Daily Scripture Reading John 5:25 - 6:4
For my entire life, Christians have put more time and energy into the New Testament than they have the Old Testament. Most sermons are on the New Testament. Book studies are usually based on New Testament books. If you want to do a study in the Old Testament, it is hard to find materials for that. Furthermore, Bible translators usually translate the New Testament first, and sometimes they never do the Old Testament.
John chapter 5 records some interaction Jesus had with the Jews in Jerusalem. Jesus made some comments about the value of the Old Testament which teaches us we should invest more time studying that portion of the Bible.
Jesus went to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. At the pool of Bethesda, He healed a man who had been sick for 38 years. However, it was the Sabbath, so the Jews were persecuting Jesus.
Jesus began teaching and claimed to be equal to God. This made the Jews desire to kill Jesus even more. Then Jesus described the relationship between the Father and the Son.
John 5:25 ¶ Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
John 5:26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;
John 5:27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. John 5:28 Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
John 5:29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
At first glance this verse appears to say that salvation is the result of good deeds. However, Jesus did not define the good deeds that lead to resurrection. In order to be saved, Jesus has to be Lord of our life. If Jesus is truly Lord, then we will do good deeds. Making Jesus the Lord of our life is the good deed that truly leads to eternal life.
John 5:30 ¶ “I can do nothing from Myself. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
John 5:31 ¶ “If I alone bear witness about Myself, My witness is not true.
Yesterday, we saw in John 5:18 that the Jews were seeking to kill Jesus because He claimed to be equal to God. Here in verse 31, Jesus acknowledged that if Jesus’ claim to be God was the only evidence presented that Jesus was God, then His claim would be groundless.
John 5:32 There is another who bears witness about Me, and I know that the witness which He gives about Me is true.
Jesus told the Jews there was other testimony that He was equal to God.
John 5:33 ¶ You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.
John 5:34 But the witness I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.
John 5:35 He was the lamp that was burning and shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
In verse 35 the pronoun “He” refers to John the Baptist.
John 5:36 But the witness I have is greater than the witness of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness about Me, that the Father has sent Me.
Jesus said His healings and miracles were the evidence that He was sent by the Father.
John 5:37 And the Father who sent Me, He has borne witness about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.
John 5:38 And you do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.
The pronoun “His” refers to the Father. The pronoun “Him” refers to the Son.
Notice the phrase “you do not believe”. Belief is essential to salvation. God’s word was not abiding in the Jews because they did not believe Jesus.
John 5:39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that bear witness about Me;
Note Jesus’ reference to the Scriptures. At this point in time, none of the New Testament had been written. That means when Jesus referred to the Scriptures, He was referring to the Old Testament. Jesus said the Old Testament bears witness about Him.
For many decades, Christians have put more time and energy into the New Testament than they have the Old Testament. The mentality is that the New Testament tells us about Jesus and salvation; therefore, the New Testament is more relevant to modern life.
However, Jesus said the Old Testament tells us about Him. This means we should also study and learn the Old Testament. Knowing the Old Testament will increase our grasp and understanding of God.
John 5:40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.
John 5:41 I do not receive glory from men;
John 5:42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.
John 5:43 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.
John 5:44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the only God?
The Jews did not believe because they were too focused on giving each other glory rather than focusing on receiving glory from God.
John 5:45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope.
Moses is a reference to the first five books of the Old Testament. When the Jews stand before God someday, their accuser will not be Jesus. Their accuser will be the Old Testament. The 1st century Jews claimed that their hope was in the words of God found in the first five books of the Old Testament. However, Jesus pointed out that was not true.
John 5:46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.
Jesus is God. Therefore, any Old Testament book that teaches us about God is also teaching us about Jesus.
John 5:47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
John 6:1 ¶ After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias).
The dialogue in chapter 5 took place in Jerusalem. After that, He went back to Galilee. It says He went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. It is not clear if other side was from the perspective of Jerusalem or from the perspective of the places around the sea where Jesus spent most of His ministry.
This verse tells us that the Sea of Galilee was also called the Sea of Tiberias. Tiberias was a city on the southwest side of the sea.
John 6:2 Now a large crowd was following Him, because they were seeing the signs which He was doing on those who were sick.
John 6:3 Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He was sitting down with His disciples.
John 6:4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.
One of the questions that fascinates many people is how long the ministry of Jesus lasted. Verse 4 tells us the Passover was near. John chapter 2 also tells us about a time Jesus went to Jerusalem for Passover. That means the ministry of Jesus spanned at least two Passovers, meaning His ministry lasted at least one year.
For many decades, Christians have put more time and energy into the New Testament than they have the Old Testament. The mentality is that the New Testament tells us about Jesus and salvation; therefore, the New Testament is more relevant to modern life.
However, Jesus reminded the Jews that the Old Testament tells us about God. Jesus is God. Therefore, the Old Testament tells us about Jesus. This means we should also study and learn the Old Testament. Knowing the Old Testament will increase our grasp and understanding of God.
What does the Old Testament tell us about God that helps us understand Jesus?
How does the Old Testament testify that Jesus is God?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”