"Witness 4- Scripture"

February 17, 2014

“Witness 4 - Scripture”

Blessings folk!

As you will remember, Jesus is speaking to the Religious rulers.
We are reviewing His Words to establish the context for the situation and all He was stating.


John 5
39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;
40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.
41 I do not receive glory from men;
42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.
43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.
47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”


To this point Jesus has told them that three things testified of Who He is…

  • John the Baptist
  • The Works
  • Father

Now, the fourth - Scripture.

The Truths are profound.
The logic devastating to the Religious ruler’s lifestyle.

They searched out the Scripture.
They knew the Scripture - likely better than any of us.
They thought they had eternal life due to their knowledge of the Scripture.
Yet, they denied the obvious Truth - the Scripture...remember...we are speaking of what we call the Old Testament...the Scripture testified of Jesus!

They were unwilling to come to Jesus to have life.
They could have.
They refused.

Jesus reveals them…
  • they had not the love of God in them
  • they wanted the glory of man - Jesus refused the glory of men
  • they refused to receive Jesus - though He came in Father’s Name
  • they would receive a man coming in his own name...his own power, etc.
  • they believed/received glory for one another, yet rejected the glory which came from God
  • they would not be accused by the Lord, Moses (the Law) would accuse them. The very thing upon which they had hope would find them guilty. Why? Moses wrote of Him. If they believed Moses then they would have believed Jesus. They professed to believe Moses, but their rejection proved that their faith was in man and not the Lord.
  • they did not believe Moses’ writings
  • how would they believe Jesus?

Jesus undercut their entire existence.
Their refusal to believe brought death rather than life.

There is hope.

Later own in the Word we see “not a small number of the priests” believed.
After the resurrection.

Do we truly believe?
Or, do we have a religious guise of belief?

Blessings!