The four witnesses

A person's testimony about himself, whether true or not, may not be convincing. To be persuasive, testimony needs witnesses. To that end, Jewish law required two witnesses for any testimony to be deemed credible.

So what made Jesus' claims about his divine mission accurate? In John 5:31-47, Jesus provides four witnesses, thus doubling the number required by Jewish law.

The first was John the Baptist. Jesus said (John 5:33, KJV), "Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth." For example, consider John 1:7 (KJV): "[John] came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe."

The second was the teachings and works of Jesus. In John 3:2 (KJV), Nicodemus, the Jewish Pharisee, said, "Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him."

The third was God himself. Consider Peter's retelling of the Transfiguration (2 Peter 1:16-18, KJV): "[We] were eyewitnesses of his majesty ... when there came such a voice ..., This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ... when we were with him in the holy mount."

The fourth witness was the Old Testament scriptures. Jesus said (John 5:39, KJV), "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." (For a book-length treatment of the Old Testament prophecies of Jesus, see this.)

That larger point is that Jesus was not some lone voice claiming supernatural authority. Rather, there were witness, double the number required under Jewish law at the time. The onus on us is to believe those witnesses.