John 5:39-47 (ESV)

³⁹ You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. ⁴¹ I do not receive glory from people. ⁴² But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. ⁴³ I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. ⁴⁴ How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? ⁴⁵ Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. ⁴⁶ For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. ⁴⁷ But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

The Jews were diligent students of Scripture and believed that their intense study of the Old Testament would add to their acceptance by God. Although they steeped themselves in their Bibles, they missed the fact that those very writings bore witness to their need for Jesus. Messianic Old Testament prophecy pointed to Jesus, and many of the people and events in the Scripture foreshadowed Jesus. In fact, the entire Old Testament sacrificial system awaited its final fulfillment in Jesus. The Scripture was another witness Jesus brought into “court,” but the people didn’t get the intent of the documents they so passionately embraced. Even Moses, the author of the Torah, would charge them as guilty for missing the mark when it came to the purpose of the Bible. The aim of Jesus was to please the Father, even if that meant displeasing men. Jesus asked them, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” The people Jesus addressed sought the praise that came from one another, not the praise that comes from God. They were willing to follow those who bore messages they wanted to hear, messages that appealed to their desires, but they rejected both God’s message and his Son. They simply didn’t want to do things God’s way.

All of humanity possesses some form of a conscience and an awareness of right and wrong behavior that comes from God. Yet if we concede that he exists and has given us this knowledge, then we must admit that he is the Creator. And if he is the Creator, it is critical that we line ourselves up under his will, even when it contradicts our own will. Jesus taught that no one is qualified to stand before God by herself. No one can meet his standard. The Scriptures show that all humanity has failed to live according to God’s plan and design. The Jews with whom Jesus spoke needed his provision for their sin. In the same way, our friends and neighbors, no matter how nice or kind or moral they are, need the righteousness of Jesus. Each must see her hopeless state before she can cry out to God for deliverance. Stop and pray that those you love would clearly see their desperate and immediate need for salvation through the only one qualified to make them acceptable to the Lord. If God can save us, he can save them too!