John 5:31-47

"If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony is valid."

Jesus recognizes what we have all at one time or another discovered, namely that we can talk all we want in our own defense and it will not be heard or accepted unless it is supported by the witness of another. In most situations, that witness is the heart of the listening person. If the person to whom I speak is inclined to trust me, my testimony will be valid in their eyes. But we can be deceived in either direction; trusting those who do not deserve trust and refusing to trust those who deserve it, so the fact that we accept a testimony does not make it valid. Jesus, however, had testimony in his favor that went deeper than personal trust. This testimony was found in the prophetic word, as exemplified by Moses and John the Baptist, and in his own works. God spoke of Jesus' coming and his work before he appeared on the scene, and Jesus lived and ministered in a way that showed himself to be the man of whom God was speaking. If our hearts do not assent to this testimony, this speaks not to the weakness of the witness, but the hardness of our hearts. We have failed to trust what is supremely worthy of our trust, and that is no fault but our own.