The Father who sent me, confirmed me. And you missed it. You never heard his voice, you never saw his appearance. There is nothing left in your memory of his Message because you do not take his Messenger seriously.

39-40 “You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want.

41-44 “I’m not interested in crowd approval. And do you know why? Because I know you and your crowds. I know that love, especially God’s love, is not on your working agenda. I came with the authority of my Father, and you either dismiss me or avoid me. If another came, acting self-important, you would welcome him with open arms. How do you expect to get anywhere with God when you spend all your time jockeying for position with each other, ranking your rivals and ignoring God?

45-47 “But don’t think I’m going to accuse you before my Father. Moses, in whom you put so much stock, is your accuser. If you believed, really believed, what Moses said, you would believe me. He wrote of me. If you won’t take seriously what he wrote, how can I expect you to take seriously what I speak?” (The Message)

‘The witness of John the Baptist, the witness of the divine miracles, and the witness of the Word of God all unite to declare that Jesus Christ is indeed one with the Father and the very Son of God.’ Warren Wiersbe

Here is the third strand of ‘testimony’ Jesus calls upon: the Old Testament Scriptures.

”You study the Scriptures diligently…” (5;39). Indeed the Jews did. The Scribes could even tell you how many letters there were in the Old Testament. But it’s been pointed out that they were like people who admired the medicine bottle, but didn’t take the medicine; they were like someone in raptures over the beauty of a jewellery box, but who fails to see, and prize, the precious Jewel inside.

”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” (5:39,40)

We must beware of any form of Bible study that leaves us with bigger heads rather than bigger hearts of love for Jesus.

In particular, the Jews prized the law of Moses. Again, Jesus showed they were missing the whole point. If they were truly listening to Moses, they would be listening to Him (45-47).

”And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27)

Jesus is the centre and soul of all Scripture. May God give us eyes to see Him everywhere in our Bibles.