Well, turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter three. John chapter three.

The title of this message is The Witness of Jesus. And that is what we will see in this text. So as we consider that, it should cause us to ask the question, what is it that makes a good witness? When you think about what a witness is, What is it that makes a good one? A witness is someone who sees something occur and then testifies to the truth of that occurrence, of what happened. Whether it’s in a court case or even someone telling their account of a story or an episode of something that happened. But how do you know if someone is a good witness or not? What makes someone worthy of believing? What makes someone’s testimony credible? And what is it that makes a good witness?

And again, in our text this morning, we see the witness of Jesus Christ, and specifically we see that Jesus is the perfect witness. We are coming to the end of John chapter three, and John three is a big chapter, not just in the number of verses that it contains, but in the theology, the subject matter of John chapter three. It covers a lot of big themes, a lot of important things that we need to understand, not only for understanding the book of John, but really things we need to understand in our Christian life. As we remember, this chapter begins with Jesus and Nicodemus, and in that conversation, Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again. Born from above, or born by God. That must happen to someone before they enter the kingdom of God.

And then he tells Nicodemus that he must believe. And those alone are big doctrines with huge theological implications for us. And as we’ve covered these things the last few weeks, we’ve looked extensively at what those things mean. And then last week, we saw the focus shift in the dialogue in John 3, and we saw the focus shift from Jesus and his encounter with Nicodemus to now John the Baptist is back on the scene again. But what we actually saw is John is attempting to keep the focus on Jesus.

And his followers come to John and bring to his attention that the crowds were going out and they were following Jesus now. They were beginning to flock to him. And they were concerned about that. But John says, good. Good, they ought to be going to Jesus. That’s what I am here for. That’s why I came. That’s why God called John the Baptist and gave him a commission to point people to Christ. And he challenged his disciples, his followers. And he said to them, this is what I already told you. This is why I said. He said, I told you that he was the Lamb of God. We saw that in chapter one. I told you he was the Son of God. And I’m sure as John is relaying these things to them, he’s reminding them, when I baptized him, the voice spoke from heaven and said, this is my beloved son, listen to him.

So why wouldn’t crowds be going after him? That’s the very thing they should be doing. And the verse we closed with last week, that beginning section of John the Baptist there, it reveals John’s attitude, his posture regarding Jesus. John saw no controversy between him and Jesus. He saw no rivalry. Yes, they were two ministers ministering at the same time. They were both preaching repentance. They were both baptizing. And yet John saw no rivalry between him and the Christ. Because he says, he must increase and I must decrease. That is the posture of this minister, this prophet.

And it shows us that this should be the posture of not only every minister and every ministry, but every Christian. Every Christian ought to have this attitude about Christ. To even come to Christ requires a bit of humility, really quite a bit of humility. And it’s a humility that we are unable to muster on our own. It’s nothing from within ourselves that causes us to have this humility. As Jesus said, we must be born again before we can enter the kingdom of God. And when we are, when we are born again, we are given a new view of ourselves. and we’re given a new view of God.

We see ourselves for what we truly are, utterly sinful and undeserving of God’s love. And yet, at the same time, we see God as ultimately gracious and merciful. Not because he overlooks our sins, Not because He forgets our sins as if they never happened, but because our sins are paid for by His Son. John 3.16, as we read a few weeks ago, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. That whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. God gave His Son so that sinners could be saved. And it is only those who see their sin for what it really is, an offense against an infinitely holy God. Those who, because of God’s work of regeneration in them, new birth.

They see their sin with new eyes and they see their Savior for who He is, the perfectly righteous Lamb who was slain so that He could satisfy God’s wrath against sinners. And they look to Him who was lifted up like the serpent in the wilderness. And they trust that his life and sacrificial death was enough, that it’s enough to bring you into God’s family, to bring you into the kingdom of God, to justify you. That nothing that we could ever do could ever earn any ounce of favor with God. We are sinners from the start. So everything we do is tainted by sin.

So even our efforts to try to justify ourselves are inherently sinful. So there is no way that we could earn our own salvation. It’s not possible. It has to be Christ that satisfies God’s expectation of righteousness, because only Christ was that perfectly righteous. That is the gospel. That is, He must increase, but I must decrease. And that’s what we’ve covered so far in John chapter 3. But wait, there’s more. There’s more in this chapter. And that’s what we find in our text this morning.

Once again, just like earlier in John chapter three, after Jesus finished speaking, we see a passage this morning where there is some question as to exactly who is the one speaking these words. Just like before, we saw that really in verse 16 of John chapter three, you start to see John’s comments on what Jesus had just taught. Well, here as well in verse 31, really verse 30, you see John the Baptist comments, but verse 31, you start to see explanatory remarks. And again, it’s up for debate.

People debate back and forth as to, is this John the Baptist words or John the Apostle? For example, the ESV puts quotation marks at the end of verse 30 and not following. And a lot of other good translations don’t. So, really there are different arguments. And I’ll tell you, it really doesn’t matter. Because it doesn’t matter who’s speaking these words. They’re God’s word and they are true. And they are communicating to us essential truth about who Jesus is. And that’s the point. That’s the purpose. And what this passage tells us is the credibility of Jesus. The credibility of Jesus’ witness.

And we don’t simply have to rely on mere men like John the Baptist. We have Jesus, an even better witness to who God is and to what God has done. We can go straight to the source, Jesus Christ himself, because he is the perfect witness. And our text today shows us three elements of Jesus’ witness that makes him the perfect witness. We see that Jesus is, number one, a primary witness. Number two, we see that he’s a willing witness. And thirdly, we see that he is, in fact, a credible witness. And those are the elements that make for a perfect testimony, a perfect witness to testify to the truth. And we’ll see again from this text that Jesus is that perfect witness to who God is and the truth of his word.

So I’ll read our passage this morning. It’s verses 31 through 36 of John chapter 3. John 3, verse 31 through 36. This is the word of the Lord. He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth is from the earth, and he speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What he has seen and heard, of that he bears witness, and no one receives his witness. He who has received his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the spirit without measure. The father loves the son and has given all things into his hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

The first element we see to the witness of Jesus in this text. is that Jesus is a primary witness. You’ll remember that the gospel of John is written to produce evidence to who Jesus is. John says in chapter 20 that these things have been written, the reason why he wrote his gospel, these things have been written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. and that by believing, you’ll have life in his name. That’s the whole point. Everything in the book is to show us that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. All of these things are witnesses to Jesus.

Here, this morning, we see the witness of Jesus himself. John the Baptist is a witness to Jesus. And John has just said that Jesus is preeminent over even his witness. And this section this morning explains why Jesus himself is believable. Why John’s followers didn’t just have to take John’s word for it. But if they really looked at Jesus and who he is and what he’s saying and what he’s going to do, Jesus himself has enough for us to believe in him.

So number one, he is a primary witness. And what I mean by a primary witness is that he is a firsthand witness. He has firsthand information to what he testifies. He is not hearing this from someone else. He is not getting this second hand and then communicating it to us. Jesus is a firsthand witness to God, to who God is. Verse 31, he who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. This in context is obviously contrasting John the Baptist and Jesus.

The one who’s above all who is from above, Jesus, and John who is from the earth. He says Jesus is from above. And because he’s from above, he’s above all. And this from above is actually the same term that’s used in the phrase born again earlier. Because we talked about that, that it’s actually born from above. And Jesus explained that for us to be in the kingdom, we need to be born from above. Jesus does not need to be born from above. He is from above. So therefore, he is above everyone who is of the earth, because he doesn’t need to be born again or born from above. We as sinful, fallen people, with that sin nature we are born with, we need to be born again, born from above. But Jesus does not. Jesus was not born with that sin nature, because his father is the Father, God. He is from above.

This is what Jesus said back in verse 13 of chapter 3 as he’s explaining to Nicodemus who he is. He says, no one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the son of man. There he’s referring to Proverbs 30 verse 4 where it’s referring to God and all these descriptions of him and who is the one who wraps the winds in his hands and all the things that can only be true of God. He says, what’s his son’s name? And Jesus is saying, I’m that son. Because I’ve come from above, I’ve descended from heaven, therefore he must be the son to whom Proverbs 30 refers to. And this source of Jesus is one of the biggest themes in this whole book. One of the things that is the greatest evidence for who Jesus truly is. is that he’s from above. He is from God. For example, a few passages from John that continue to bring this to our minds as we read through John’s gospel. We have this passage, but then again in John chapter six, verse 38. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of him who sent me.

John chapter eight, verse 42, Jesus said to them, if God were your father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God. For I have not come of myself, but he sent me. John 13, verse three, Jesus, knowing that the father had given all things into his hands, which we just read in John three, and that he had come forth from God and was going back to God. And then John 16, verse 28, I came forth from the Father and I have come into the world and I am leaving the world again and going to the Father. This theme repeats over and over and over. Jesus came from God and he’s going back to the Father. That proves who he is and that proves here in John 3 that he’s worthy of being believed John 17, in his high priestly prayer. As he’s praying for his disciples, verses seven and eight, he says, now they, his disciples, they have come to know that everything you have given me is from you. Jesus here is describing what makes them his disciples. They believe.

They believe that he came from the Father and that everything he has is from the Father. He continues, for the words which you gave me, I’ve given to them and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from you and they believed that you sent me. This is what it is to be a disciple of Jesus. This is what it is to be a Christian. To believe in who Jesus is, that he’s from God. To believe in the words that he gives us. Jesus’ followers are those who believe the Father sent him. And they have come to know that Jesus is from above. And this is not a human wrought understanding. It is not as though they are using their own human logic and putting these things together and they’ve come to some scientific formula that proves to them that Jesus is who he says he is. This is not a human wrought understanding. This is not something we come to on our own. It’s a supernatural understanding that comes by the Spirit of God.

Jesus has come down from the Father. Therefore, he is the Christ, the Son of God. And by believing that, and by believing all of the implications that that truth has, you will have life in his name. And in contrast to that, that Jesus has come from above, John continues by saying, he who is of the earth, is from the earth and speaks of the earth. But he who comes from above, from heaven, is above all. John the Baptist must decrease the very verse before this. He must decrease. Why? Because he’s of the earth. And Christ must increase because he is not. He is from above.

Naturally, John could speak as one who is from the earth. He spoke of earthly things. John called people to repentance. And John baptized in water. John could speak of sin and repentance because that’s what he knew. But that was his limitation. He could not offer forgiveness. He could not offer salvation. That comes from above. John could not match the witness of Jesus. Yes, John testified to who Jesus is. He pointed them to Jesus. But he pointed them to what Jesus offered, because he couldn’t offer it himself. And Jesus’ own testimony is greater than John’s, first of all, because of where he comes from.

Again, John could point people to salvation. Jesus could offer them salvation. The Apostle Paul uses this contrast between the one from above and the one from the earth as he describes the contrast between Adam, the first man, and Christ, the second man. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, all the way down to verses 47 to 49, this is what Paul says. The first man is from the earth, that’s Adam. He says, the first man is from the earth, earthy. The second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy. And as is the heavenly, so also those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. Paul’s using this same contrast, this same language.

He sees two categories of people. Those from the earth and those from above, Adam and Jesus. One is earthly, the other is from heaven, just like John says. And all of us bear the image of Adam and his sinful condition. We have a sin nature. But all who believe in Jesus bear his image and his righteous condition before the Father. We bear it spiritually now. As God sees us, he sees his son. But one day, we will bear it physically. We will be glorified. We will be like him because we will see him as he is. You see, just as Adam was the head of the human race, Jesus is the head of a new race, the family of God.

Paul uses this same metaphor, this same language in Romans 5, and we know it well. Romans 5, 17, for if by the transgression of the one, death reigned. through that one. Much more, those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. Then a couple of verses later, verse 19, four, as through one man’s disobedience, the many were appointed sinners. Even so, in the same way, through the obedience of the one, many will be made or appointed righteous. In the same way that Adam’s sin affects all humans because we are descended from him, that he was our head, he stood in our place in the garden and fell into sin.

So therefore, all who come from him are in sin. In that same way that that spreads, if you believe in Christ. His righteousness comes to you. It is credited to you. That’s the contrast between those who are from the earth and those who are from above. And in John 3, what John is saying, he says in verse 31 again, he who comes from above is above all. He was of the earth, is from the earth, and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. Jesus is from above. We are from the earth. So in one sense, Jesus is infinitely different than us. He is not from earth. His testimony is categorically better than any man’s testimony could be. Which is why Jesus had to increase and John had to decrease.

His testimony was even better than John’s because of where he comes from. And to kind of put this into a clearer picture for us, Hebrews speaks of this right at the beginning of Hebrews chapter one. Makes this contrast between men like John, who bore witness about God, and then Christ, who bore witness about God. Hebrews 1:1, God, having spoken long ago to the fathers, in the prophets, in many portions and in many ways, John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets. And they testified to who God is and what God was doing.

But verse two tells us, in Hebrews 1, In these last days, God spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things and through whom He also made the worlds. The contrast there is to show us the pre-eminency of Christ’s testimony. We used to only have the prophets that God sent, and they did bear witness to who God is, but now we have the Son. Jesus’ testimony about God and who He is and what He has done is greater than anyone else’s, because He has knowledge of God. His knowledge is firsthand. He is a primary witness.

You see, John spoke of what he heard. He spoke the words God gave him. Jesus spoke of what he saw. Jesus spoke of God in a way that was different. He who is from heaven is above all. And that is the first element that makes Jesus’ testimony the perfect testimony, makes his witness the perfect witness, that he is a primary or first-hand witness.

Not only is he a firsthand witness of who God is, number two, he’s a willing witness. Verse 32, what he has seen and heard, of that he bears witness, and no one receives as witness. What Jesus has seen and heard about God firsthand, of that he bears witness, of that he testifies, and he testifies with authority. Jesus earlier said to Nicodemus, truly, truly, I say to you, this is true, Nicodemus. I can be believed. Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness of what we have seen, and you don’t believe our witness.

Jesus is telling Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel, Nicodemus, I’ve seen it. I know. You speak of what you’ve heard. You speak of what you read in the Old Testament Scriptures. I’m telling you, I know because I have seen and you still don’t believe me. In John chapter 8, from that same passage I read before, but different verse here, he says in John 8, 26, he says, I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but he who sent me is true. And the things which I heard from him, I am saying to the world. Jesus speaks with an authority that nobody else can speak with.

When you know something firsthand, when you have seen it with your own two eyes, when you know better than somebody who’s just heard, you speak with a different level of confidence and authority. At least you should. But Jesus spoke with authority because he had that firsthand knowledge of God. And Jesus’ authority astonished the crowds. They said, we’ve never seen anyone speak about God like this.

Matthew chapter seven, verses 28 and 29. Now it happened that when Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching. For he was teaching them as one having authority and not like their scribes. It wasn’t just the content of what he taught. It was how he taught it. He speaks as though he knows what he’s talking about. Not like our scribes. In Mark chapter 1 verse 27, and all were amazed so that they were arguing among themselves saying, what is this? A new teaching with authority? He commands even unclean spirits and they obey him.

What is this? We’ve never heard anything like this. That’s the testimony of Jesus. And it was because of his testimony with authority. It was because of how he taught, how he said the things, how he bore witness that they wanted to kill him. Because back to John 8, after he condemns them to their face, he says, I have more things to judge about you.

Down in verses 39 and 40, they answered and said to him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham’s children, you would do the deeds of Abraham, but now you’re seeking to kill me, a man who’s told you the truth, which I heard from God. This Abraham did not do. Jesus declared his witness. and why he knew what he knew. And they wanted to kill him for it. And this is still a tactic people use to silence the truth and to silence witnesses today. When a criminal trial is taking place, sometimes criminals will try to threaten and intimidate the witness to keep him quiet. And they tried that with Jesus too. But Jesus didn’t remain silent. Jesus was a willing witness. He was willing until the point of death, even a death on a cross. And still, John says, and no one receives his witness. No one receives his witness. Jesus came to tell us who God is. He came from God to tell us about God and nobody wanted to hear him. This is how John started his gospel.

In John 1 verses 9 to 11, there was the true light. The true light. Not just those of us that reflect the light, the light was actually here. coming into the world and enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and those who were his own did not receive him. Nobody wanted him, but he still came, and he still bore witness to the truth. And if not for the regenerating work of God in us, nobody would believe in Him. Not one. Because people are dead in their trespasses and sins. And blinded by Satan and they reject the testimony to the truth. This is why we must be born again. Because otherwise no one would receive His witness. This is why we are given new ears to hear and new eyes to see, because despite our hard-heartedness and unwillingness to hear him, he still bears witness to the truth. Jesus is still a willing witness.

The last element of his testimony that we see in our text this morning is number three, that Jesus is a credible witness. that he has the credentials to be believed. Verses 33 and following, he says, he who has received his witness, he has set his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the spirit without measure. The father loves the son and has given all things into his hands. John had just said no one receives his witness. But following the work of God in their hearts, there are those who do receive his witness. And when they do receive it, John says they set their seal on it.

In ancient times, people would mark things with a seal. When a ruler would send out a decree, he would have a personal seal that he would put on it so that people knew it was from him, so that people knew that he approved, that he was giving his testimony to what this decree was. His seal was his signature. And the seal showed it was his. It showed ownership. Think of a brand on cattle. The farmer brands the cattle to show who the owner is. They’re his. And those who accept Jesus’ witness because they’ve been made new, they’re not just entering a relationship with another human like John’s disciples did. Those who, when something better came along, what that was truly better, they went and followed Jesus as they were supposed to.

But those who receive Jesus’ testimony set their seal on it. They recognize it for what it is. They recognize the heavenly origin of Jesus and what he says. They acknowledge the truth of God’s revelation. And they are proclaiming with their deepest convictions that God is true. Following Christ comes with consequence. Because when you are made new, when you are reborn, it changes you. And you set your seal to this. It ought to show in every area of your life that God is true.

You set your seal to it. Not just when you’re here on Sundays, but every day. People ought to look at your life and see that guy believes God is true. He has set his seal to it. All you need to do is look at the martyrs throughout the history of the church. Men and women who were reborn and were changed and from then on lived their life to its very end, testifying to who Jesus is. From all of the apostles through the Reformation and even today, people who are willing to to say who Jesus is. Those are people who set their seal to the truth of Jesus’ testimony, that God is true. Because when you have been convinced because you’ve been reborn, it doesn’t matter what happens in this life. God is true.

And John continues. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.” The Old Testament prophets who spoke for God were led and empowered and inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak what they spoke. John the Baptist, it says, was filled with the Holy Spirit while he was yet in his mother’s womb. You see that in Luke chapter 1. And then the apostles, they were sent from God and they were carried along by the Holy Spirit, Peter tells us, as they wrote God’s word to us. That’s what apostle means, to be sent, a messenger sent.

But Jesus was different. Jesus was different than even those apostles and prophets. because he was given the Holy Spirit without measure. Sometimes this phrase is understood in different ways. Some think it’s that Christ gives to us the Holy Spirit without measure, but that’s really not in the context of what’s being said here, because we’re looking at how worthy Jesus is compared to someone like John. And even in Ephesians 4, it says that to each one of us was given according to the measure of Christ’s gifts. So Christ does give in different measures.

But again, the context here is speaking of who Jesus is and why he is worthy of being believed. And what it’s saying is that God gives the Holy Spirit to Jesus without measure. There’s nothing to inhibit or limit the amount Jesus spoke the words of God as true because God gave him the spirit without measure. Yes, he is truly and fully God, but Jesus is also truly and fully a man empowered by the Holy Spirit. And in him, Colossians tells us, the fullness of deity dwells bodily. So there was no limit. to the Spirit’s power working through Him. And that’s what the next verse goes on to explain.

Verse 35, the Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand because of His love for the Son. The Father has given Him supreme authority, authority over all things in heaven and on earth. Jesus’ witness, it is a credible witness. It is worthy to be believed. Those who believe it set their seal on it. People don’t give their lives for a lie. They set their seal on the fact that God is true and that is seen in Christ. His witness is credible because he speaks the very words of God. And because the Father loves the Son, he has given all things into his hand.

So in closing this morning, the perfect witness of Jesus is seen in all of the things that are true of him. He meets all of the criteria. Jesus is the perfect witness to who God is and to what he has done. Because he’s a first-hand witness. He has first-hand knowledge of who God is. He doesn’t need someone to tell him what God is like. He’s a willing witness. Even though no one would receive his witness until God gives them a new heart. Even though no one whom he came to wanted him. He was a willing witness, even to the point of death. And he’s a credible witness. His witness is worthy of our belief.

So what should we do with this witness of Jesus? What should be our response? to Jesus in light of John and his followers and their problem with the things that were happening and John points them to him. How should we respond to who Jesus is and what he says? Verse 36, he who believes, he who believes in the Son has eternal life. We are presented a witness. He who believes in that witness has eternal life. But he who does not obey the Son does not see life. But the wrath of God abides or remains on him.

We’ll come back to this verse next week. But our response to his witness is what determines the results of this verse. He who believes has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son, significant wording there, will not see life. To believe in who He is ought to be our response to the witness of Christ. To believe that we are unworthy sinners and we need a Savior. We need to be saved.

To believe that He came to earth to become a man. To believe that He lived the perfect life, sinless. No deceit was found on His lips. To believe that He died a brutal death on the cross in our place where you should have hung, that’s where He hung. And to believe that He rose again and is seated on high at the right hand of the Father. And to believe that he’s coming again. He’s coming again one day to gather those who are his and to judge the world.

So do you believe his witness? Do you believe his testimony? What he testifies? If you do, he who believes in the Son will have eternal life. Our eternal life has already begun, if you believe. Our physical death in this life is nothing. It’s just a transition to the next chapter of eternity. You have eternal life, if you believe. But if you refuse to believe in Him, if you refuse to do what He says and repent of your sin and believe in Him, the wrath of God remains on you and it will forever. Hell is a real place and it’s worse than this. The wrath of God remains on you. And when he returns, you will suffer under the wrath of God forever, unless you believe, unless you come to him. So believe in his witness. He is worthy, and he will reign.

Let’s stand and close in a word of prayer. Our God in heaven, we read and we hear your word. We see the witness presented to us in Christ. And Lord, I pray that each one here this morning believes in what Christ has to say, in who he is, in what he has done. God, we thank you. for providing us with your son, with your word to testify to who he is, for providing us with salvation. God, we praise you. We glorify you. We magnify your name because you are worthy. We thank you for the gospel. for our fellowship with each other because of what you’ve done. We pray all these things in Christ’s precious name. Amen.