John 5:36-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. NKJV
The greatest reference we have in the Word about the people and incidents that testify to the Sonship of Jesus is His own words spoken while He was on earth. In my previous blog, we reviewed the true witness of John the Baptist, as he pointed others to the Son of God. Jesus said:
“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.
John 5:31-33 NKJV
Jesus was passing by the pool of Bethesda when he saw a multitude of sick people lying around the pool. John wrote that Jesus saw a certain man who had been sick for 38 years, waiting at the pool to be healed. After asking the man if he wanted to be made whole, Jesus told him to pick up his bed and walk. The man was immediately healed.
This caused the Jews to become angry because it was the Sabbath day, and the man was carrying his bed on the Sabbath. But we understand that it was a greater evil than religious laws being broken at the root of their issues. Anyway, they wanted to kill Jesus because He healed on the Sabbath, prompting Jesus to talk about His Sonship and the witnesses that testify of Him.
Although Jesus called John a true witness, He said that He had a greater witness than John the Baptist.
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.
John 5:36 NKJV
Jesus, let us know that the miracles He had performed and would continue to perform were not just arbitrary works but works that spoke of Him being the Son of God! As a matter of fact, Jesus said that His works were a greater witness, outranking the witness of John the Baptist! The Greek word “megas” in this verse, rendered as greater, means to out rank, or of degree and intensity, placing the witness of His works as a more superior witness.
Nicodemus went to visit Jesus during the night hours to converse with Him about His teachings. Nicodemus made this comment to Jesus:
“Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
John 3:2 NKJV
Nicodemus understood that the works Jesus did amongst them were not ordinary but extraordinary and supernatural in their very nature. Therefore, he acknowledged that Jesus had obviously come from God and that God was with Him.
Another aspect of the works of Jesus that was typical of God is His compassion for others. It was noted when Jesus raised the widow of Nain’s son from the dead that He was moved with compassion:
And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.
Luke 7:12-15 NKJV
And again, when He healed a multitude of sick people, Matthew wrote:
And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.
Matthew 14:4 NKJV
The works that Jesus did, or the miracles He performed, astounded the people during His earthly ministry. People are still astounded at the events that took place during His three-and-a-half years of miracles. One that always causes my heart to shout, “Look at God,” can be found in John 9, when the man born blind received his sight. The Jewish leaders were so outraged that yet another miracle was performed on the Sabbath day that they put this man on the witness block to find out what had happened and who had done it! He testified beautifully to the marvelous work of Jesus:
Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
John 9:32-33 NKJV
In other words, he let them know that no one else was capable of giving sight to a person born blind. Not only was he born blind, but he was now a grown man. And since Jesus had healed him of his blindness, the only logical conclusion to make is that God had done it!
Again in John 10, Jesus speaks of His works bearing witness of Him:
If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”
John 10:37-38 NKJV
Before John the Baptist was beheaded, when death was staring him in the face, he sent messengers to Jesus to ask Him if He truly was the One? Maybe he was feeling abandoned by God and Jesus. Or maybe he wasn’t ready to die even though he believed it was imminent. But one thing we know for sure is that he had personally witnessed to the people that Jesus was the Son of God, and in the face of his seemingly untimely death, he asked Jesus for confirmation. Jesus sent this message to John:
“Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Matthew 11:4-5 NKJV
I’m not clear at what point John was placed in prison. I’m not even sure if he was able to personally witness any miracles. But when he asked for proof, Jesus told the messengers to tell John about the works He was doing.
Jesus performed miracles of healing! He cleansed lepers, gave sight to the blind, healed the lame so they could walk, unstopped deaf ears, and loosed tongues so people could speak. He exercised authority over demons and raised the dead. He displayed power over nature when He spoke to the winds, and they quieted, and when He walked on the water. And when he turned water into wine and fed the five thousand, He demonstrated that at His command and at His will, He could do whatever He needed to do! And at the end of his gospel, John said this:
And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
John 20:30-31 NKJV
Truly His works speak for Him! And the wonderful news for us today is that the Son of God is yet performing miracles. If you stand in need of a miracle from the Son of God, He is able and willing to perform it! Wonderful Jesus!
Wonderful Jesus! 