“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” John 5:39
The fourth witness Jesus called upon to back up His claim to be equal with God is THE SCRIPTURES themselves (John 5:39-44). Jesus said to the Jewish religious leaders who surrounded Him, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” (John 5:39). These men devoted their whole lives studying and memorizing the Old Testament because they thought the knowledge of Scripture would give them eternal life.
There are people like this today, students and scholars who search the Bible, but never find Jesus. Yet Jesus Himself declares, “They… [the Scriptures] testify of Me.” Jesus is the main subject of the Old Testament! You will find Him on every page appearing as a type or shadow of things to come. For example, the animal sacrifices pictured Jesus’ death. What an amazing claim this is, “They… testify of Me.”
What if I said to you, “I have been reading through the Old Testament and I find that the whole book is talking about me. I am the subject of the Old Testament!”? I’m sure most of you would think this guy is insane! Some of you would probably phone for the men in white coats to come and get me! We would call anybody who made that claim, crazy. Mohammed, the prophet of Islam, who studied the Old Testament, never claimed that it witnessed to him. Buddha knew some of the Old Testament, yet he never claimed it was a witness to him. Gandhi, a modern-day Buddha, never claimed that Scripture talked about him. But when Jesus makes that claim no one calls Him crazy. There is an acknowledgment of the justice of His claim, there is evidence in support of it.
It is possible to study the Bible, to even give your whole life to it, and never see Jesus. Like many people today, these religious leaders thought that knowledge is power, education is life, and if you get knowledge of what God does you will have eternal life. What is the problem? How can people hear and see the truth, study the truth all their lives, yet never come to Christ?
Jesus explains when He says to them, “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” (John 5:40). The problem is the will. The reason they don’t find Christ in their study of the Bible is because they choose not to do so. He goes on to tell us why. “41 I do not receive honor from men. 42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. 44 How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” (John 5:41-44).Why would someone read the truth, know it to be truth, know that it speaks of Jesus, know Him to be who He claims to be, and still refuse to come to Him in faith? Jesus says the answer is because you are looking for your own advancement. You are out to please yourself and to please other people, but you are not willing to please God.
This philosophy is a denial that you have a Father who loves you, that Someone else is ready to work on your behalf if you will trust in Him. When you are committed to such a philosophy, how can you trust in Jesus? These religious leaders were willing to receive other men, but not Christ because Jesus confronted them with their own sin. God the Son put them in their place and they were too proud to admit their need for Him.
There are two ways to study the Bible: (like the Pharisees) you can study it with your mind made up or (like Jesus’s disciples) you can study it to let it make up your mind. The choice is yours. You may know the Bible but do you know the Author of the Bible?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the testimony of the Scripture which reveals so much about You. All the Old Testament animal sacrifices point to You as the innocent Lamb of God who took our place when You died for our sins on a cross. Thank You for opening my eyes and heart to see You throughout the Bible the moment I believed in You. Yet my heart is deeply burdened by the many people who fail to see You in the testimony of the Bible because they are not willing to come to You on Your terms. They are not willing to humble themselves before You and admit their own sinfulness and need for Your saving grace. I pray the Holy Spirit will remove the blinders that keep them from seeing You as You truly are – the true God and eternal life Who longs to save those who are on the path to eternal destruction. Thank You for hearing my prayer, my Lord and my God. In Jesus’s name. Amen.