Book of John

#17 John 5:31-47

May 30, 2021 /

Leader:  Have your Student write down the Passage and the Questions then, give them a week to prepare.

Passage: John 5:31-47

Questions: 

  • 1) Identify the 4 testimonies that say Jesus is from God and explain each.
  • 2) What questions do you have?

Then, this week the Student will:  

  • Read the Passage every day!
  • Handwrite the Passage
  • Answer the questions 

When you do meet again, you will go over this… 

John 5:31-47

31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.

33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”

Notes for Leader:

Open your time together with prayer. Be sure to ask the Holy Spirit to lead the conversation and teach what needs to be learned and heard during your discussion. He will give you the words that you need! May you grow closer together and closer to Jesus.

Briefly review what you learned last week. Now, let’s see what else we can discover about who Jesus is…

Here is what we noticed.

1) Identify the 4 testimonies that say Jesus is from God and explain each.

  1. v.32-35 John the Baptist – human testimony to bear witness of Jesus (John 1:6-8, 23, 3:27-36), God sent John the Baptist in fulfillment of His promise (Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1) 
  2. v.36  Jesus’ works – testify that Jesus has been sent by the Father to do miracles so that we might believe
  3. v.37-38 The Father – even though Jews don’t get it, Jesus points to God.  Jesus can do nothing apart from the Father 
  4. v.39-40, v.46-47 Scripture – The Old Testament prophesied the Messiah and explains Jesus presence at Creation 

Irony:  v.39-40 People study the scriptures to know God, but never understand who Jesus is and that through Him, they will have eternal life.  Knowing a lot about the Scriptures does not equal eternal life!

v.43 Jesus is warning the leaders that their pride does not keep them from understanding Jesus and yet allows them to accept false teachers with lesser claims. 

v.44 These leaders are willing to accept praise from men but are not seeking God’s praise.  Do not use religion to seek praise from others, it inhibits our ability to seek God first.

Note: John uses the noun or verb for testimony 47 times in this book. He wants to establish the truth of who Jesus is through a reliable testimony of witnesses.

2) What questions do you have?

Don’t be nervous about this one… the Holy Spirit will help you answer.  If you are discipling a young child (and most others!), remember that they are not expecting a doctoral dissertation when you answer, so keep it simple and true. And, it is ok to say, “I am not sure, let’s look into that together.”  And then add that question to your study for next week. 

Allow the Spirit to lead a great conversation!

Here is the passage and questions for next week’s study. Give your student the week to write out the passage and prepare for your discussion.

Passage: John 6:1-15

Questions: 

  • 1) What does Jesus’ 4th miracle tell us about him?
  • 2) Review his first 3 miracles.
  • 3) What questions do you have?