another who testifies about me. I know that the testimony which he testifies about me is true.
You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.
But the testimony which I receive is not from man. However, I say these things that you may be saved.
He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
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Ther is a nother that beareth witnes of me and I am sure that the witnes whiche he beareth of me is true.
Ye sent vnto Iohn and he bare witnes vnto the truthe.
But I receave not the recorde of man. Neverthelesse these thinges I saye that ye might be safe.
He was a burninge and a shyninge light and ye wolde for a season have reioysed in his light.
Show all 3 translations
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There is another that beareth witnesse of me, and I know that the witnesse, which he beareth of me, is true.
Ye sent vnto Iohn, and he bare witnesse vnto the trueth.
But I receiue not the record of man: neuerthelesse these things I say, that ye might be saued.
He was a burning, and a shining candle: and ye would for a season haue reioyced in his light.
Cross-references (43)
- 2 Peter 1:19 (v35) We have the more sure word of prophecy; and you do well that you heed it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and…
- Matthew 11:11 (v35) Most certainly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is…
- Luke 19:41-42 (v34) When he came near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But…
- John 1:7-8 (v35) The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but was sent…
- John 20:31 (v34) but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
Show all 43 cross-references
- 1 Timothy 4:16 (v34) Pay attention to yourself and to your teaching. Continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear…
- 1 John 5:9 (v34) If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is God’s testimony which he has testified concerning his Son.
- Matthew 3:5-7 (v35) Then people from Jerusalem, all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan,…
- Luke 1:76-77 (v35) And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, to give…
- John 5:41 (v34) I don’t receive glory from men.
- Romans 10:1 (v34) Brothers, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God is for Israel, that they may be saved.
- 1 Corinthians 9:22 (v34) To the weak I became as weak, that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some.
- 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (v34) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth.
- 1 John 5:6-9 (v32) This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and the blood. It is the Spirit who…
- Matthew 3:17 (v32) Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
- Matthew 11:7-9 (v35) As these went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed…
- Matthew 13:20-21 (v35) What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it; yet he has no root in himself, but…
- Matthew 21:26 (v35) But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet.”
- Mark 6:20 (v35) for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. When he heard him, he did many things, and he heard…
- Luke 1:15-17 (v35) For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even…
- Luke 7:28 (v35) “For I tell you, among those who are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptizer, yet he who is least in God’s…
- Luke 24:47 (v34) and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
- John 1:6-8 (v33) There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might…
- John 1:15-27 (v33) John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before…
- John 1:29-34 (v33) The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I…
- John 1:33 (v32) I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending and remaining on…
- John 3:26-36 (v33) They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, he baptizes, and…
- John 5:36-37 (v32) But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John, for the works which the Father gave me to accomplish, the very works that I…
- John 6:66 (v35) At this, many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
- John 8:17-18 (v32) It’s also written in your law that the testimony of two people is valid. I am one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me…
- John 8:54 (v34) Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God.
- John 12:28-30 (v32) Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came out of the sky, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” Therefore the…
- John 12:50 (v32) I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has said to me, so I speak.”
- Ezekiel 33:31 (v35) They come to you as the people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but don’t do them; for with their…
- Matthew 17:5 (v32) While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved…
- Mark 1:11 (v32) A voice came out of the sky, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
- Luke 3:22 (v32) and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you…
- Luke 13:34 (v34) “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children…
- Luke 19:10 (v34) For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”
- Romans 3:3 (v34) For what if some were without faith? Will their lack of faith nullify the faithfulness of God?
- Romans 10:21 (v34) But about Israel he says, “All day long I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
- Romans 12:21 (v34) Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
- Galatians 4:15-16 (v35) What was the blessing you enjoyed? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. So…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv33–35 33. You sent to John. Before producing the testimony…
33. You sent to John. Before producing the testimony of God, he presses them with the answer of John, from which they could not honorably withhold their belief. For of what use was it to send to him, if they did not intend to abide by his words? They send to him as a Prophet of God, and thus they pretend that his word will be regarded by them as an oracle. Now, though this implies another admission in their favor, still Christ openly brings against them this charge, that nothing but their own malice hinders them from believing. And, therefore, we see that this circumstance is highly appropriate to the matter in hand, namely, that they sent to John, and — as if their motive had been a desire to learn — inquired at him who was the Messiah, and yet paid no attention to his reply.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv33, 35 Christ is declared to be the only Savior by…
Christ is declared to be the only Savior by John’s voice, and infinite miracles, and by the testimonies of all the Prophets. But the world notwithstanding being addicted to false prophets, and desirous to seem religious, seeth none of all these things.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv32–35 32 There is another that beareth witness of me;…
32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.
Ver. 32. There is another that beareth witness] God the Father, by this miracle wrought upon the impotent man. Give we real testimony to our profession by our practice. Mallem obedire quam miracula facere, I prefer to obey than to do miracles, said Luther. Profligate professors put religion to an open shame. {a}
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{a} Virtutis stragulam pudefacis, You make ashamed the covering of character, said Diogenes to Antipater; who, being vicious, wore a white cloak.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv32–35 The Father by a voice from heaven testified of…
The Father by a voice from heaven testified of Christ, that he was his well beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased, Mat 3:17. Some understand it of John the Baptist, of whom he speaketh, Joh 5:33. But he naming John in the next verse, it seems most proper to understand this of the Father testifying of Christ, both at his baptism, and also at his transfiguration; and to interpret the next verse, as speaking of another testimony distinct from that of John.
And (saith our Saviour) I know, that is, I am fully assured, that his testimony of me is true; for God is that God who cannot lie, but is truth itself. So that I do not barely testify of myself; for my Father, whom you all own to be a God of truth, and who cannot lie, and whom know to be such, he testifieth of me, and none can contradict his testimony.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv33, 35 The second testimony to prove Christ to be the…
The second testimony to prove Christ to be the Messias, was that of John the Baptist. We read, Joh 1:19 how the Jews were sent to enquire of him, whether he were the Christ, or not; and he denied it, and pointed at Jesus, saying, Behold the Lamb of God; yet would not the Jews abide by this testimony of John concerning the Messias. Nevertheless, says Christ, I receive not testimony from John; that is, "John by his testimony added nothing to me; I was what I was, and I am what I am, before John testified of me, and since."
Learn hence, That the divinity of Christ’s person, and the verity of his doctrine, needs no man’s testimony for the confirmation of it, being sufficiently confirmed by Christ’s own authority, and his Father’s testimony; I receive nothing from man; that is, "I need it not, I desire it not upon my own account, but upon yours only, that upon the credit of John’s testimony ye might believe in me, and be saved by me; These things I say, that ye might be saved.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv32–35 There is another that beareth witness of me,.... Meaning…
There is another that beareth witness of me,.... Meaning not his Father, who is another, and a distinct person, from him, as the Spirit is another comforter; and both distinct testifiers from him, as well as of him. This is indeed the sense of some interpreters; but the Father is particularly mentioned in Joh 5:37; and the thread of the discourse, and the climax, or gradation, here used, show, that it is to be understood of "another man", as Nonnus paraphrases it; of John the Baptist, who is spoken of by name in the next verse, as a witness; and then a greater than he, the works of Christ, and then the Father:
and I know that the witness, which he witnesseth of me, is true; for John was now alive, though in prison, and continued to bear a testimony to Christ; and therefore he speaks of him as now bearing witness of him, and abiding by that which he had bore; and Christ knew not only that what he testified of him was true in itself, but that his testimony was a valid and authentic testimony, with the generality of the Jews; who held John to be a prophet, and looked upon him as a man of great probity and integrity, and whose word was to be taken: nor indeed could the sanhedrim, before whom Christ now was, object to his character, nor to him as a witness; nor ought they, since they themselves had so judged of him, as appears by their message to him, which Christ next fails not to take notice of.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv32–35 There is another - The Father, ver. 37, and…
There is another - The Father, ver. 37, and I know that, even in your judgment, his testimony is beyond exception.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv32–35 Verse 32. There is another] God the Father, who,…
Verse 32. There is another] God the Father, who, by his Spirit in your prophets, described my person, office, and miracles. You read these scriptures, and you cannot help seeing that they testify of me:- no person ever did answer the description there given, but myself; and I answer to that description in the fullest sense of the word. See Joh 5:39.
And I know] Instead of οιδα, I know, οιδατε, ye know, is the reading of the Codex Bezae, Armenian, and two of the Itala. Ye believe the Scriptures to be of God, and that he cannot lie; and yet ye will not believe in me, though these Scriptures have so clearly foretold and described me! It is not one of the least evils attending unbelief, that it acts not only in opposition to God, but it also acts inconsistently with itself. It receives the Scriptures in bulk, and acknowledges them to have come through Divine inspiration; and yet believes no part separately. With it the whole is true, but no part is true! The very unreasonableness of this conduct shows the principle to have come from beneath, were there no other evidences against it.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv32–35 There is another - That is, God. See Joh…
There is another - That is, God. See Joh 5:36.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv32, 33, 35 There is another--that is, the Father, as is plain…
There is another--that is, the Father, as is plain from the connection. How brightly the distinction of the Persons shines out here!
and I know that the witness, &c.--"This is the Son's testimony to the Father's truth (see Joh 7:28; Joh 8:26, Joh 8:55). It testifies to the full consciousness on the part of the Son, even in the days of His humiliation, of the righteousness of the Father" [ALFORD]. And thus He cheered His spirit under the cloud of human opposition which was already gathering over His head.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv32–35 32. There is another—Who is properly the sole original…
32. There is another—Who is properly the sole original testifier, namely, God. All others are his signatures and seals.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv32, 33, 35 32. There is another] Not the Baptist, as seems…
32. There is another] Not the Baptist, as seems clear from Joh_5:34; but the Father, comp. Joh_7:28, Joh_8:26. It has been already remarked how much there is in this Gospel about ‘witness,’ ‘bearing witness,’ and the like: see on Joh_1:7.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv32–35 (32) There is another . . .—i.e., the Father.…
(32) There is another . . .—i.e., the Father. The reference to the Baptist is excluded by the words which follow. The difficulty which has been seen in this indirect reference to the Father is removed if we connect the words closely with those preceding them. The point is in the fact that another, different in personality from Himself, bore witness of Him. (Comp. Joh_8:50; Mat_10:28, et al.)
I know . . .—This has seemed to have a natural meaning if it is the authority given to John’s witness, but to be less fitting if applied to the Father’s. In two of the oldest MSS., and some of the earliest versions, we read “ye know,” and this has been adopted by some modern editors; but the origin of this reading is obvious, and there is no sufficient reason for departing from the common text. Its meaning is quite in harmony with the relation of the Son to the Father, which has been dwelt upon. The Father beareth witness, is bearing witness (comp. Joh_5:37), in the unity of work which Son and Father alike work (Joh_5:17; Joh_5:19-20; Joh_5:30), and the Son knows that His power to do this work can come from no other source. His own nature responds to the Father’s voice; He knows it to be true. (Comp. Joh_3:33.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv32–35 Vers. 32, 37, 38. (a) The witness of the…
Vers. 32, 37, 38. (a) The witness of the Father.
It is another that witnesseth concerning me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth concerning me is true. It is a mistake, with Ewald, De Wette, and many others, to suppose that this refers to the testimony of John the Baptist. By Augustine, Hengstenberg, Luthardt, Godet, Meyer, etc., it has been perceived that the "other" (allov) refers to the Father. Jesus expressly declines to receive John"s testimony as his justification or sufficient vindication, and he contrasts it with the higher confirmation which in three distinct ways is already and continuously vouchsafed to him. The present tense, marturei , is in striking contrast to the testimony of John already silenced by imprisonment or death. The methods of this testimony are subsequently analyzed and described. The Father"s witness includes
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv32–33 32. There is another that beareth witness of me.…
32. There is another that beareth witness of me. John is meant.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v35 Joh 1:8. - Joh 5:35.
John
THE LIGHT AND THE LAMPS
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Joh 1:8. - Joh 5:35.
My two texts both refer to John the Baptist. One of them is the Evangelist’s account of him, the other is our Lord’s eulogium upon him. The latter of my texts, as the Revised Version shows, would be more properly rendered, ‘He was a lamp’ rather than ‘He was a light,’ and the contrast between the two words, the ‘light’ and ‘the lamps,’ is my theme. I gather all that I would desire to say into three points: ‘that Light’ and its witnesses; the underived Light and the kindled lamps; the undying Light and the lamps that go out.
I. First of all, then, the contrast suggested to us is between ‘that Light’ and its witnesses.
John, in that profound prologue which is the deepest part of Scripture, and lays firm and broad in the depths the foundation-stones of a reasonable faith, draws the contrast between ‘that Light’ and them whose business it was to bear witness to it. As for the former, I cannot here venture to dilate upon the great, and to me absolutely satisfying and fundamental, thoughts that lie in these eighteen first verses of this Gospel. ‘The Word was with God,’ and that Word was the Agent of Creation, the Fountain of Life, the Source of the Light which is inseparable from all human life. John goes back, with the simplicity of a child’s speech, which yet is deeper than all philosophies, to a Beginning, far anterior to ‘the Beginning’ of which Genesis speaks, and declares that before creation that Light shone; and he looks out over the whole world, and declares, that before and beyond the limits of the historical manifestation of the Word in the flesh, its beams spread over the whole race of man. But they are all focussed, if I may so speak, and gathered to a point which burns as well as illuminates, in the historical manifestation of Jesus Christ in the flesh. ‘That was the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.’
Next, he turns to the highest honour and the most imperative duty laid, not only upon mighty men and officials, but upon all on whose happy eyeballs this Light has shone, and into whose darkened hearts the joy and peace and purity of it have flowed, and he says, ‘He was sent’-and they are sent-’to bear witness of that Light.’ It is the noblest function that a man can discharge. It is a function that is discharged by the very existence through the ages of a community which, generation after generation, subsists, and generation after generation manifests in varying degrees of brightness, and with various modifications of tint, the same light. There is the family character in all true Christians, with whatever diversities of idiosyncrasies, and national life or ecclesiastical distinctions. Whether it be Francis of Assisi or John Wesley, whether it be Thomas a Kempis or George Fox, the light is one that shines through these many-coloured panes of glass, and the living Church is the witness of a living Lord, not only before it, and behind it, and above it, but living in it. They are ‘light’ because they are irradiated by Him. They are ‘light’ because they are ‘in the Lord.’ But not only by the fact of the existence of such a community is the witness-bearing effected, but it comes as a personal obligation, with immense weight of pressure and immense possibilities of joy in the discharge of it, to every Christian man and woman.
What, then, is the witness that we all are bound to bear, and shall bear if we are true to our obligations and to our Lord? Mainly, dear brethren, the witness of experience. That a Christian man shall be able to stand up and say, ‘I know this because I live it, and I testify to Jesus Christ because I for myself have found Him to be the life of my life, the Light of all my seeing, the joy of my heart, my home, and my anchorage’-that is the witness that is impregnable. And there is no better sign of the trend of Christian thought to-day than the fact that the testimony of experience is more and more coming to be recognised by thoughtful men and writers as being the sovereign attestation of the reality of the Light. ‘I see’; that is the proof that light has touched my eyeballs. And when a man can contrast, as some of us can, our present vision with our erstwhile darkness, then the evidence, like that of the sturdy blind man in the Gospels, who had nothing to say in reply to the subtleties and Rabbinical traps and puzzles but only ‘I was blind; now I see’-his experience is likely to have the effect that it had in another miracle of healing: ‘Beholding the man which was healed standing amongst them, they could say nothing against it.’ I should think they could not.
But there is one thing that will always characterise the true witnesses to that Light, and that is self-suppression. Remember the beautiful, immovable humility of the Baptist about whom these texts were spoken: ‘What sayest thou of thyself?’ ‘I am a Voice,’ that is all. ‘Art thou that Prophet?’ ‘No!’ ‘Art thou the Christ?’ ‘No! I am nothing but a Voice.’ And remember how, when John’s disciples tried to light the infernal fires of jealousy in his quiet heart by saying, ‘He whom thou didst baptise, and to whom thou didst give witness’-He whom thou didst start on His career-’is baptising,’ poaching upon thy preserves, ‘and all men come unto Him,’ the only answer that he gave was, ‘The friend of the Bridegroom’-who stands by in a quiet, dark corner-’rejoices greatly because of the Bridegroom’s voice.’ Keep yourself out of sight, Christian teachers and preachers; put Christ in the front, and hide behind Him.
II. Now let me ask you to look at the other contrast that is suggested by our other text. The underived light and the kindled lamps.
It is possible to read the words of that second text thus-’He was a lamp kindled and {therefore} shining.’ But whether that be the meaning, or whether the usual rendering is correct, the emblem itself carries the same thought, for a lamp must be lit by contact with a light, and must be fed with oil, if its flame is to be sustained. And so the very metaphor-whatever the force of the ambiguous word-in its eloquent contrast between the Light and the lamp, suggests this thought, that the one is underived, self-fed, and therefore undying, and that the other owes all its flame to the touch of that uncreated Light, and burns brightly only on condition of its keeping up the contact with Him, and being fed continually from His stores of radiance.
I need not say more than a word with regard to the former member of that contrast suggested here. That unlit Light derives its brilliancy, according to the Scriptural teaching, from nothing but its divine union with the Father. So that long before there were eyes to see, there was the eradiation and outshining of the Father’s glory. I do not enter into these depths, but this I would say, that what is called the ‘originality’ of Jesus is only explained when we reverently see in that unique life the shining through a pure humanity, as through a sheet of alabaster, of that underived, divine Light. Jesus is an insoluble problem to men who will not see in Him the Eternal Light which ‘in the beginning was with God.’ You find in Him no trace of gradual acquisition of knowledge, or of arguing or feeling His way to His beliefs. You find in Him no trace of consciousness of a great horizon of darkness encompassing the region where He sees light. You find in Him no trace of a recognition of other sources from which He has drawn any portion of His light. You find in Him the distinct declaration that His relation to truth is not the relation of men who learn, and grow, and acquire, and know in part; for, says He, ‘I am the Truth.’ He stands apart from us all, and above us all, in that He owes His radiance to none, and can dispense it to every man. The question which the puzzled Jews asked about Him, ‘How knoweth this Man letters, having never learned?’ may be widened out to all the characteristics of His human life. To me the only answer is: ‘Thou art the King of glory, O Christ! Thou art the Everlasting Son of the Father.’
Dependent on Him are the little lights which He has lit, and in the midst of which He walks. Union with Jesus Christ-’that Light’-is the condition of all human light. That is true over all regions, as I believe. ‘The inspiration of the Almighty giveth understanding.’ The candle of the Lord shines in every man, and ‘that true Light lighteth every man that cometh into the world.’ Thinker, student, scientist, poet, author, practical man-all of them are lit from the uncreated Source, and all of them, if they understand their own nature, would say, ‘In Thy light do we see Light.’
But especially is this great thought true and exemplified within the limits of the Christian life. For the Christian to be touched with Christ’s Promethean finger is to flame into light. And the condition of continuing to shine is to continue the contact which first illuminated. A break in the contact, of a finger’s breadth, is as effectual as one of a mile. Let Christian men and women, if they would shine, remember, ‘Ye are light in the Lord’; and if we stray, and get without the circle of the Light, we pass into darkness, and ourselves cease to shine.
Brethren, it is threadbare truth, that the condition of Christian vitality and radiance is close and unbroken contact with Jesus Christ, the Source of all light. Threadbare; but if we lived as if we believed it, the Church would be revolutionised and the world illuminated; and many a smoking wick would flash up into a blazing torch. Let Christian people remember that the words of my text define no special privilege or duty of any official or man of special endowments, but that to all of us has been said, ‘Ye are My witnesses,’ and to all of us is offered the possibility of being ‘burning and shining lights’ if we keep ourselves close to that Light.
III. Lastly, the second of my texts suggests-the contrast between the Undying Light and the lamps that go out.
‘For a season ye were willing to rejoice in His light.’ There is nothing in the present condition of the civilised and educated world more remarkable and more difficult for some people to explain than the contrast between the relation which Jesus Christ bears to the present age, and the relation which all other great names in the past-philosophers, poets, guides of men-bear to it. There is nothing in the world the least like the vividness, the freshness, the closeness, of the personal relation which thousands and thousands of people, with common sense in their heads, bear to that Man who died nineteen hundred years ago. All others pass, sooner or later, into the darkness. Thickening mists of oblivion, fold by fold, gather round the brightest names. But here is Jesus Christ, whom all classes of thinkers and social reformers have to reckon with to-day, who is a living power amongst the trivialities of the passing moment, and in whose words and in the teaching of whose life serious men feel that there lie undeveloped yet, and certainly not yet put into practice, principles which are destined to revolutionise society and change the world. And how does that come?
I am not going to enter upon that question; I only ask you to think of the contrast between His position, in this generation, to communities and individuals, and the position of all other great names which lie in the past. Why, it does not take more than a lifetime such as mine, for instance, to remember how the great lights that shone seventy years ago in English thinking and in English literature, have for the most part gone out, and what we young men thought to be bright particular stars, this new generation pooh-poohs as mere exhalations from the marsh or twinkling and uncertain tapers, and you will find their books in the twopenny-box at the bookseller’s door. A cynical diplomatist, in one of our modern dramas, sums it up, after seeing the death of a revolutionary, ‘I have known eight leaders of revolts.’ And some of us could say, ‘We have known about as many guides of men who have been forgotten and passed away.’ ‘His Name shall endure for ever. His name shall continue as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed in Him; all generations shall call Him blessed.’ Even Shelley had the prophecy forced from him-
‘The moon of Mahomet
Arose and it shall set,
While blazoned as on heaven’s eternal noon,
The Cross leads generations on.’
We may sum up the contrast between the undying Light and the lamps that go out in the old words: ‘They truly were many, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death, but this Man, because He continueth ever . . . is able to save unto the uttermost them that come unto God through Him.’
So, brethren, when lamps are quenched, let us look to the Light. When our own lives are darkened because our household light is taken from its candlestick, let us lift up our hearts and hopes to Him that abideth for ever. Do not let us fall into the folly, and commit the sin, of putting our heart’s affections, our spirit’s trust, upon any that can pass and that must change. We need a Person whom we can clasp, and who never will glide from our hold. We need a Light uncreated, self-fed, eternal. ‘Whilst ye have the Light, believe in the Light, that ye may be the children of light.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v34 (See Scofield "Rom 1:16").
saved
(See Scofield "Rom 1:16").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v33 the testimony that I receive is not from man
the testimony that I receive is not from man
"I do not need people's testimony"
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that you might be saved
You can translate this in an active form. AT: "so God can save you" (See: Active or Passive)
John was a lamp that was burning and shining, and you were willing to rejoice in his light for a while
Here "lamp" and "light" are metaphors. John taught the people about God and this was like a lamp shining its light into the dark. AT: "John taught you about God and this was like a lamp shining its light. And for a while what John said made you happy" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
John (the Baptist)
testimony
true
receive
save
lamp
joy
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv32–33 5:32 The first witness for Jesus’ defense was God…
5:32 The first witness for Jesus’ defense was God himself. Jesus might have had in mind God’s voice at his baptism (Mark 1:11) or the presence of God that enabled Jesus to perform miracles.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.