In John 5:31-40, Jesus explained that there are four witnesses that testified that He was the Son of God and was sent by God. What are those witnesses, and how do they bear witness of Jesus?

Let’s look at the passage.

Joh 5:31  “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.
Joh 5:32  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.
Joh 5:33  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.
Joh 5:34  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.
Joh 5:35  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.
Joh 5:36  But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.
Joh 5:37  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.
Joh 5:38  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.
Joh 5:39  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
Joh 5:40  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

The four witnesses that testified that Jesus was the Son of God and was sent by God are:

1. John the Baptist
2. The works of Jesus
3. The Father
4. The Scriptures

Let’s look at each of these in more detail.

1) John the Baptist

John 5:32-35

Jesus states that John the Baptist bore witness of who He was.  Here are some other verses which show this.

Joh 1:6  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
Joh 1:7  This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
Joh 1:8  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

Joh 1:29  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

2) The works of Jesus

John 5:36

Jesus states that His works bore witness of who He was and that the Father sent Him.  The works, that is the miracles and the signs, were evident to many that Jesus was from God.

Joh 3:2  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.“

Joh 9:32  Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.
Joh 9:33  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.“

Joh 10:25  Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.

3) The Father

John 5:37

Jesus states that the Father bore witness of who He was.  He also states the same thing a little later in John.

Joh 8:18  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”

In what way did the Father bear witness that Jesus was His Son?  The Father audibly bore witness on three separate occasions: the baptism of Jesus, the transfigurations of Jesus, when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey shortly before His last Passover.

Mat 3:16  When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
Mat 3:17  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Mat 17:1  Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;
Mat 17:2  and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
Mat 17:3  And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
Mat 17:4  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Mat 17:5  While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”

Joh 12:27  “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
Joh 12:28  Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
Joh 12:29  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
Joh 12:30  Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.

The apostle Peter refers to one of these events (probably the transfiguration).

2Pe 1:17  For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
2Pe 1:18  And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

Who is the “Excellent Glory”?  It is the Father.  Here Peter recounts the remarkable event when the voice of the Father was heard saying of Jesus “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

In John 5:37 Jesus, in talking to the Jews that wanted to kill Him (John 5:18), states, “You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form”.  It was the Jews Jesus was addressing who had never heard the Father’s voice.  It is clear from the Scriptures that those present at Jesus’s baptism and transfiguration heard the Father’s voice. 

4) The Scriptures

John 5:39

Jesus states that the Scriptures bore witness of who He was.  The disciples believed that Jesus was the prophet Moses wrote about in the Scriptures.

Joh 1:45  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

This is almost certainly a reference to Deuteronomy 18:15.

Deu 18:15  “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,

There are also numerous prophecies in the Old Testament about the Messiah which Jesus fulfilled in His life, death, and resurrection.