The claims of Christ was substantiated by John
the Baptist who spoke concerning Him, and also by the miracles the Lord Himself
demonstrated in His ministry. Now in John 5:31-47, Jesus gives one more avenue
that validated His claims. It is none other than the Scriptures.
In verse 37, Jesus made reference to the Father,
implying that the God Whom eye cannot see, had spoken and He had disclosed
Himself in written Scriptures. He recognized that the Jewish leaders had
diligently studied the sacred writings hoping to find eternal life, but were
largely unfruitful. Why? They were not looking for Christ in their study of the
Scriptures. They failed to realize that eternal life could not be obtained by
knowing the Scriptures perse. It is the Son alone who gives life and it is in
encountering Him through scriptures that gives life. We all need to study the
Bible for the right purpose. Many may be able to quote the Bible but have
failed to come to grips with Christ, the main purpose of the Bible. Let us come
to the Word seeking to know Christ.
The Jews failed to encounter Christ in the
Scriptures because they had made a prior decision not to come to Christ. The
root of their problem lies in the will and heart and not in their mind. Their approach
was entirely wrong. These verses do not discourage us from coming to the Word.
In fact they encourage us to study the Bible. But unlike the Jewish leaders, we
must come to it without preconceived ideas that will lead us to over-extend the
interpretation, and force our ideas on God’s Word. We must go beyond the skirting
and look for the core, and that is Jesus Christ. Let’s learn to look beyond the
letter and go for the principles, when we come to the Word of God. And when we
have established the principles, we must then apply them to our lives.
In the concluding verses of the chapter, Jesus rounded
up with a caustic rebuke of the Jewish leaders’ refusal to come to Him for the
life that only He could give. They were wrong in the first place to look for accolades
from man and not the approval of God. Their
emphasis was on a religious experience based on obeying the commandments. Their
approach was very merit based and required self-effort. The main reason why
they did what they did, was due to their lack of love for God. It was a sign
that they only lived for themselves. They failed to realize and acknowledge
that Jesus came in the name of the Father, and instead chose to be deceived by self-proclaimed
messiahs. Charlatans without proper qualifications or credentials would be
welcomed by them. They failed to realize that only Christ Jesus met the
absolutes demanded of God. It has been Him, and not human merit, that can lift men
beyond their present predicament, and give them grace and usher them into a relationship
with the living God.
Furthermore, they failed to realize
that their chief accuser was Moses, whom they revered. The Jews believed that Moses
continued to make intercession for them in heaven. They had the confidence that
he was their guarantor with God. Jesus told them that their confidence was
misplaced. The covenant Moses introduced at Mount Sinai became a witness to
their sin and inability to fulfill the demands of God. In that sense, it was
Moses who had accused them. The intention of Moses’ commandments was to bring men to the end of themselves, to realize that the real hope man has is only found in
Christ. Anyone who has understood this would have come to Christ, to experience
the life that only He can offer.
When we read and study the Bible, we
need to respond to it rightly. We must not just skirt around the peripheral. We
must search and dig into the core - that is Christ and God. To be ministered to
by what the Word is saying, we must come with the right approach with full
intention to respond to it. We must also come with right motivation and belief.
When all these ingredients are there,
then God’s Word will speak to us. What’s important is that we must keep on
responding to the Word, and to the Christ the Word reveals.
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