Wisdom Wednesday: Wisdom Wednesday The Wisdom of Searching Part 1 (of 2)
Submitted by Debbie’s Dad
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life[1]. (John 5:39-40 NASB 1995)
In this passage, Jesus was speaking to a group of Jews who were persecuting him–even seeking to kill Him – because He had healed a man on the Sabbath and was also speaking of His relationship with His Father (God the Father). The Jews clearly recognized that Jesus was equating himself with God. (5:16,18)
Jesus provided a discourse in the preceding verses (5: 19-38) where He made the following points:
- He and the Father are in a tight Father-Son relationship, and God the Father has allocated eternal judgment to His Son (5:19-23)
- Thus, Jesus also can pardon judgment to those who believe: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (5:24)
- And therefore, there is a resurrection from death to life for those who believe…and a resurrection to judgment for those who reject Him. (5:25-32)
- John the Baptist was a witness to Jesus’ authenticity (5:33-34)
- Now, Jesus Himself provided evidence by His works (miracles) and His teaching that would be received by believers (5:36-38)
After those assertions, Jesus spoke the verse that must have been painful (or infuriating). He said they searched the Scriptures (as observant Jews) because they thought their searching brought eternal life. But those Scriptures–the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Prophets–all spoke about Him, the Messiah. Their searching would not bring eternal life, but the Person of whom they spoke brought eternal life–and he was standing right before them.
They searched but missed the mark! They did not recognize God’s Son when He appeared. Their search was analytic, it was comprehensive; it was motivated by achievement, and it did not seek the God by the heart.
Searching the Scriptures must be done with the right frame of mind -humbly, to listen to God’s word, and open to His Spirit to reveal the truth. Many Jews came to Jesus and received Him as their Messiah and Savior, but these men did not.
Jesus closed his discourse to these men by saying, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (5:46–47).
Here is wisdom – Search the Scripture with an open heart and mind, genuinely seeking God’s message, and throughout Scripture, you will find the writers describing a Person – Jesus, Savior, Lord.