Exhortation, Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

In the gospel of John, Jesus says that the Father bears witness by giving Jesus works to do (5:36). The Father also bears witness through declaring Jesus His Son at Jesus’ baptism. Finally, the Father bears witness of Jesus by raising Him from the dead.

If you saw Jesus perform a miracle, you would see God bearing witness to the Son. If you had been present at Jesus’ baptism and heard the voice from heaven, you would hear the Father as witness of His Son. As John says, if you saw and heard that but didn’t believe God’s testimony, you would make Him a liar.

But what about now? How does God bear witness today, when we can no longer hear His voice or see the miracles of Jesus?

As we’ll see in the sermon, John points to the continuing work of the Spirit, and to the water of baptism and the blood of the covenant that we drink in communion. God witnesses to Jesus through Spirit, water, and blood.

God declared Jesus as His Son, and said you belong to Jesus when He baptized you. God says Jesus died and rose again to give you life every time He offers the blood of His Son to drink. This is the testimony of God, which is greater than any testimony of man.

So, do you believe it? Or, do you believe the testimony of your own conscience, the testimony of your own self-evaluation, the testimony of a crucial wife or husband, the testimony of Satan? Don’t make God a liar. Believe His witnesses, the triple witness of Spirit, water, and blood.