They Testify Of Me

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.

John 5:39-40

Christ was clear about the purpose of the Old Testament. The Jewish religionists took Him to task because He had broken their petty rules relating to the Sabbath. More than that He had said that God was His Father making Himself equal with God. When they opposed Him, He responded with a lengthy discourse proving His identity, by discussing His relationship with His Father. Towards the end of this discourse, He is quite pointed about the behavior of the religionists. Our text contains one of His most serious charges. He says, ‘You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life….’ This is a true charge. They did search the scriptures. They laid huge emphasis on the Bible. They studied it, memorized it, had debates and discussions about it, but they missed the message of it. He said, ‘These are they which testify of Me.’ All the Bible emphasis, study, debate, and defense is useless if it is essentially Christless. He went on to say, ‘You are not willing to come to Me….’ Bible-centered people are not necessarily Christ-centered people. The religionists did not object to discussions about the Bible, but they balked at the introduction of Christ. This has not changed in all these years. Many preach what they call Bible-centered messages but ignore the Christ Who is the heart of the Bible. True preaching is Christ-centered preaching. People are crying out, ‘Sirs, we would see Jesus.’

Our Gracious Savior and our God,
we rejoice that You have given us Your Word.
We praise You that it reveals You from the beginning to the end.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning