Fourfold Witness

I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
“If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.
There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.
You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.
Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.
He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.
But I have a greater witness than John's; for 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.
And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.
But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.
You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.”
[John 5:30-39 NKJV]

The idea of the ‘fourfold witness’ has a number of interpretations — principal among them being the Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But in John chapter 5, we find Jesus giving us His four witnesses to confirm to His legalist accusers that He is who He says He is.

Typically, Jesus’ reasoning is creative, but unlikely to stand up in an earthly court of law. However, in the Courts of Heaven, His argument is compelling and unassailable. In short, Jesus evidences God’s laws, not man’s ideas about God’s laws.

The fourfold testimonies to His being the Son of God are:

1. That John the Baptist proclaimed Him as such, and Jesus points to many among the doubters who followed and willingly rejoiced in John’s message.
2. That Jesus’ miracles, healings and ministry confirmed that He was doing God’s work.
3. That Father God Himself testifies to Jesus; but He admits that ‘whom He sent, Him ye do not believe.”
4. That the Holy Scriptures speak of Him — and that He fulfills prophecy.

These ‘witness statements’ are used, either consciously or unconsciously, by all of us who follow Jesus to show that Jesus is The Son; but Jesus knew that they were never going to convince the worldly.

‘when the hearts of men are full of pride, ambition, and the love of the world, there is no room for the word of God to abide in them.’ [Matthew Henry’s Commentary]

Jesus here lays out the heavenly vision for those who follow on. His focus is on the everlasting, not on the need of the moment, and we are the beneficiaries of His faithfulness, if we likewise are faithful.

It is easy to get lost in mists when we talk about the will of God, but if we don’t know what it is, we are to blame.

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