Why does Jesus say, “If I bear witness about Myself, My
witness is not true” (John 5:31)?
He is citing a Jewish legal principle, that uncorroborated testimony doesn’t count.
Who is “the truth" in John 5:33?
It's Jesus Himself: Jesus
said to him, “I am the way, and the
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”
(John 14:6).
So what is Jesus saying in John 5:32-35?
John the Baptist’s testimony already satisfies the above legal principle.
They listened to John for a while. He has “borne witness”
(John 5:33) of Jesus but they missed it, so they should go back to John's words and start
over. And Jesus isn't saying this because He needs testimony from a man, but for their sake,
“that you may be saved” (John 5:34).
What does Jesus reveal above?
The “greater witness” than John the
Baptist's witness is the “works” (John 5:36) that
Jesus is
doing and which prove that the “Father has sent”
Him.
When did the Father Himself bear “witness about” (John 5:37) Jesus?
When He had been baptized, Jesus immediately came up out of the water,
and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven,
saying, “This is My beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased.”
(Matthew 3:16-17)