Witnesses of Christ, Part 2: Finding Life in the Scripture (John 5:39–47)

Series: “John: Life in Christ’s Name”Text: John 5:39–47

By: Shaun Marksbury Date: April 16, 2023

Venue: Living Water Baptist ChurchOccasion: AM Service

Introduction

Growing up in Jacksonville, Florida, I had always heard a legend that may or may not have been true. A Spanish explorer by the name of Juan Ponce de León was apparently the first to spot the peninsula while exploring the Bahama islands in the sixteenth century. It’s said that the natives of the Caribbean islands believed that the mythical Fountain of Youth was in that area, and that he believed it to be in Florida. That story itself may be as much myth as the life-giving fountain was, but just south of Jacksonville is the city of St. Augustine — the oldest city in the United States — and you can there visit the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, where Ponce de León allegedly first landed.

The drive for eternal life captivates people everywhere; after all, Scripture says that God has “set eternity in their heart” (Eccl. 3:11). We want to know that we will live beyond the mortal constraints of this world. Of course, that hope only comes in Jesus Christ.

Last time, we saw Jesus beginning to make His sermon more pointed. In v. 30, He begins using the personal pronoun rather than continuing to refer to Himself in the third person. He is underscoring that there are witnesses testifying to the truth of who He is, naming them as John the Baptist, His own works which reflect the works of the Father, and the Heavenly Father Himself. That testimony alone would be sufficient to satisfy the Law’s demand for two or three witnesses that He is true.

Today, we see that He gives yet another witness that He is the true source of eternal life, exceeding the demand of Moses. He says that Scripture itself testifies to the truth of Christ. It both commends Him and, therefore, condemns them for not believing in Him. Let’s consider the first of these.

First, Scripture Commends Coming to Christ (vv. 39–40)

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.

Jesus introduces this witness as one that should be familiar to them. He says of them that they search or investigate the Scriptures. The KJV translates this as a command, which it could be understood to be, but it is an indicative statement, where Jesus is simply saying what they are doing.

Why do they search God’s Word? They did so partly because of tradition. As one commentary notes, “They considered those ignorant of the Law to be under a curse (7:49).” Another study notes the high emphasis they placed on the Scripture:

The study of Scripture or Torah was the highest ideal in rabbinic Judaism. The Mishnah records the late first century bc rabbi Shammai saying, “Make your study of Torah a fixed habit” (Mishnah, Pirqei Avot 1:15). Also, the first century ad rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai said, “If you have studied much Torah, don’t think too much of yourself because you were created for that purpose” (Mishnah Pirqei Avot 2:8).

Yet, that wasn’t the main reason they searched the scriptures. Jesus says they do so “because you think that in them you have eternal life.” He’s not condemning them for this belief, it is correct: Scripture reveals the means for eternal life. As Paul noted in 2 Tim. 3:15, the sacred writings “are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation,” but “through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” Some have tried to somehow pit Jesus against the Scripture here, seeing Jesus as saying that they shouldn’t look for life in Scripture, inferring that they are putting too much confidence in the Bible. Yet, Jesus goes on to say that Scripture testifies of Him, so we can’t understand Him as denigrating the Bible or condemning them in the initial desire to search. The question is who’s glory they seek in the search of Scripture.

What does He mean when He says that “it is these that testify about Me”? He means simply that the Bible is about Him. As 1 Peter 1:11 notes, the prophets were “seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.” The Jewish leaders should have been doing the same.

We don’t know exactly what Scripture Jesus might have been highlighting for them. After Jesus’s resurrection, in Luke 24, He met with two men discussing His crucifixion. They didn’t understand all that the Scripture had to say about Him, so He helped them out. In Luke 24:27, we read, “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” We could name many — Jesus fulfills the virgin birth prophesied in Isaiah 7:14, His origins in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), His ministry in Capernaum (Isa 9:1–2), His healings and exorcisms (Isa. 35:5–6; 53:4; 61:1), His rejection (Psa. 118:22–23; Isa. 6:10; 53:1), crucifixion (Psa. 22:14–18; Isa. 53:1–12), and resurrection (Ps 2:6–7; 16:8–11; Isa. 53:10–12), just to name a few. From the beginning to the end of Old Testament Scripture one can find the mission and message of the Messiah.

Today, this message isn’t popular. If you believe that the Bible contains fulfilled prophecy, you are in the minority, even among professing Christians. People would rather believe, without evidence, that the Bible has been changed over time to make it look like there are prophetic statements. I don’t know why they bother to call themselves Christians, because there’s no sense of Jesus’s words here nor the Apostle John if they did not also believe in the inspiration and infallibility of Scripture. Moreover, the evidence is that the transmission of the Bible has remained faithful through the years. It seems like people are trying to side-step the implications of an inspired Bible on their own lives.

So, Jesus tells them exactly their issue: “you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.” They were wanting to be in John’s light for a little while (v. 35) but not Jesus’s. They prefer any other way to life than through Jesus.

This is a sad aspect of our fallen condition. People, religious or not, don’t want true righteousness and want to sin. To paraphrase Proverbs 1:29, they hated knowledge and don’t choose the fear of the Lord. Back in John 3:19, we read, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” This is the sinful reality of our condition outside of Christ.

It's not that simply believing the Bible is God’s Word is better if one is not taking Scripture to heart. That’s the problem with the supposed professionals here, those who should know better. In the jail ministry, I met several inmates that had memorized Scripture, and one had memorized the entire book of Isaiah! We can appreciate the problem, though, of not taking the principles to heart. I hope that you, on the other hand, can reflect the words of Psalm 119:11 — “Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.”

Knowing the Bible doesn’t mean knowing Christ. The irony is that some of the best commentaries on the linguistics of the Greek and Hebrew come from unbelievers, those who devoted their lives to studying the language and the text to avoid coming to Christ! Here, these religious leaders likewise desire to avoid Christ, which is why Jesus said in the previous verse, “You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent” (v. 38).

They should want to become His disciples and learn from Him. That’s the irony; He’s the Giver of life they want, and eternal life is available in Him as we saw in John 3:16. In John 17:2, He has the authority to grant eternal life. Their pride is standing in the way, though, so they don’t receive the life they desire. They are trying to go around Him, bringing us to the next point.

Scripture Condemns Circumventing Christ (vv. 41–47)

The rest of this chapter demonstrates the judgement hanging over the Pharisees and other religious leaders. They were not coming to the Christ of Scripture that they claimed to follow. They avoid Christ because they are seeking glory from one another, and they’ll find that those opposing Christ will find opposition in judgement on the last day. Let’s consider their problem first.

Seeking glory from men is opposition to Christ (vv. 41–44)

I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. 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. 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?

Jesus now turns to counter a potential objection that they might be considering. He’s not upset with them because of some petty reason like they won’t let Him in their club. He says, “I do not receive glory [or honor] from men.” Of course, He receives worship from those who love Him, but He’s not here for the accolades like the insecure religious leaders before Him. He notes in v. 44 that they were receiving glory from one another rather than from God, so His motivation (to please the Father) is entirely different than theirs.

Jesus knows them, as v. 42 begins. Remember that, back in John 2:25, we read that Jesus “did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.” He applies His insight into their situation — they are motivated by pleasing one another rather than God. Therefore, He says that they “do not have the love of God” in them or, as one translation renders this, “I do know that none of you love God” (CEV). He can see into all our hearts and see if we are driven for self-glory or by a love for the glory of the Lord.

He has a definitive means of knowing that they don’t have the love of God that we can see as well. He says, “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me.” Jesus is the representative of the Father, God in flesh, but they don’t receive Him. What other conclusion could there be that they don’t love God? By the way, this means that any religious person who claims to love God but won’t accept Jesus as He exists is self-deceived and deceiving others, for one cannot love the Father and not love the Son.

Jesus contrasts how they should receive Him by speaking of who they will receive. He says that “if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.” Rather than coming with the authority of God, others come in in their own authority. The history of the Jews would bear this out, as they regularly selected prophets and leaders who would say “Peace, peace,” when there was no peace (Jer. 6:14). The first century was ripe for Messianic pretenders, as one study notes: “This period in Jewish history from the Maccabees to Bar Kochbah was filled with messianic speculation and expectation. Many pretenders to the title emerged and claimed followers who hoped for glory and position by supporting these persons. The committee sent to investigate John the Baptizer is an example of those who were familiar with the possibilities (1:19–22).” Josephus noted several before a.d. 70, and another commentary notes, “Over the centuries there have been many false messiahs (as many as sixty-four according to some Jewish historians.”

This is true of all people. Folks reject Christ today, but they will accept anyone else. People look to popes in Roman Catholicism and other gurus, both secular and religious, if it doesn’t mean trusting in Christ or Him alone. In Mark 13:22 (cf. Matt. 24:24), Jesus warns that “for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.” This would later point to the antichrist himself, a world ruler to unite the nations of the earth (2 Thess. 2:3–12).

The problem, according to John 5:44, is that people want glory from one another. Jesus asks them a rhetorical question to drive this home: “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?” The reason they don’t come to Christ is that they lack the capacity to believe in Him, and the cause for that is their overriding desire to receive accolades from others. They would rather receive glory from men rather than God.

Young people, the world wants you. People will give you praise, especially if you reject the strict teachings of Christ. They may even try to manipulate His teachings so that you think that you’re still giving Him some respect, so it’s less of a transition. Your desire for social respectability will ultimately cause you to reject Christ, though, if you want to receive the praise of your peers over the glory that comes from God above.

Scripture warns us of this. It condemns those who would seek to circumvent Christ. That brings us to the final point.

Scripture condemns those in opposition to Christ (vv. 45–47)

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. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?

Jesus gives them an imperative here. They may have thought He was threatening to execute final judgment right now. That is, they would have thought this if they believed even part of what He was saying (though, they did not).

Jesus says that, instead, Moses will accuse them. Now, the name Moses is synonymous with Scripture, with the writing of the Torah, so we might say that this is the revealed Word at work. This shows the authority of Scripture, as well — they’ll be judged by the authoritative standard of Scripture.

The irony Jesus highlights is that they placed their hope in Moses. This could mean a couple of things. First, they could be placing their hope in their ability to keep the Law of Moses. They were proud of their fasting, their tithing, and their washings. They later state that they are disciples of Moses, not Christ, condemning themselves (John 9:28).

Sadly, Christians can desire the same thing when they insist on kosher living and keeping the ten commandments for sanctification. As Paul asked to the Galatians, “Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the law?” (Gal. 4:21); before that, he said that “the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith” (3:24). The Law demonstrates our unholiness and need for Christ, and if we are in Him, then we are free from the need to keep the Law to attain righteousness and sanctification. Sadly, these men were trusting in themselves most of all, not seeing their unholiness in the Law and need to come to Christ for salvation.

I said that there may be a couple of ways Jesus was saying they were placing their hope in Moses. The first is that they would be justified in their Law-keeping. The second is that they believed Moses would personally vindicate them before God in the judgment. Some may have thought that, since the Lord took Moses’s body, that He took Moses bodily to heaven. There, Moses would intercede for any Jew to keep him from being condemned.

Yet, Moses would condemn, not commend. Why? As Jesus puts it in v. 46, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.” The “for” at the beginning of this verse indicates it is His further explanation; He explains that Moses will condemn them for not believing in the Christ he prophesied. We don’t know exactly what passage Jesus might have cited, but one important one starts in Deuteronomy 19:15, where Moses says, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.” In vv. 18–19, the Lord says to Moses, “I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.” Jesus is that prophet, and the Jewish leaders priding themselves in the Torah, in Moses, find themselves in opposition to Him.

Again, Jesus could have been citing a number of texts, since the whole Law (and the prophets) point the reader to the Messiah. He is claiming that Scripture is inspired and can give a clear word about the future. Those who disbelieve, like the rich man in torment in Luke 16, will find that belief in Scripture was one of the key dividing lines between those who would experience the joys of eternal life and those who would face judgment.

That’s why Jesus closes with the rhetorical question of v. 47: “But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” Those who refuse to believe in the holy writ of the Bible can have no hope in Jesus’s words or any other. Even today, people doubt that the creation account is true, that there was a real global flood, that the patriarchs existed, or that the Torah itself is the product of Moses; that disbelief leads people to discard the holiness found in the Law regarding gender and sexuality today. Well, those who reject the testimony of Scripture concerning Christ will not accept His claims, either.

Conclusion

It’s sad to see more liberalized churches and leaders today trying to distance Christianity from Moses and the rest of the Old Testament. They want to restrict Christian moral teaching to the single, undefined word “love” and claim that they are keeping Jesus’s teaching. However, anyone who rejects the teaching of Moses will find that, eventually, they will also reject Christ — so many have already become agnostic or even atheistic while still wearing clerical robes and collars. Someone who doesn’t believe in the witness of Scripture cannot truly believe in Christ.

As we continue through John, we’ll see this more and more. It’s not just the religious leaders who reject Christ — the whole nation will. This increasing opposition is a warning to us so we don’t follow suit and fall into the second death.

If you search the Bible for life, believe in Jesus Christ of Scripture. He believed Scripture was valid testimony concerning Him, and so we should do the same. Don’t reject the evidence that Christ puts before us; if you haven’t already, come to Him and find Him to be Giver of Life God promises.