In A Nutshell: John 5:39-40
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Scripture Reading: Luke 24:13-27
Don’t you love a good plot twist?
When the story of a book/movie seems to be moving in one direction…
And then out of nowhere something happens…
That completely subverts our expectations
My favorite kind of plot twist…
Is one that happens right at the end of the story…
And it completely changes your perception of the story
A plot twist that makes you want to read/watch it all over again…
So you can experience the story in a whole new light…
Based upon the knowledge that you now have
Here’s a famous example of what I’m talking about:
“The 6th Sense”
Once you learn the information that the plot twist at the end reveals…
You can go back & re-watch the movie…
And find so many hints/clues…
That you never even recognized the first time
And you’ll think to yourself:
“How did I not catch that the first time?”
Once you’ve watched it…
You can never watch it the same way again…
Because you know the truth
Did you know that the Scriptures have a story & plot twist like that?
In fact, the Scriptures contain the greatest story & plot twist ever told
And once you know the plot twist…
You’ll never be able to read the Scriptures the same way again
You can read Genesis - Malachi over & over
But no matter how many times you read the OT…
You’ll never be able to read them the same way again…
Once you learn the plot twist of Jesus the Christ
Of course, if you’re like me…
The plot twist was spoiled for you…
Because you were told the story of Jesus…
Before you ever read much of the OT
But if you read the Scriptures…
With no prior knowledge of Jesus…
Then you’d come to realize that the entire story…
Was filled with hints/clues about Him the entire time…
And you never even noticed them
The whole story was pointing to Him all along…
And it was happening right under your nose
And once you know the whole truth…
The OT will take on a whole new meaning
You’ll read it from a whole new perspective
We’ll come back to that in a minute
David & I are doing a series together titled:
“In A Nutshell”
We want to look at passages throughout the Scriptures…
That seem to really summarize:
The Scriptures
The Christian Life
What Being a Believer is All About
What God Really Expects of Us
There are many passages that seem to get to the heart…
Of what it’s all about
We’re going to look at several passages like that
The passage I’ve chosen for this week…
Comes from John 5
But, before we get to it, let’s examine the context:
During one of the Feast Days of the Jews…
Jesus is in Jerusalem at a pool called Bethesda…
Where many sick, blind, lame, and withered would lay
There was a man there who had been sick for 38 years…
And Jesus heals him…
And tells him to pick up his sleeping mat & walk
But then the man gets in trouble with some Jewish leaders
Why?
Because he had the audacity to carry his mat on the Sabbath
Eventually the man tells the Jewish leaders…
That Jesus had healed him…
And told him to pick up his mat & walk
So the Jewish leaders then go after Jesus…
And Jesus’ response is what sets up the context of our passage:
17 Jesus responded to them, “My Father is still working, and I am working also.” 18 This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill him: Not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God.
Jesus dared to break the traditions of the Jewish leaders…
And they hated Him for it
But even worse than breaking their traditions…
They claimed He was making Himself out to be equal to God
And He did not back away from that claim
To summarize verses 19-30, Jesus tells them:
He only does what His Father does
He raises the dead like His Father…
Because He is the source of life like His Father
He is given the right to judge by His Father
He is to be honored like His Father
He seeks the will of His Father
He says all this to reveal His equality & connection with God
He is God’s Son
But, why should anyone believe Him?
After all, Jesus goes on to say:
“If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true.
According to the law, there must be at least 2 or 3 witnesses…
To establish the truth
Jesus is saying:
“I and the Father are equal”
“But one man’s word isn’t enough to establish the truth”
“There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.
“Don’t just take my word for it”
“I’ve got a witness who will testify on my behalf”
“And He never lies”
One of the fascinating things about John’s account…
Is that it is filled with the testimonies…
Of people who witnessed Jesus…
And came to believe that He is God’s Son
John uses the Greek word for “Testify” more than any other NT author
And we find this word 10 times in the next 9 verses
Jesus is going to call what I consider to be 3 witnesses to the stand…
To testify on His behalf that He is God’s Son
But we’ll find that each witness is actually sent from God…
Which means that Jesus’ greatest witness is God Himself
So, Who does Jesus send to the witness stand first?
33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
We won’t take the time to read it…
But John spoke extensively to his disciples & the crowds…
About Jesus’ identity
But Jesus has an even better witness to send to the stand next:
36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.
Jesus’ works were a fantastic witness to who He really is
Remember what the Pharisee Nicodemus said to Jesus?
2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Jesus’ works gave Him away entirely
Only someone who came from God…
Could do the things that Jesus was doing
Now for Jesus’ 3rd & final witness:
37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
Jesus’ 3rd & final witness is the word of the Father Himself:
The Scriptures
The Jewish leaders would study the Scriptures diligently…
Even memorizing the entirety of Genesis - Deuteronomy
You can’t out-study a Jewish leader
They would diligently study with the goal of attaining eternal life
But, regardless of their efforts…
They were missing it
The One who has the power to grant life was right in front of them…
And their Scriptures were pointing to Him the whole time!
They refused to recognize…
Jesus as the fulfillment of their Scriptures
They refused to acknowledge…
All the hints & clues that pointed to Him
They refused to accept that…
In A Nutshell, the Scriptures are about Him
He is the main point of it all…
And they were willfully missing it
Application
Application
And we can miss it too, if we aren’t careful
We can approach the Scriptures with the wrong mindset
Like the Pharisees we can fall into the trap of:
If I read enough…
I’ll have eternal life
If I memorize enough…
I’ll have eternal life
If I study/learn enough…
I’ll have eternal life
If I know enough (and the correct stuff)…
I’ll have eternal life
If I know & practice enough do’s and don’t’s…
I’ll have eternal life
If I follow enough rules, laws, & commandments…
I’ll have eternal life
If I keep enough of our sacred traditions…
I’ll have eternal life
If I do enough good works…
I’ll have eternal life
There’s nothing inherently wrong with doing all these things
In fact, they are things we ought to do as disciples of Jesus
But there’s something terribly wrong with having that mindset
The mindset of “If I can just do enough, I’ll be saved”
Not a single one of those things can save you
Not studying enough
Not believing enough of the “right” doctrines
Not obeying enough laws
Not doing enough good works
Not a single one of these things can save us
The Jewish leaders tried all of these things…
But the one place they refused to look…
Is the one & only place eternal life can be found:
Jesus
If we expect the Scriptures…
Or our attempts to obey them…
To save us…
Then we aren’t worshiping God at all
We’re worshipping the Scriptures
Jesus is our only hope of eternal life
Not anything we can know, believe, or do
Only Jesus
Only by placing our trust in Him can we have eternal life
Unlike the Pharisees…
When we read/study the Scriptures…
Our goal should be to:
Find Jesus
Come to Know Jesus
Come to Trust Jesus
Come to Love Jesus
And then Submit to Jesus
In a Nutshell, the Scriptures are All about Jesus
And if we make them about anything else…
We are following in the footsteps of the Pharisees…
And we will be moving away from eternal life…
Not toward it
Prayer
Prayer
Thank God for the Testimony of the Scriptures
Pray for God to Help Us See Jesus in the Scriptures…
And to Know, Trust, Love, and Submit to Him
