LIFE THROUGH HIS NAME

and perfection. For the purposes with which the Gospels were written,

their respective witnesses were complete. John's purpose seems to

have demanded much more in the way of witness than was the case

with Matthew, Mark and Luke. Those addressed by the Synoptic

writers would have had a fuller acquaintance with the prophecies of the

Old Testament than would those for whom John wrote, and the

genealogies given by Matthew and Luke would in themselves have

gone a long way towards providing convincing evidence.  John,

writing to the world, depends more on the records borne by John the

Baptist and himself and others, than on the appeal to Old Testament

prophecy. There are only eight or nine references to the fulfilment of

prophecy in this Gospel, as against the forty-seven references to

martureo and marturia.

An examination of the fourteen references to marturia in this

Gospel divides the witness into three groups - the opening testimony of

John the Baptist, the closing testimony of John the apostle, and the

threefold testimony of the Lord Himself:

A 1:7,19.

The two-fold witness of John the Baptist.

B The

3:11. Not receive.

b 3:32. No man received. Man.

c 3:33. He that received. True.

of

5:31. Not true.

c 5:32. My witness is true. True.

Lord Jesus

b 5:34. I receive not witness from man. Man.

d 5:36. Greater than John. The Works.

8:13. Not true.

c 8:14. My record is true. True.

b 8:17. Testimony of two men. Man.

A 19:35; 21:24. The twofold witness of John the apostle.

It is very clear from the above analysis of these fourteen references

that this `record' or `witness' plays a great part in his presentation of

the truth.

We must now turn our attention to the opening testimony in the

structure - namely, that given by John the Baptist. This testimony,

which is given in fairly full detail, settles a number of vital points with