Jn 5:33-36
[Jesus said to the Jews,] 33“You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. 34I do not accept testimony from a human being, but I say this so that you may be saved. 35He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. 36But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.”
Reflection
These works: For the Jews, a claim will have legal weight only if there are two or three witnesses. But since Jesus is no ordinary man, he needs no human witnesses at all. Instead, he has “his works” as his valid witnesses, more than enough both in terms of quantity and quality. In fact, it is his Father himself who is witnessing to him. He accredits Jesus as the Messiah by means of miracles, marvelous deeds, which affirm the arrival of his kingdom and hints at what kind of God he is.
The inbreaking of the kingdom of God means the start of the end of all forms of evil in the world. Thus, Jesus heals the sick, expels demons, banishes ignorance, breaks societal barriers, destroys discrimination, raises the dead. By means of them, he shows that God stands for life, for the profound life of humankind. His miracles effectively restore life—for Jews, Gentiles, and pagans alike.
Despite Jesus’ outstanding miracles, however, unbelievers still stubbornly persist in their incredulity because an admission of the real identity and mission of Jesus would mean accepting him and his demands for conversion. And so a foolish generation of Jews missed the chance to enter the kingdom of God by disregarding the evidence of Jesus’ works.