How to Hear the Father's Voice - The Witness of the Father - John 5:26-40

1:01And Jesus then responds to their accusations. You are worthy of death. And so then Jesus begins to respond to their accusations by giving this discourse in John chapter 5. And I call it the witness discourse. You can call it Jesus' equality with God discourse. But what he does is he clearly defends his own divine nature. He says, basically, yes, I am. Am equal with God. And the evidences in that is that I do the things that only God can do. I say the things that only God can say. I know the things that only God can know. Yes, I am God.

1:42And then he starts to bring forth another round of witnesses. Last week, he brought forth John the Baptist. And this week, in our text, he brings forth the Father. Father God Himself will be the one that takes the stand, that Jesus will call to the stand and testify to the validity of Jesus and His ministry and His work. So let's read John chapter 5, beginning in verse 36 through 40. But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John, speaking of John the Baptist. For 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. And the Father who sent me, he has testified of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form. You do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe him whom he sent. You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. It is these that testify about me, and you are unwilling to come to me. To me, so that you may have eternal life. So that you may have life.

3:06Well, this morning, I want you to leave here knowing how to hear your heavenly Father's voice. He is speaking, and you can hear. If you will dial in and listen. So that's on a very personal level. I want you to know how to hear the Father's voice. But then, on a secondary level, I want you to be able to discern between true and false religion. The one thing that we need guidance on with all the religions in the worlds and all the variations of religions within religions, which one is correct, which one is authentically from heaven, which is the one that God Himself purposes and designs for you and I to walk in. Well, that answer, or that the answer is found in our text this morning as well. But on a very personal level, I want you to see, I want you to understand two ways to hear the Father's voice so that you will listen to what he is saying. Two ways to hear the Father's voice. The first way to hear the Father's voice is through the works of Jesus. And these are what Jesus Himself will testify to these Jews who want to kill him.

4:25But two ways that you and I can hear the Heavenly Father's voice is through the works. Of Jesus. Look at verse 36. And we're just go, as our custom, we go verse by verse, word by word, line by line, and dig deep. And that's our goal this morning. Verse 36, but the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John. For 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. So notice a few things. First of all, Jesus refers to a testimony greater than John the Baptist. And when you compare this with verse 32, it's evident that the testifier he is speaking about is the Father. The Father Himself testifies to Jesus. Also, notice that the Father gave works for Jesus to accomplish, the very works which the Father has given me to accomplish. The Father has given works to Jesus to accomplish. That is to complete, to finish. So he gave him a whole bunch of works to do, and he expects them to be finished. And so Jesus' mission is to come and complete those works which the Father had laid out for him to do.

5:46And I think it's very important to pay attention and understand that the origin of all the works of Christ began in the mind of the Father. The Father is The one who gave Jesus these works to do. So Jesus' works are from heaven. If you'll notice also that these works tell a story. The works tell a story not just about Jesus, but about the Father, right? We pay attention, and this is what Jesus is telling his Jewish adversaries there. He's saying, pay attention to the works that I am doing. They tell a story about your heavenly Father.

6:39You know, it's like artwork tells something about the artist, right? I can walk into a building and see some architectural features, and it will tell me a little bit about the designer. What a person says and what a person does says a lot about them, right? The way you spend your evenings, the way you spend your time, and what you engage in, your hobbies, all that says something about you. Well, here are the works that the Father has given the Son to do. And they say a lot about our Heavenly Father. And incidentally, it's not just Jesus that he gave works to do. Ephesians 2.10 makes it clear that we are his workmanship, that those who are in the faith created in Christ Jesus for Good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we would walk in them. The Father is the one preparing the works. He's the mind. But the works themselves testify. Notice that. The works themselves are testifying. The accomplished works that Jesus does testify. They point to a greater reality. They're not pointing to themselves, they are pointing away from themselves to a greater reality. They are declaring something. And they still do. They still do. Question is: what are they saying? What do these works that Jesus did testify to? Well, we don't have to think too hard or wonder too hard because it's explicitly stated there in verse 36. Look at the end of that verse. For the works which the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I do, and here it is, testify about me that the Father has sent me. So what are the works saying? They are saying the Father has sent Jesus. This tells us the origin. The works themselves testify to the plain and unmistakable reality that Jesus was sent by God. And it was only those who were intellectually dishonest that would not see it. I mean, they had. To think hard, suppress hard, and be very dishonest within themselves to recognize, to suggest that Christ's ministry was not from heaven. In fact, you remember John chapter 3. You remember a man named Nicodemus in verse 1. Let me just read you the story here, the account. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know, we, plural, we, Pharisees, we know that you have come from God as a teacher. For no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with them.

9:45So there was clear evidence, and those who were intellectually honest knew Jesus had come from God. The works testified that the Father had sent the Son. Clear. This one is from the Father. But they also testify to the kind of person that the Father is. They also testify to the kind of Son that Jesus is. You remember, man was lied to. Remember Adam and Eve, they were lied to in the garden, right? Oh, no. You want to eat that tree. You know why? Because God is a tyrant and he wants to keep a lid on you. He doesn't want you to be. Like him. That's the kind of God that this is.

10:36So they ate, right? Man continues to be lied to, that you continue to be lied to about the character of the Father. His character was slandered in the garden. The character of God continues to be slandered, but Jesus came to tell the truth. He came to set the record straight. He came to let you and I know how the Father really thinks and what he's really like. It says a lot about the Son, doesn't it? It says a lot about us and what we should become like, right? We're being conformed into the image of his Son. And so we are going to become a people that become more and more jealous for the namesake of God, that he be represented accurately, because he is good. He is perfect. He is kind. He is benevolent. He is compassionate. All that is true. And all of that we can see for sure in the nature of the works that the Father gave the Son to do. Spend a little time just contemplating about the nature of Jesus' works that were set out beforehand by the Father.

11:51You start seeing a picture about the Father that's very beautiful. Well, first of all, I'll say this about the nature of Jesus' works. They were plentiful, right? They were as plentiful as they were diverse. Jesus displayed a mastery over nature, over the human body, over the physical elements, over the spirit world, over death, over life. They were many. They were public. They were public. With only a few exceptions, they were seen by many, and even the ones that were seen in private became publicly known.

12:33The works were kind. Look at them. They were good. The works of Jesus served others. They were not simply displays of raw power. They were good. They were directed at the well-being of others. You remember the temptation that the devil came against Jesus with? It's like, use your power to serve yourself. Use that power. Turn those stones into bread. Cast yourself down. Demonstrate that power. But Jesus never used his power to serve himself. He used it to serve others and to glorify God. Now, here's this individual. You think about he's accomplishing works.

13:26One work. I mean, here's a guy who's completely has mastery. Over the elements, over life and over death, and yet he goes to a cross. Why? Why? And then he comes out of the grave. Why? These speak questions we ask, very profound. One so powerful. Why did he go to a cross? Because it's saying something about the Father. That work is testifying to the very nature of the Father, your Heavenly Father, one who intensely desires a relationship with you.

14:03Well, another element about the nature of Christ's works is that they were authentic. They were not pretended works at all. They were, and get this, they were not contested by the generation who witnessed them. The works were not contested. Now, later generations came along and started brushing the miracles of our Lord aside as myth, as do many today, but not the generation that witnessed them. That would show up later. The generation that witnessed the miracle do not question the legitimacy of them. There is no biblical record or debate over the legitimacy of the works, even by the opponents of Jesus. Now, they do question the source.

15:01Even give credit to Satan, but they do not question their authenticity. Listen to the words, striking words of Josephus. Josephus is that secular Jewish/slash Roman historian. He wasn't quite sure, he caught in the middle. He wrote several decades after Christ. Listen to these incredible words. Here's a secularist outside the Christian community writing down a history, and this is what he says. In this section, there was this plan of the Jews to bring down Pontius Pilate. And so Josephus is writing about that, and listen to what he says. Now, there was about this time, when this plot was unfolding against Pontius Pilate, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man. If it is lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as received the truth with pleasure. So he taught those. Josephus, he's taught those who would receive what he had to say. He drew to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was Christ.

16:23And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him. To the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day. Well, my point in all this is that Jesus' works were not contested in his own generation. J.C. Ryle sums it up very well for us today. All who attempt to deny the reality of our Lord's miracles in the present day, would do well to remember that those who had the best opportunity of judging, namely the men who saw these miracles and lived within hearing of them, never disputed the fact that they were wrought. If the enemies of our Lord could have proved that his miracles were only tricks and impostors, it stands to reason they would have been only too glad to show it to the world and silence him forever.

17:42You know, even the generation recognized they were authentic. You see, the works testify that Jesus is from God. You remember when John the Baptist was in prison? And you remember he Came to announce the arrival of Christ and the coming of his kingdom. And then John ends up in prison. And John begins to doubt. He begins to doubt. And so he sends a delegation. What am I doing in prison? If you're the one and I'm the forerunner, how's this working out?

18:21And so John summons a couple of his disciples and sends them to Jesus to ask important questions. And they come to him. Luke 7:19 picks it up, or in verse 20. John the Baptist has, when the men came to him, they said, John the Baptist has sent us to you. Are you the expected one, or do we look for someone else? At that very time, get this, at that very moment, listen to what Jesus did. He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits. And he gave sight to many who were blind. And he answered and said to them, Now, go report to John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. Blessed is he who does not take offense of me. How does Jesus affirm John that, yeah, indeed, I am from God?

19:25The works. Look at these works. John 1. And don't be offended. Don't fall away. Be affirmed. Look, if John, who Jesus would later call the greatest man who lived, or one of the greatest men, right? If that would encourage his heart during his doubts, how much more for us today? Think deeply. These works did happen. They are real. They are authentic. They speak volumes about the one that the Father has sent. And they speak volumes about the Father Himself.

20:10No one else in history has such a testimony of witnesses, right? No one else has such a testimony of supernatural works. You see, the works of Jesus testified, and they still testify, that Jesus came from God. And Jesus appealed to the Jews to listen to the testimony of the works. Listen. Listen to what they're saying, even in the context where he had just healed a man who had been lame or paralyzed for 38 years. But they rejected him. They rejected him. Why?

20:50Why? And the answer is striking. They hate the Father. Jesus 15. 23 is going to say this, he who hates me hates my father also. If I had not done among them works which no one else did, they would have not had sinned. But now they have seen and hated me and my father as well. They have seen and hated me. They have seen and hated my father. And you know what they still do? I know we live in a society that is years removed from the actual miracles themselves. However, this distance does not diminish their authenticity, their goodness, or their testimony. John 14, 10, Jesus says this, the Father abiding in me does his works. The works that Jesus did were works of the Father. So how do you hear your heavenly Father's voice? Pay attention to the works of Christ. They speak about the Father.

22:06And we have a broad and reliable record of them. And we should not be slow to proclaim them. Jesus proclaimed them. There was a man who walked among us. He could heal the sick. Let me tell you about a man who could raise the dead. Let me tell you about a man who could create matter out of nothing and many other such things. Things. He deserves your attention. He deserves my attention. Not be afraid to proclaim them. You see, the works tell us that Jesus is from God. They tell us the kind of person the Father is.

22:50And I encourage you to take time to meditate upon the works of Jesus recorded in the Scriptures and ask yourself three questions. What does this miracle say about me or man? What does this miracle say about my father? And how should I think and respond? And as you do, you will hear the Father's voice. Two ways to hear your Father's voice. First, through the works of Jesus. Second, through the words of Scripture. Now, I recognize that we could put it all under the words of Scripture because the very works of Jesus themselves are recorded for us in the Scriptures. So, in that sense, yes, it's kind of a sub-point that Jesus, you hear your heavenly Father's voice through the words of Scripture, but within the Scripture, there's some topography, and I'm trying to bring out what Jesus Himself brought out. And that topography is: we hear him through the works of Jesus, we hear him also through the words of Scripture. Now, let's look at verse 37.

24:00And notice the activity of the Father. And the Father who sent me has testified of me. Two verbs there. The Father has sent, the Father has testified. Now, how had the Father testified of Jesus? You're standing there at that moment at Bethesda. Keep in mind, we're there at Bethesda. The text takes us there. We're watching this debate, this exchange going on. And Jesus says, the Father has testified. And how? Well, we know Hebrews 1 makes it clear that God had long ago to the fathers and the prophets spoken in many portions and in many ways. So the Father, I believe Jesus is referring to the sum total of relevatory witness in all its shapes and forms. The Father had spoken through the law. He had spoken through predictive prophecy. He had spoken through different kinds of events. All of these recorded in the scripture. There were also the types, you know, those divine object lessons that God had set apart. And all that was still going on at the temple at that moment. Every lamb that was sacrificed was screaming out and testifying to a perfect sacrifice. The priest that had to be constantly rotated in and out screamed about a priest that needed. To endure the coming of a priest, order of Melchizedek, a much permanent. There was also then John the Baptist, right?

25:43John the Baptist had been speaking. But the issue here is not how the Father specifically spoke, but that the Father had testified to Jesus and they had not listened. That's the emphasis that Jesus is putting here. And what Jesus does, he's saying, the Father has testified, you have not listened. And then he launches into four very stinging indictments against them. They have indicted him, and now he turns around with a four-pronged indictment against them. We'll just look at those. Four indictments.

26:28And listen, these indictments, he makes four stinging indictments to the Jews who were threatening him there at that moment. And these indictments should alarm anyone who claims to believe the Bible, including us. This is an alarming piece of scripture for us all. I mean, most non-Christian religions will pay some kind of lip service to the Bible. They'll even call it Scripture, whether it's Islam or others. They will pay some sort of tribute, but they will completely miss the message. Likewise, there are many, many so-called Christians who will also pay lip service to the Bible, but completely miss its message. You see, Scripture was given so that man could know the Father.

27:25And if one reads the Bible and misses the relationship with the Father, they miss the message of the Bible. You're not reading it correctly. You're not studying it. You're missing it. And just like the Jews who mistreated Jesus because they didn't know the Scripture, there are many today who miss the message of the Bible and will not relate to Jesus in the way he is to be related to. And here they are. Here's the first one. Indictment number one. You do not know the Father. Look back. Verse 37. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form. You don't know him at all. I mean, Moses had heard. Moses had seen him. Jacob had seen him. Certainly these had not. Jesus had already claimed that he knew the Father intimately. He said, I see God, I do the things of God. I know the Father. Things of God. None of this was true about the Jews that were staring Jesus down. Indictment number one: you do not know the Father at all. Indictment number two, you do not know His Word. Stands to reason. If you don't know the Father, if you haven't heard His voice, you're not going to know His Word. Look at verse 38. You do not have His Word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him who He sent. You are not having His Word remaining in you. You haven't heard His voice. So if you haven't heard His voice, you certainly don't have it remaining.

29:07And this is evident because you don't believe in the one He sent. You know, in Scripture, you spend any kind of time in the Old Testament, right? You know, sorry, you know, the way of the blessed is meditating upon God's Word, right? Moses, meditate on God's Word. This is the way of blessing. The psalmist, Ezra, Joshua, you just go through it. It's the way of the blessed is by meditating upon God's Word. That is, having the voice of the Father resounding within your soul. That is the way of the blessed.

29:54How do you know who has the word of the Father resounding in their souls? Let me ask. You, how do you know if you personally have the word of the Father resounding in your souls? The evidence is right there at the end of verse 38. For you do not believe him whom he sent. So, what Jesus is saying here is: look, if you had the voice of the Father resounding in your souls, if you had been listening to him, you would have recognized me because I came from him. You see that? Therefore, if you're not hearing what he's saying all along, of course you're not going to hear who he sent.

30:45You know, here's the, and Jesus gives us right here the test of all religion, the test of your personal religion. Is it true? Those who currently do not honor Jesus as they do the Father are false religions. If you have the word of the Father abiding in you, you will believe in the one he has sent. And that one he sent is Jesus. And Jesus is declaring this right here before the Jews. So indictment number one: you do not know the Father. Indictment number two, you do not know His Word.

31:30Indictment number three, you do not know the scriptures. Oh, he's taking him a little further. Verse 39, you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. It is these that testify about me. These ones are pointing to me. He's saying you have missed the grand object and purpose of scripture. It's as though they placed their hope of final acceptance by God in great effort and Bible study. Yet the grand object is not the letter.

32:08They diligently searched into the letter, but they missed the message. Friend, this is a frightening indictment that should unnerve all of us Bible students. I mean, is it possible you can spend all the time in the Word? Ask yourself the question. I mean, I've been to seminary on a couple of occasions, spent a lot of my time in the Word. Is it possible that you can miss the whole message? When he says, you search the Scriptures, the word for it, you diligently search the Scriptures. These were students. These were students and had committed a lot of their life to Scripture, and yet they missed it.

33:00Because they placed their hope somehow in the just the mere study and recital of Scripture was sufficient for eternal life. But Jesus insists, and Carson says it well: Jesus insists that there is nothing intrinsically life-giving about the studying of Scripture if one fails to discern their truth content and purpose. You see, the mere study and recital of Scripture does not impart life. In fact, Galatians 3:21 says this. Paul says this: If a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on the law. But the scriptures do something very similarly to what John the Baptist. John the Baptist pointed a way to himself to Christ. Likewise, the scriptures point to a greater reality than themselves. They testify to Jesus. More precisely, it is the Father's testimony to Jesus through the Scriptures.

34:13You hear the Father's voice when you grasp the testimony of Scripture. And listen, those who study the Scripture and grasp its meaning do experience a life-giving power. And the psalmist. Very, we spent a lot of time in Psalm 119, and he talks about those words and the life-giving power. Well, they give life not because of themselves, but because of who they connect us to. The words serve as that conduit between the life-giver and the one needing life. Words are connection points, the scriptures are connection points to God, but the source of life is God Himself. Person in Him is life, and He is the Word.

35:05Connection points. But to think that there is life in just the mere recital and study of Scripture without understanding their truth content is totally wrong. And that's what Jesus was saying. You don't understand the Scriptures. Fourth indictment. Indictment number one: You do not know the Father. Indictment number two, you do not know His Word. Indictment number three, you do not know His Scripture. Know the Scriptures. Indictment number four: You are spiritually dead. Look back at verse 40. And you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life.

35:53You are not willing. You are unwilling to come. You are currently. Unwilling. You see, your deadness is seen in your unwillingness to come to me. That's where spiritual deadness is discerned. Jesus Himself, I can tell you, you're spiritually dead because you are unwilling to come to me. You see, people must come to Jesus, they must be willing to come to Jesus in order to have life. By his grace, he makes us willing. But we must come in response. But if you are not willing, you will not come. And that was the problem.

36:47Scripture has meaning, it is to be understood. This meaning of Scripture is to be embraced, and it is to be followed where it points. And it points to Christ. You see, proper study of Scripture is going to lead to a knowledge of sin, number one. You cannot spend any time in the scripture and come away without an acute awareness that there's sin in the world. And you can't spend any time without understanding that you have sin, right? You cannot come away without an acute awareness of your own personal sin.

37:30Any kind of time you spend in the Scripture, you will come to a knowledge of sin, which in turn will lead to an inner compulsion to search for the Savior. There must be satisfaction. There is a nakedness that must be covered. And there is an inner compulsion, if you have knowledge of sin, to seek the covering that God has given. So, you spend any kind of scripture, time in scripture, you'll come away with a knowledge of sin, a knowledge of the Savior, which will in turn will lead you to a willingness to come to Jesus because Scripture clearly testifies that he is the one who gives salvation.

38:19So, important question. How do you know whether or not you have been correctly taught by the scriptures? Well, have you come to Christ? Are you coming to Christ? You see, proper study of Scripture will lead to Christ and growing Christ-likeness. You understand that? I don't know the trueness. I don't know what your relationship with the Scripture is. But I don't care how many hours you log, if there isn't a transformation taking place into Christ-likeness, you are not getting it. You are not getting it. It.

39:01If you're properly taught by the Scriptures, you will come to Christ. And you will continue to come to Christ. You will be coming to Christ and you will be being conformed into his image. That is what the scriptures do: conduits that connect us to the Father. Well, back to Bethesda. You know, the Jews could not blame their blindness on anyone but themselves. The Father was not evading them. He was not playing hide and seek. He doesn't do that. He's revealed himself in various ways, many ways, throughout time, as the Hebrews 1:1 says. But at that moment, he was right there in their midst, in the Son.

39:52He was declaring himself very loudly. John 14:9, Jesus is going to say, He who has seen me has seen the Father. Yet they completely missed the voice of the Father. You see, their problem was that they had built their understanding about God, about the Messiah, and themselves upon faulty premises. They, first of all, had an inflated view of their traditions. Many of us have an inflated view of our philosophies today, right? Our own paradigm. We've got it all figured out. Did they? They had an inflated view of their traditions and themselves, and that made them unteachable. They understood themselves to be God's people no matter what, and that everything was going to turn out fine in the end for them. And therefore, the Messiah would be a person who would carry out their own political ventures according to what suited them best.

40:51So Jesus comes along, he doesn't fit their mold of a Messiah, so they dismissed him and the Father who sent them. And I know today Jesus doesn't fit many people's mold, but that doesn't make him less the Christ. Just like it didn't, just because he didn't fit the mold that the Jews were looking for in his day didn't make him less the Messiah. Well, the Father was in Jesus. He was speaking to that generation. The grand purpose of Scripture is to testify to Jesus so that people will be willing to come to Jesus and have life. They're spiritually dead and they need life. And there's only one life giver.

41:47So in wrapping this up, how can you hear the Father's voice today? Well, pay attention to the works of Jesus. Pay attention to the words of Scripture, and I realize they're one and the same there. But know this, that Jesus the Son came to connect people with their heavenly Father. Your heavenly Father wants a relationship with you. And those who come to Jesus belong to the Father. Those who are not willing are spiritually dead. That's how Jesus lays it out. And those who are spiritually dead need to be evangelized. And I don't care how articulate they may be in the Christian faith. If they are not coming and not willing to come and you don't see a growing Christ-likeness, they're spiritually dead. And they need to be evangelized.

42:52So there you have it. Your Heavenly Father is speaking. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, just thank you for the words of Christ and the works of Christ that have laid so clearly out for us your work in this world that we really do know you, Father God, because of the work of your Son. Thank you for revealing yourself to us in Him. So, Father, I just pray now that you would open ears and hearts, make us willing, because we know that.

43:30Without you, we won't even be willing. And so we ask that you, by your Spirit, through the preaching of your word and the communication of truth in various means, would awaken hearts. Give people a longing to know you. Give people a sense, give us here a greater sense of our sin and a greater awareness of our need for your Savior and a greater celebration and the joy that you forgive much. And in turn, may that cause us to love much. Father, no matter who we are, no matter how deep the transgression, Father, those transgressions can be turned very easily into opportunities to love you at a greater depth. And so we confess our sins, asking you to come and have your way among us. We welcome you here, Lord Jesus. It's in Christ's name. Amen.