John 5:39-47

5:39 ^“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?”

Questions to consider about John 5:39-47:

1. In 5:39, Jesus calls His 5^th witness: The Scriptures. How does the OT specifically bear witness to Jesus? Which OT prophecies point to the First Advent of Jesus? Is it possible to study the Bible and miss its very point? How? How does Luke 24:13-33a illustrate this principle? What is the central point of Scripture?
2. In our reading, Jesus gives two reasons why sinners refuse to come to Him that they might have life. What are they?
3. In John’s Gospel, the word “Scripture” always occurs in the singular (“Scripture”), except here. Here it occurs in the plural (“Scriptures”). Any significance to this? Why might this be?
4. What did Jesus mean by saying, “If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness” (Matthew 6:23b)? How does this relate to Jn 5:39 (and to all unsaved religious people)?
5. List the accusations Jesus makes against the Pharisees in 5:39-47.
6. Who is Jesus referring to when He speaks of the one who “comes in his own name” whom the Jews “will receive” in John 5:43b?
7. What is the SHOCK ENDING of this John 5 courtroom drama? Hint: it’s found in John 5:45-47 and it would have stunned the Pharisees and anyone else listening in! What’s so shocking here?
8. In John 5:46b, Jesus claims that Moses “wrote of Me.” Where did Moses write about Jesus? How do these ‘Moses’ passages speak of Jesus: Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:3 & 22:18 (with Galatians 3:16); Genesis 49:10; Numbers 21:9 (with John 3:14); and Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19.