Witnesses
John 5:30-47
Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should do and shouldn’t do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn’t mainly about you and what you should be doing. It’s about God and what he has done. Other people think the Bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. The Bible does have some heroes in it, but … most of the people in the Bible aren’t heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose). They get afraid and run away. At times they are downright mean. No, the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne—everything—to rescue the one he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life! You see, the best thing about the Story is—it’s true. There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them. It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every Story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle—the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture. (The Jesus Storybook Bible, 14–17)
Here Christ would indicate the principal reason why the Scripture was given by God. Men are to study and search in it and to learn that He, He, Mary’s Son, is the one who is able to give eternal life to all who come to Him and believe on Him. Therefore he who would correctly and profitably read Scripture should see to it that he finds Christ in it; then he finds eternal life without fail. On the other hand, if I do not so study and understand Moses and the prophets as to find that Christ came from Heaven for the sake of my salvation, became man, suffered, died, was buried, rose, and ascended to Heaven so that through Him I enjoy reconciliation with God, forgiveness of all my sins, grace, righteousness, and life eternal, then my reading in Scripture is of no help whatsoever to my salvation. I may, of course, become a learned man by reading and studying Scripture and may preach what I have acquired; yet all this would do me no good whatsoever. For if I do not know and do not find the Christ, neither do I find salvation and life eternal. In fact, I actually find bitter death; for our good God has decreed that no other name is given among men whereby they may be saved except the name of Jesus. (Cited in Boice, John, 2:421–22)
If you put all of this together, you see a strong indictment against the religious leaders. The psalmist prophesied that true saints would see the lamp prepared for the Messiah and rejoice. Jesus reminded them that they rejoiced “for a while,” but they stopped rejoicing. What does that say about them? They are not genuine saints. Genuine saints would not stop rejoicing in the light.
Everything that had happened to him—his suffering, death, and resurrection—was prophesied already. He had to suffer: Genesis 3—he was the Son whose heel would be bruised. He had to be rejected: Psalm 118—he was the Stone who would be cast out. He had to be killed: Isaiah 53—he was the Lamb led to the slaughter. He had to be victorious: the bruised heel would crush the serpent’s head. The rejected stone would become the cornerstone. The sacrificed Lamb would see his offspring.
A church should be defined by its commitment to Christ, not personal preferences. As Christians, we must be vigilant to help one another keep the main thing the main thing. The main thing is “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2).
