I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.

John 1:29-51 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He in behalf of whom I said, ‘After me is coming a Man who has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’ ³¹ And I did not recognize Him, but so that He would be revealed to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” ³² And John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. ³³ And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

³⁵ Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶ and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸ And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you seeking?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” ³⁹ He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day; it was about the tenth hour. ⁴⁰ One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹ He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). ⁴² He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

⁴³ The next day He decided to go to Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets also wrote: Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!” ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good be from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” ⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite, in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸ Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” ⁴⁹ Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel!” ⁵⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

In today’s text it says:  John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”  Matthew 3:13-17 describes the account of Jesus being baptized by John, saying:  Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?” But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him, and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” We may not have had the experience that John had, hearing god’s voice from heaven, but we can be as certain that Jesus is the Son of God.  We have the witness of God’s word, written by the hands of men, but inspired by God through the Holy Spirit. 2 Timothy 3:16 says:  All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.  Furthermore, all scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, speaks of God’s plan for people and in particular, of His plan for redemption through His Son.

We also have the witness of the Holy Spirit, who is God’s Spirit. In John 16:13 Jesus says:  When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. Since we have the witness of the Word and the Spirit, we should also have the same confidence as John, declaring: Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  The text says:  Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”  We too can see heaven opened up. We too can see the angels of God ascending and descending. Hebrews 4:16 says:  Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  We can actually enter into the heavenly realm. There, we too can see and hear God speaking.  Romans 8:34 says: Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God--and He is interceding for us.  At the throne of grace, we can hear the very prayers of Jesus as He intercedes to the Father on our behalf. We too, can hear the Father’s response to Jesus intercession, saying of us:  “This is My beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, thank You for the revelation of the Word and the Spirit, that we can be confident that Jesus is Your Son. Thank You that because of Your grace, given through the cross, we can see the heavenly realm. We can enter in and hear You speak. We can receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  Amen.