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. – John 5:39-40
Have you ever been so close to something that you couldn’t actually see it?
Back in the early 90’s, my wife and I went to visit some friends who moved four hours south of where we lived at the time. Of course Google Maps and smartphones didn’t exist back then and we had to rely on the old Rand McNally roadmap. Anyway, the trip was uneventful and the directions were fairly straightforward. But for the life of us, we couldn’t seem to find their house! We drove around their neighborhood several times, getting more and more confused each time. Finally, on about the 5th or 6th time around, my friend ran out into his yard and waved us down.
The problem wasn’t that we were lost. I mean, we were literally right there. We just failed to consider that our friends’ house might actually be on the opposite side of the street where we were looking. The map wasn’t wrong, the information was correct. We were just a tad disoriented. Perhaps had we zoomed out and been looking down from 500 feet above, we would’ve seen our friend’s house within the bigger picture.
It’s one thing to be disoriented, as I was, driving in circles that day while my destination was right in front of me. But it’s another thing entirely to have all the signs in front of you – pointing you to life – and still refuse to follow them.
That’s exactly what Jesus was addressing in John 5:39-40. The religious leaders were diligent students of Scripture, pouring out over every word and nuance, convinced that knowledge alone could save them. But they missed the point entirely – Scripture was not the destination, but the roadmap, and the destination was Jesus Himself.
The tragedy of their story is not one of ignorance, but pride. They studied the Scriptures to validate their own ideas rather than to discover the heart of God. They were unwilling to humble themselves, unwilling to acknowledge the Savior standing before them. Instead of allowing Scripture to lead them into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, they allowed their pride to become a barrier to eternal life.
William Barclay, Scottish theologian and Bible commentator from long ago, once mused: “They [the Jews] read Scripture not to search for God, but to find arguments to support their own positions. They did not really love God; they loved their own ideas about Him.”
While it would seem easy for us to point fingers and say we’re nothing like they were 2000 years ago, we would do well to consider that perhaps we’re not that much different today. It’s easy to confuse knowing about God with truly knowing God. We can get caught up in studying the Bible, attending church, and even serving in ministry, thinking those activities bring us life. But friend, eternal life isn’t found in religious activities, just as the Jews couldn’t find it in Scripture alone.
Life is found only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Former Blackout Artist 