Introduction Some years ago I read a note from Joe Boot Director of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Canada. In a book entitled Searching For Truth; on the jacket cover was this paragraph; Many people ignore or reject Christianity, not because they have looked at its claims and found them lacking, but because nobody has ever given reasonable answers to their questions. Others have simply never heard a clear explanation of the truth of Christianity, or maybe they know little or nothing about the Bible. While that certainly is true; it was not true concerning the religious leaders in their conversations with Jesus Christ. Jesus claimed to be the Jewish Messiah. Jesus proved His claims by claiming equality with God (vv.17-18); by His perfect obedience to the will of God and the work of God (v.19); His great works (v.20); His power to give life, and to raise the dead (v.21); His control and authority over judicial processes (vv.22-23); His authority over man s destiny and ability to save men from death and to give them life (vv. 24-25). His self-existence (v.26); His power to execute judgment (v.27); His claim to be the Son of Man (v.27) and His power to resurrect all men from the grave (vv.28-30). Jesus has given testimony concerning His identity (v.31); and called to the witness stand the witness of the Holy Spirit within (v.32); the witness of John the Baptist (vv.33-35); the witness of His miracles (v.36); the Witness of God Himself (vv.37-38); and the witness of the Scriptures (v.39). Jesus tells us that men reject His claim for at least six reasons: (1) Men are unwilling to come to Christ; (2) Human beings, men and women do not love God (v.42); (3) Men are willing to embrace false messiahs (v.43); (4) Men seek praise and glory, mutual honor and admiration (v.44); (5) Men do not believe the truth, the prophecies and the Scripture (vv.45-46); (6) Men do not believe the words of the true Messiah (v.47). If God s Word has no place in men s hearts, they will not come to Christ, they will not love God, they will not seek the Lord, nor will they be saved. It is by the Word that life is given, conviction of sin is realized, faith comes and spiritual life grows (Bible Class Commentary; p.54; Henry T. Mahan). People Refuse To Come To Christ (vv.40-41) "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." (John 5:39, NKJV) The expression search means to seek down to the last detail. The word ereunao in the world of the ancient Greeks was to track the scent the way a lion or a bloodhound smells the scent of blood. Follow the scarlet threat. Follow the trail of sacrifice and blood. The Apostle John died long ago; we don t hear the voice of the Father; but the Scriptures remain. The Scriptures affirm the identity, the deity, of Jesus. 1
"But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life." (John 5:40, NKJV) The original language construction uses to verbs; one with an infinitive: You are unwilling to come to Me. Jesus makes coming to him the basis of life. The Bible is filled with interesting facts, information, history, poetry, biography, theology. If you study the Scriptures and fail to come to Christ you miss the whole point. Jesus says men are not unable to come; they are unwilling to come. The will is stressed; people can accept or reject the message of hope and the message of life. The problem is not a lack of evidence, but a perversity of the will. John MacArthur writes: The religious leaders refused to acknowledge their utter unrighteousness and inability to do anything about it, and to cry out for God s mercy and grace revealed through the Lord Jesus Christ. They clung tightly to their deception about what was required to enter God s kingdom of salvation. Furthermore, because Jesus did not conform to their messianic expectations, the Jewish leaders turned their backs on Him. The Bible teaches there is an arrogance, a stubbornness, a hard hearted unwillingness to come to Jesus Christ. Unbelief is not the cause of sin; sin is the cause of unbelief. " You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you." (Acts 7:51, NKJV) People hide under the term agnostic. The official definition of an agnostic is one who denies that it is possible to know the existence of god(s). Perhaps one of the most famous agnostics of all time Thomas Henry Huxley wrote; Agnosticism simply means that a man shall not say he knows or believes that for which he has no grounds for professing to believe. C.S. Lewis rightly responded; Amiable agnostics will talk cheerfully about man s search for God. For me, they might as well talk about the mouse s search for a cat. Cornelius Van Til; a philosopher and theologian wrote; Agnosticism is epistemologically self-contradictory on its own assumptions because it claims to make no assertion about ultimate reality rests upon a most comprehensive assertion abut ultimate reality. You may not understand that what the good doctor is saying is the agnostic makes an unsupportable claim concerning the inability of man to know or not know whether there is a God. Conceding belief in a God or even affirming the existence of God does not save you. Jesus has already claimed that life is in Him (see John 1:4; John 5:26). Later Jesus will repeat the claim; I am come that they might have life, and that more abundantly (John 10:10). 2
We receive life when we come to Jesus Christ. " I do not receive honor from men." (John 5:41, NKJV) There are two words translated honor. The first is found in verse 23; timao from the noun time that means esteem or honor. Here it is the noun doxa which means glory or praise. Jesus knew the truth about their hearts and our heart. Jesus did not want public praise or hypocritical honor from those who privately rejected Him. Jesus knew any respect from them was worthless, because they did not have the love of God in their hearts. Jesus does not need our approval or disapproval, support or non support. Jesus has made it clear His desire is the approval, the honor and sanction of His Father. People Do Not Love The Lord (v.42) "But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you." (John 5:42, NKJV) The Jewish people were admonished to love the Lord their God with all their heart. " These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. " (Matthew 15:8-9, NKJV) Jesus has already exposed the problem with their minds; they do not see Christ in their own Scriptures. There is something wrong with their wills; they will not trust the Savior. Because they do not have the Word of God in their head; they do not have the Son of God in their heart. Now they have a third problem; and this was the lack of love in their hearts. Jesus says; you do not have the love of God in you. The religious leaders claimed to love God; but their treatment of Jesus proved their love was tainted at best; and counterfeit at worst. People Embrace False Messiahs (v.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." (John 5:43, NKJV) I believe Jesus is making reference to a false messiah, called the antichrist and the man of sin. The Jewish people had been exposed to a series of imposters claiming to be the Messiah. 3
Why do men follow imposters? Because they are men whose claims correspond to their own desires! The imposters come and promise an empire, a throne without a cross. The imposters come and promise material prosperity, healing on demand. Jesus comes offering a Cross. The false Messiah, the imposter offers a broad way, instead of a narrow way, or an easy way. People Seek The Approval and Honor Of Mere Mortals (v.44) "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?" (John 5:44, NKJV) Jesus was not interested in man s approval. Jesus cared only about the honor that comes from the Father. We live in a world that pays close attention to credentials. "The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. " (Proverbs 29:25, NKJV) " The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. " (Proverbs 9:10, NKJV) The religious leaders produced, promoted and perpetuated a system of mutual praise and admiration. They prayed so they could be seen. They loved the front row in the Synagogue. They loved the praise and honor and greetings in the street. When we measure ourselves among ourselves and by ourselves, we do not have to measure up to the Lord Jesus Christ. Am I as good as my neighbor? Who cares. Are you as good as Jesus? You are not. When we judge ourselves by human comparisons there is plenty of room for smug, selfsatisfaction and that kills faith. When we compare ourselves with Christ, we are humbled, we are dust, faith is born; and there is nothing left but to trust in God s grace, in God s mercy, in God s love. People Reject Biblical Prophecy And Biblical Revelation (vv.45-46) "Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you Moses, in whom you trust." (John 5:45, NKJV) 4
Jesus reminds them they don t really believe prophecy, they don t really believe Moses writings. The Jews affirmed they did in fact believe Moses. We believe Moses. Moses is our mediator. No, Moses will condemn you. The expression in whom you trust is very interesting. The Greek verb is elipizo and comes from the noun elpis; which means expectation or hope. The idea is set your hope. They expected or hoped Moses would save them. The prophecies, the sacrifices, all pointed to the Messiah. In a sense Jesus is saying I don t have to accuse you, I won t need to be the one who brings a compelling case of condemnation; the very testimony of the person you placed your hope and expectation on he will accuse you. " Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you;" (Deuteronomy 31:26, NKJV) The purpose of the Law of Moses in part, was to reveal our need, our wicked sinful, selfish, hopeless, inability to follow the rules. The Law was a witness, that we are lawbreakers. The Ten Commandments were meant to being us to the end of ourselves, so that we would come to the Lord Jesus Christ. If the religious leaders had understood this, and believed this, they would have turned to the Messiah. Philip did that in John s opening chapter, he realized Jesus was the one prophesied in the Scriptures and believed in Him. But the religious leaders did not really believe the Scriptures. They would have gladly died for the Torah. We say we believe in the authority of the Scriptures. We say we believe in the clarity and the power of the Scriptures. What we do or fail to do with the Scripture reveals what we really believe. "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me." (John 5:46, NKJV) Was it too much for Jesus to expect the Jewish people to believe Moses? There is a principle here, one that comforts and one that threatens. What had become the religious leaders greatest asset, greatest privilege, now became their greatest source of condemnation. We are reluctant to condemn a person who never had a chance, who never received a single warning, who had no knowledge. Responsibility always lies on the other side of privilege. To whom much is given, much is required. When you read Moses you discover the Messiah is the promised seed, the Passover lamb, the atoning sacrifice, the bronze serpent, the promised prophet. 5
Read further in Joshua and see the Messiah is the Captain of the hosts, in Judges He is the ultimate Deliverer; in Ruth He is My Kinsman Redeemer; In 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles the Messiah is the Promised King. In Ezra and Nehemiah He is the Restorer of the Nation; and in Esther My Advocate; in Job He is My Redeemer; and in Psalms He is My All in All. In Proverbs He is My Pattern and in Ecclesiastes He is My Goal. In the Song of Solomon He is My Beloved and in All the prophets He is the Coming Prince of Peace. In Matthew He is Christ the King; in Mark He is Christ the Suffering Servant; in Luke He is Christ the Son of Man; and in John He is Christ the Son of God. In Acts He is risen, seated, and sending. In the Epistles He is indwelling and filling; and in Revelation He is the Lamb, slain before the foundation of the earth; the lion returning and reigning forever (Adapted from Illustrating Great Words of the New Testament by J.B. Fowler Jr). People Do Not Believe The Message of The True Messiah (v.47) "But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? " (John 5:47, NKJV) The Jews claimed Moses was great and Moses was honorable. Yet they treated Moses as if he were a liar, a man whose word was uncertain or unreliable, or unsupportable. How then could they believe the words of Jesus? How many people think of Jesus as a great and honorable man yet treat him as if he were a liar? "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." (John 12:48, NKJV) Conclusion Jesus makes several things abundantly clear. It is possible to read Scriptures in a wrong way. The religious leaders read the Bible. They claimed to love God and love His Word. Yet they read the Bible with a closed mind. They read the Bible, but not to find the Savior, but to find support, support for their false ideas, and their false positions. They didn t love God. They loved their ideas about God. They did not with humility search the Scriptures to find the Savior, they searched the Scriptures and then used the Scripture to defend a failed theology which they themselves fabricated. 6
We run the same risk. Do you read the Bible to prove your beliefs or to test them? We live in a world where unbelief and apathy and deception form a willing coalition to keep people from Jesus and keep people marching towards hell. 7