When it comes to verifying a person’s true identity it requires more than just their word that they are who they claim to be. We expect that when we apply for a membership or a credit card, we will need to provide an acceptable form of identification: a driver’s license, tax bill or even our Social Security Number. When we apply for a job or even a volunteer position we are asked to provide references from people that know us to be who we are.

Last Sunday, in the first half of John 5, Jesus made the bold claim that he was equal with God the Father. A claim that was offensive to the Jewish leaders and challenged to the point they wanted to kill Jesus. A common opposition to Christianity today is an attempt to degrade Jesus from God incarnate to just a good moral teacher and influencer. A good person but not God. Christians need to have confidence that Jesus is who he claimed to be because we will face a constant barrage from humanism that Jesus is a phony.  In the second half of John 5 Jesus provides the verification of who he claims to be. In this passage we will see that Jesus uses a personal reference, a philosophical reference, an intellectual reference and a historical reference to prove his testimony is true. Then I will add a few other references from Church history as well as our current time that add to the credibility of Jesus’ claim to be God in human flesh. Join us this Sunday for “The Testimony of Jesus.”