John 5:33 Commentary and Bible Study

The Jewish leaders had sent a high level delegation to investigate John the Baptist. ‘Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.’ John had said, I am not he that cometh. I am not Messiah. I am not the Christ. One comes after me who was before me, who I am not unworthy to unloose his shoelace, as it were. And he pointed to him – ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’‘But I received not testimony from man.’ In other words, I am not founding my assertion that I am Messiah and the Son of God upon the testimony even of John, great as he was. But I mention him so that you might be saved. John was sent as an act of sympathy from God. Before Christ himself comes and works mighty miracles, I will send a man, the last of the prophets, John the Baptist. By the very human touch some will be helped to hear and believe. What he means is, I do not need to clutch at, grasp at, the testimony of men. ‘I welcome the testimony of John – he was a wonderful, burning lamp,’ He is going to say, ‘but the testimony of a mere man, however much I welcome it – and from such a good man – is not much better than my own testimony. If I testify to you, you say, ‘It isn’t true, he is witnessing to himself. John testified to you. Now, you had great respect to him, for a short time but even he couldn’t convince you.’