John 3:31-34 - The Divine Testimony of Jesus

John 3:31-34

31 “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.

Message: The Divine Testimony of Jesus

Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."

What the Lord is Saying: John has just mentioned that it is not about him getting the glory and it is Jesus that has descended from heaven and he has the authority. "He must increase, I must decrease." And he mentions, "this joy of mine has been made full." I didn't notice this previously. In decreasing, in Jesus increasing, his joy is made full. This is something I don't think people understand or expect to happen - that is, when we give God the glory and make it all about Him, our joy is full. 

Verse 31, "He who comes from above is above all." Big statement here. Jesus coming from heaven is not simply someone descending from heaven. What is being explained is Jesus is above all. He is distinct. He is different. He is God in flesh. He is the presence of God descended to earth. And it mentions that He is different. He is different that what is on earth, born of earth. John (and I think this is John the Evangelist speaking) provides us information about Jesus. Jesus is different. Humans have limitations. Jesus does not have limitations. Every person born on this earth has a limitation. 

It makes perfect sense to me that Muslims reject this book because it so clearly teaches Jesus as God. And others, like Jehovah's Witnesses, write a different Bible to shed that thinking. And Mormons come up with different meanings. We either accept it or we come up with a substitute or a different version of it. 

Verse 32 is an interesting statement for John says, "No one receives His testimony." No one. So Jesus comes from above, testifies of the above, testifies what He has seen and heard, and no one receives this. No one? Is this, "no one" or "no one yet" or "no good examples?" The tense of this verse is present. Maybe what is going on is, at this moment, no one is believing. So of the group that are before him. 

Going back to chapter 2, John recorded these words in verse 23, "Now when He (Jesus) was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, beholding His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men." Perhaps the people before right now are these that are believing and maybe believing because of signs that are occurring, but not really believing Jesus as God in flesh from the presence of God. Maybe that is what is meant by "No one receives His testimony."

My Open Bible refers back to Isaiah 53:3, "He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him."  

The word here for no one means no one. And yet it seems to be a deep feeling of exaggeration. In John 3:26, John speaks and "He (Jesus) is baptizing, and all are coming to Him." Again, an exaggeration here from John. Not all, but it sure feels like it at the time. 

I think this is important to grasp and look at and remember because there are a lot of absolute statements like this in the Bible. And as we study and look at this words, we need to remember this and think about it and remember, the writers are humans with emotions and yet God is inspiring them to speak and teach and so the words are still infallible. 

The very next verse seems to contradict at first glance as it says, "He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true." Yet, this phrase is past tense. The previous verse present tense. Right now, no one seems to accept His testimony, but those who "received" or those have already received His testimony. This is the same received as John 1:12 and those that received became children of God. John seems to be making a point about receiving. And that even at times it is different from believing. This must be intentional. Again, back to John 2:23 and those that believed. And yet John 3:16, they believed. Maybe one is believing in what He did and the other is believing in Him. 

And believing they have, "set his seal to this." They have affixed a seal. This is more permanent. They have been stamped. God is true. That is the stamp. God sends Jesus and He speaks His words (v. 34). "And He gives the Spirit without measure." He has all the fullness of the Spirit. At the baptism, "the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him." The Spirit is at Jesus's disposal. John 20:22, "And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit." Jesus has the Spirit to give to all. 

Summary: Jesus comes from God and is God, different from finite man, speaking the words of God and has the fullness of the Spirit. 

Promise: From Tabletalk, "Many people see Jesus as a wise human teacher, but that is insufficient. He comes from God’s very presence and speaks God’s very words. To fail to obey Jesus is to fail to obey God, so let us seek this day and every day to obey our Savior."

Prayer: Father God, your word is alive. It speaks and conveys clarity to me. It is thrilling to read and study and understand. Thank you for John and the special way he speaks and thank you Holy Spirit for illuminating me with understand. Keep me humble and certain that You are the one. Thank you for those that came before me and through study and understanding help me to understand. These are your ambassadors, indwelt by Your Spirit. What a joy it is to now study with them. Thank you for your word and the consistency of it. Help me to understand it more and impart it to many. Praise you God. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.