The Bible Reveals Christ

​John 5:39-40 ~ “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”
 
It is good to know the Bible… but unless that knowledge leads you to know the Author, you’ve missed the very reason it was given. Jesus, in His conversation with the people who had gathered, made a bold and definitive proclamation that He was indeed the Son of God. John 5:18 states, “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” The LORD expounds even more on the issue as He brings John the Baptist into the discussion, showing that even the one they considered a prophet had testified to the truth of who Jesus is (see John 5:33-34). The great dilemma, however, stemmed from the simple fact that these people were studied in the Scriptures and had missed the One to whom the Scriptures pointed.
 
So, as we consider this text today, let me start by pointing out this truth: you need to know the Scriptures, but knowledge of the Bible alone cannot produce eternal life. There are many well-studied atheists in this world, those who know the Scriptures even better than many Christians do. But knowledge of God’s word is not enough to bring a person to everlasting life. And yet this was the mentality of those to whom Jesus spoke. They thought that by merely searching the Scriptures, they might stumble onto one thing that they could do to gain eternal life. Not unlike the rich young man who asked a telling question in Matthew 19:16, “And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” The young man knew the commandments, he knew the requirements, and yet he also knew that he did not have eternal life. Having searched the Scriptures, he found no means of gaining eternal life on his own. He must have missed it—and perhaps Jesus could point it out to him. The LORD answered the young man with the same command that He gave His apostles: follow me.
 
Then some might ask: why is it important to diligently study the Scriptures? Because, as Jesus said, the Scriptures point to Him. As clearly as He could make it, Jesus said, “and it is they that bear witness about me.” Dear ones, Jesus is revealed in the pages of the Bible. Any deviation from the Scriptures will ultimately give you a distorted understanding of who He is and what He did. From Jesus as Creator to Jesus as Savior, and ultimately as the King of kings and the enthroned LORD of all, Jesus is made known in the Word of God. So, it begs the question: how did the miss Him? How did the religious leaders miss the Son of God when He arrived? Because they were not looking for Him the way He came. They were predisposed to wanting the LORD to arrive in power and not humility. The wanted a monarch who would defeat the world, not a Shepherd who would die for it. And, when we go looking for Jesus in the pages of the Word of God, and already have a bias as to what He must be like, we will miss Him as well.
 
Then Jesus gives voice to the greatest problem of their failed search of the Scriptures—they refused to come to Jesus for everlasting life: “yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” But all of the Scripture is written that we might come to Jesus for mercy and grace, finding pardon for our sins through His death, and everlasting life through His resurrection. John told us clearly in John 20:31, “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Do you look at the Scriptures as a set of blueprints for your own personal agenda? Do you desire everlasting life and then turn to the Scriptures to find a formula that will give you such a life? Beloved, there is nothing more important than coming to the Word of God to find the Savior, the LORD Jesus Christ. Consider the LORD’s words in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Studying the Scriptures is of paramount importance. Just remember, the Pharisees had Jesus walking in their midst and they missed it in their study of the Scriptures. Let us strive to always seek Christ every time we open His book.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

---