"John 5:31-47
Come to Jesus – the source of HD life
If we fail to see that the Bible is about Jesus and a relationship with him, reading it can easily become a dry, academic and arid activity. Once you understand that it is all about Jesus, and you see that studying the Bible is a way to grow in your relationship with him, it becomes the source of life, eternal life and ‘high definition living’.
The way to find life is to come to Jesus. On numerous occasions, especially in John’s gospel, Jesus refers to this life as ‘eternal life’ (for example, v.39). Eternal life comes from this relationship. It starts now and goes on forever. It is the high definition life.
How do we know that Jesus really is who he says he is? As if in a court of law, Jesus calls four witnesses to support his case.
Evidence of other people
The first witness Jesus calls is other people – in particular, John the Baptist. John came as ‘a witness to testify’ (1:7). Today, there are more people than ever before (over 2 billion) pointing to Jesus.
Evidence of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection
The second witness Jesus calls is his own life work. This is a ‘weightier’ witness than the first one – it is the ‘very work the Father has given me to finish’ (5:35), which culminates in the resurrection of the crucified Christ who cries out on the cross, ‘It is finished’ (19:30).
Evidence of the Father
The third witness Jesus calls is the Father’s direct testimony (5:37). We too can experience his direct testimony today through his Spirit in our hearts (15:26)
Evidence of the Scriptures
The fourth witness Jesus calls is the Scriptures. The whole Bible is about Jesus and about coming into a relationship with him. Jesus says, ‘These are the Scriptures that testify about me’ (5:39). He says, ‘Moses … wrote about me’ (v.46).
It is possible to ‘study the Scriptures’ but miss the whole point. Jesus says to religious leaders, ‘You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life’ (vv.39–40).
Even though there is ample evidence about Jesus, ultimately coming to him is an act of the will. And some, Jesus says, ‘refuse to come to me to have life’ (v.40). Why would anyone refuse?
First, some are not willing to put God first in their lives (v.42). Others are more concerned about what people think than about what God thinks (v.44). Still others simply refuse to believe in spite of the evidence (v.47). ‘If you believed, really believed, what Moses said, you would believe me. He wrote of me’ (v.46, MSG).
Do not worry about what other people think. What God thinks is what matters. Come to Jesus again today and enjoy high definition living.
Lord Jesus, today I come to you – the source of life. As I study the Scriptures, may my heart burn within me as I encounter you."
1. Thank You for life, thank You for the Bible, thank You for the evidences.
2. Thank You for being busy, good busyness.
3. Praise God for a very interesting dinner with the people You put in my life.
