John 5:39,40 - Yet you refuse to come to me

5:39

This is a sobering verse. The religious leaders were diligent in reading the Scriptures, and they thought that they contained the words of eternal life. The first of these is good, the second is right, yet they missed it. They had not understood the Scriptures at all. The Scriptures bear witness to Jesus, and this is talking about the Old Testament here. How do they bear witness? They point towards Jesus. In Deut 18:15 Moses had said one would come after him to whom they must listen. They also point to our sinfulness, yet the religious leaders missed this, they saw themselves as righteous for their supposed adherence to the Law. They point to our need for a saviour and God’s provision of a Saviour. We can make the same mistake today if we miss this fundamental point. If we focus on the immorality of society, forgetting our own sinfulness we make the same mistake. If we focus on social justice forgetting everyman’s need to be saved from his own sin we miss the point. If we focus on racial justice neglecting our own need to be saved from sin we miss the point.

5:40

“Yet you refuse to come to me so that you may have life.” People often blame God, or make excuses. This verse puts the blame right where it belongs.The religious leaders were forever demanding a sign. The root of the problem was their own refusal to go to Jesus. We should seek to make our evangelism as effective and clear as possible, but we must not lose sight of the fact that each man is responsible for himself, and within each one of us is a rebellious heart. We need to Holy Spirit to work in a man’s heart, and to continue to work within our own hearts.