Who is Accusing Who?

I am noticing that there is a variety of witnesses giving testimony to the truth about God and Jesus in the later part of this chapter of John 5. Here is the list of witnesses mentioned by Jesus.

Jesus – verse 31. If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true.

John the Baptist – verses 32-33, 35-36

The Works of Jesus – verse 36. ...the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish--the very works that I do--testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. (see also Matt. 11:4-6)

The Father God – verse 37. The Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me.

The Scriptures – verse 39. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.

Moses – verse 46. If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.

This makes six witnesses so far. But strongly implied within this passage is a missing seventh witness, which was missing because that collective witness refused to bear a truthful testimony. If the Jews of Jesus' day had chosen to, they could have been the witness that completed a 'perfect seven' witnesses to validate the perfection of Jesus as a revelation of the Father.

Interestingly this 'collective witness' refused to bear truthful testimony because it appears they wanted to play judge instead of sticking with witnessing honestly.

You have sent to John. Verse 33 (presumably to evaluate his testimony, acting as a judge themselves).

You were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. Verse 35 (until it became clear what he was saying about Jesus).

You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form (the Father's). You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. Verse 37, 38 (resisting the voice of conscience sent by their heavenly Father).

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. Verse 39 (refusing to reevaluate their entrenched interpretations of Scriptures they had developed over many years).

You are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. Verse 40 (if you did you would experience My work in you).

I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Verse 43, 44.

For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? Verse 46, 47.

Jesus listed six sources of testimony and then listed off all six of these again related to the excuses for the Jews not believing in Him. Instead of joining the six other witnesses and becoming the seventh thus completing a number of perfection, they choose to act as judge themselves to discount all the other witnesses and set up their own standard of measurement as to what and who was true.

What seems to emerge at the end of this chapter is a principle that I have not noticed before. It appears that when one refuses to synchronize with a witness to the truth, that a factor of accusing comes into place. In a trial situation there is both offense and defense. If everyone agrees with the testimonies in favor of the defendant on trial, then there is no tension, no dissension, no controversy and thus no reason for the trial to begin with. The reason a trial takes place at all is when there is an accusation involved from someone against someone else. When someone is accused of something that they deny is true, then there is controversy, tension occurs and a trial is needed to explore both sides of the issue to find out who is telling the truth and who is lying.

The witnesses are those who initially are not on trial but are called to testify from their own perspective and experience what they believe about the one who is on trial. When their testimony conflicts with other witnesses, then they in essence come under suspicion themselves and may be in need of being cross-examined themselves. When one testimony disagrees with other credible testimonies, the dissenting witnesses then begin to feel accused themselves and may feel like they are defendants. This is what Jesus begins to mention here in this chapter.

Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. Verse 45.

As the dissenting witnesses, the Jews were beginning to feel like they were the ones being accused by Jesus and were the real defendants under attack instead of Jesus. Whenever a person stubbornly resists the real truth about God and those in harmony with Him, they immediately try to make it look like they are the ones being attacked and become defensive and self-justifying. They point fingers of blame at those who are exposing their false testimony as the source of all the problems instead of being willing to reexamine their own assumptions and claims.

These men had systematically interpreted every one of the other witness's testimonies in the light of their own prejudice (pre-judging) as being supportive of their rejection of Jesus. They tried to make out that they were actually the ones in the right and that most all the other witnesses that Jesus had mentioned supposedly vindicated their opinions about Him instead of supporting the claims of Jesus about Himself. In doing this they were insinuating that Jesus was trying to accuse them instead of seeing His position as an accused defendant Himself. Thus they were trying to turn it around to make it look like they themselves were the innocent accused party instead of Jesus being the accused. In doing so they were attempting to gain more support and sympathy from the public for their rejection of Him.

But this is a matter of greater importance than they, or most of us ever realize. This is not just an argument about whether Jesus' words about Himself were true or not but has to do with the salvation of every one of us. We are in just as great a danger of ignoring or discounting the testimonies validating the mission and desires of Jesus listed here as were the Jews. We are just as active in making up excuses as to why it is so hard to believe in God as they were, yet we seldom see how we do this. We are often just as blinded to our resistance to God and the truth about His love and passion for us as were the Jews in Jesus' day.

Father, open my eyes, my mind, my heart and my soul to see how I am resisting You and the testimonies You have given to awaken me. Reveal Yourself to me and replace my heart of stone with a new heart of flesh and put Your Spirit within me today so that my life will reflect Your attractiveness toward others.