Read John 5:31-47
Do You Believe In The Scriptures?
Jesus confronts the religious leaders for not believing that He is the Son Of God, the Messiah. He said, “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.” It’s not that Jesus’s testimony isn’t true, it’s just the fact that the law (Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15) didn’t put merit in one person’s words. They needed one or two more people to testify that what was said was in fact true.
So Jesus goes on to list the Testimonies of others who give merit to his words.
1. John the Baptist gave testimony of Jesus as the Messiah.
2. God His Father gave testimony in that the works He had given Jesus to carry out, he was in fact doing them. The miracles give testimony that God sent him for who can do the works that Jesus did but God Alone.
3. Scripture gives testimony that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah. He uses Moses as an example of one who spoke about him. However, the religious leaders refused to believe in John’s words, in the miracles of Jesus, in the Scriptures, and in the words of Moses along with the other prophets. As a result, Jesus accused them of not having God’s word dwelling within them. Even though the religious leaders studied the Scriptures diligently, and even though they thought they had eternal life, Jesus said they were deceived because they rejected him.
Jesus accused them of not believing in Scripture and not having the love of God in their hearts. They focused too much on self and not on the things of God.
Do you believe in the Scriptures? Do you have the love of God in your heart? Or does hate rest within you? Do you love God? Do you love others? Or does the same hate the religious leaders had, live within you towards others.
1 John 4:20-21 says if we say we love God but hate another, then we are a liar. Ouch!!!
Dear Jesus, I open my heart to you. Reveal to me any evil or hatredness that is within me. Help me to study the Scriptures diligently, not for my pleasure, but so that I may know the truth and the truth can set me free.
