John Chapter 5: verses 39-40 (NIV-UK)
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
The Pharisees in Jesus’ time spent their lives studying the scriptures and debating their meaning. They were waiting for their Messiah to come. All of their scriptures pointed to His coming, but when confronted with the fulfilment of them in the life and work of Jesus, they could not accept His offer of a new way of living. They missed out.
We have the benefit of the Old Testament scriptures that were available to them, but also the New Testament which shows us all that Jesus did, but also guides us on how we should live our lives as His followers, and how to prepare ourselves for His return. Its not enough to know the teachings of the Bible, to be able to recognise verses and even to quote them. We need to accept them for the truth that they declare, and recognise that the whole Bible, as we know it today, points us to Jesus. Even when we come to that place of acknowledging the truth of their teaching, it will make no difference at all to us, if we don’t come to Jesus ourselves and yield our own thoughts, hopes and desires to Him – to start again afresh under His guidance and direction. Without Jesus in our lives, we will never live our present lives in fulness the way God intended, and certainly not in eternity. That’s the whole purpose of the Bible – to point us in the right direction. There’s a time for debating, a time for studying, but the most important thing is that there is a time to respond. It’s up to us to act on what it says.
Dear Lord,
May I never get caught up in arguments about Your word. I may not understand it all but help me to accept it, trust it and do what it says. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.