Because the culture in which Jesus lived was an intensely legal one, his claim to be the Son of God came with a burden of proof. He met it superbly.

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"But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name." -John 20:31 

You don’t have to be a lawyer to know that two to three witnesses are better than one. In Bible times, any Jewish person could tell you that one person making a claim simply wasn’t enough to satisfy the legal standard of proof. Two or three witnesses had always been the rule, going all the way back to Moses.

And in the New Testament, more than once Paul restated the same requirement:

This is the third time I am coming to visit you (and as the Scriptures say, “The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”). -2 Corinthians 13:1

It was everywhere. It was just part of life for the Jew that you should not believe any accusation or claim unless it was supported by proper evidence. As a protection against people bearing false witness against one another or making fraudulent claims, this legal standard was as common as bread.

But why does this matter? It matters because it was in this very context that Jesus made his claim to be the Son of God. Could he prove it? After all, he wasn’t the first to make the claim, nor would he be the last. So, what made his claim any different?

Simply put, because Jesus had the most credible witnesses.

Very aware of the legal standard for proving something, Jesus provided people with a whole list of witnesses that testified to his legitimacy as the Messiah and Son of God. In fact, this is exactly what Jesus is doing in John 5, for example, when he lays out four separate witnesses to his identity:

1. John the Baptist. John introduced Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). In turn, Jesus said about John that he was “…testifying about me and everything he says about me is true” (John 5:32). Jesus considered John the Baptist one of his witnesses. That’s one.
2. His teaching and miraculous deeds. As powerful as John’s testimony was, Jesus went on to say that there was an even “greater witness than John – my teachings and my miracles” (John 5:36). Actually, these two things could be considered two separate witnesses, but we’ll count them as one. That’s two.
3. God the Father speaking through Scripture. Next, Jesus said, “And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself...” (John 5:37). That’s three.
4. Moses – Jesus told the people that Moses – someone they all highly respected – “wrote about me” (John 5:46) as a witness to his identity. That’s a bonus, a fourth witness.

But who’s counting?

Jesus was definitely counting. He did not expect people to just take his word for it that he was the One they were looking for. There were witnesses, plenty of them, and Jesus made sure to mention it.

Friend, if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, it’s no intellectual crime. Your faith is on firm footing. You have a compelling list of witnesses in support of your position, so keep on believing.

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.