Your Works Testify

“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.” (John 5:36)

Jesus was speaking to the Jews who were seeking to kill Him because He claimed to be equal with God, and He was giving them “evidence”, in a sense, that He really was who He claimed to be. He referred to the testimony of John in :33, but then He added here that there was a greater testimony to who He was: “the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me …”. Jesus was able to point to His works to prove that He was who He claimed to be.

This should occasion some soul-searching among those who claim to be God’s people today. Are you really what you claim to be? Are you really a Christian? How will you, and those who observe your life, know? The same way that Jesus was known: “the works which the Father has given (you) to accomplish”, they will “testify” about you!

If you are really a Christian, your works will back up your profession. Jesus said in Matthew 7:20-21, “So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”

If this is true, what does it say about the validity of your claim to be a follower of Christ? Just like Jesus, it’s not merely what you SAY about yourself that proves who you really are, but what you DO. Jesus’ works testified clearly and consistently that He was truly the Son of God. What do your works testify about you?

About Shawn Thomas

My blog, shawnethomas.com, features the text of my sermons, book reviews, family life experiences -- as well as a brief overview of the Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson for Southern Baptist Sunday School teachers.
This entry was posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s