In this section of John, Christ tells the Jewish leaders to search the scriptures. God wrote us an instruction book. It only makes sense that we should spend some time searching it. God created us to live a spiritual life. But in order to do that, we have to learn from his word how he wants us to live our life. The instructions in the Bible will help us to become a better Christian.

In these verses Jesus tells us how we are to search the scriptures. We are to:

1. Read it, verse 37

2. Meditate upon it, verse 38

3. Study it, verse 39

4. Apply it to our life, verses 40-42

5. Honor it, verses 43-44

6. Believe it, verses 45-47

As we search the scriptures, we will learn about sin and what things to avoid which will pull our spirit down. We will learn what kind of mental outlook to have. We will be taught patience instead of anger. We will learn about thinking of good things instead of dwelling on the negative. We will learn love and compassion instead of harsh intolerance. We will learn humility instead of arrogance.

We will discover instructions on how to treat our spouse, how to raise our children, how to treat our family, how to act on the job, how to help others, and how to comfort those who are hurting.

We may be surprised to find that God sets high standards for us. And then we find that he provided us a way to be holy and righteous through the price that Christ paid for us even though we are weak and sinful. We learn how he is there to give us strength in our weakness, give us faith when we doubt, and give us peace when we are in turmoil.

The first thing we need to do is – Read the Bible. A lot of people have different opinions about God. But if you want to learn what God is really like, you will find out in the pages of the Bible. We learn about the Lord’s mercy and love to us from the Psalms, and we learn about God’s judgement and righteousness from the Prophets. We find out about God’s long-suffering and patience with us from the Gospels, and we learn about his anger against sin from the Books of Moses. We read about God reaching out to save the Gentiles in the Book of Acts, and we read about God judging the Gentile nations in the Book of Revelation.

As we read the Bible, we discover someone who will not fit into a convenient human category – but rather, a complex Deity who does things beyond our human understanding. The more we learn about God, the more we realize how weak and inferior we truly are compared to his eternal majesty.

As we learn from scripture, we see one who keeps all the worlds spinning and yet still has time for our smallest problems. As we study the word, we learn of the one who is moving nations and yet still has time for our family. As we read the Bible, we find out about the one who has the vast physical realm of the entire universe under his control, and yet he still has time for our physical problems. As we study scripture, we meet the one whose intellect is so far superior to us that we can barely understand how all his creation functions, and yet he still has time for us when we are suffering mental anguish.

Reading the Bible will teach us who God is, and it will teach us also who we are in relation to him.

The Believer’s Bible Commentary tells us, "The Lord Jesus put the writings of Moses on the same level of authority as His own words. We are reminded that ‘all Scripture is given by inspiration of God.’ Whether we read the OT or the New, we are reading the very Word of God."

The second thing we are to do is – Meditate upon God’s word. In this verse Christ is addressing the Jewish leaders. These were the religious rulers, and yet he says that they don’t have God’s word abiding in them. How many Christians and even ministers are there that Christ would say they don’t have God’s word in them? Let us make sure we have the word of God planted deep in our heart. Let us read the Bible, let us meditate on it, and let us allow the Holy Spirit to teach us.

Matthew Henry writes, "Many have the word of God coming into them, and making some impressions for awhile, but it does not abide with them; it is not constantly in them, as a man at home, but only now and then, as a wayfaring man. If the word abide in us, if we converse with it by frequent meditation, consult with it upon every occasion, and conform to it in our conversation, we shall then readily receive the witness of the Father concerning Christ."

The third thing we are to do is – Study the Bible. What a condemnation Jesus delivers in this verse! The Jews searched the scriptures, but they missed the truth. There is more to godliness than reading the Bible – we must also understand it. This will only come through diligent study and waiting on the Lord to minister his wisdom to us. We make time in our lives for the things that we consider important. How important is learning God’s word? Let us learn to discipline ourselves to read and study his word. I have learned that the more we read and study the Bible, the more grounded in the faith we become. Even those times when we have difficulty understanding what the scriptures are saying, we are growing spiritually. Eventually, the clouds lift and our understanding is enlightened, but this sometimes takes time. Don’t worry if there are some confusing parts of the Bible. Pray that God will help you. Learning about God and his word is a process. It takes time and patience.

Jamison-Fausset-Brown comments, "Observe the honour accorded to the Scriptures generally, and the Old Testament Scriptures in particular by the Lord Jesus. Whether we understand him to bid them ‘Search the Scriptures,’ or in the way of commendation to say, ‘Ye do search the Scriptures,’ even though this was addressed more immediately to the rulers, the reason assigned for it-- that in them they thought they had eternal life-- is enough to show that in His view it was alike the interest and the duty of all to search them."

The fourth thing we are to do is – Apply the Bible to our life. These Jewish leaders knew the scriptures, but they hadn’t applied them to their lives. That’s why Jesus said in verse 42, "I know that you have not the love of God within you." As we study God’s word, we find direction for our life. But then we must apply those lessons. Many times the Lord will use his holy word to reveal to us something about our character. It has often happened to me that when I was going through some trial of my faith, I would come upon some portion of the Bible that seemed like it was especially written for me in the very situation that I was in. Those words written so many thousands of years ago would lift up my spirit and give me instructions as to how to get through the difficult time.

One of the reasons I think that reading the Bible helps to give direction to our life is the change in our thinking that occurs. As we read God’s word and apply it to our life, our priorities change – our focus on what is truly important shifts. As our priorities are replaced by God’s priorities, we discover new directions that the Lord wants to take us.

MacDonald commented, "God speaks to men through His Word, the Bible. These Jews had the OT Scriptures, but they did not allow God to speak to them through the Scriptures. Their hearts were hardened, and their ears were dull of hearing."

The fifth thing we need to do is – Honor the Bible. The Greek word translated here "glory" is doxan which also means to honor. If we honor God’s words, we will make a habit of going to the Bible to receive instruction, comfort, and strength.

Over the years, as I faced sickness in my body, turmoil in my life, or confusion over the future, I have always found comfort from the Bible. God’s word has a soothing effect on our spirit. He has promised us peace, he has promised us joy, he has promised us an abundant life. We receive those things by spending time in prayer and meditation with God. But we learn about those things by spending time in his word. It is when we honor God’s word that we are able to believe it and accept its promises for our life.

There have been many times when I was facing a difficulty when God led me to words of comfort in the Bible. I could sense his Spirit ministering to me. He was telling me, "See David, I understand what you are going through and I am here to see you through." If you are faithful in your Bible reading, you too will discover that comfort that we can only get as we read from his word.

The sixth thing we are to do is – Believe the Bible. Throughout the Old Testament are prophecies of the coming Messiah. The whole typology of the sacrificial system was fulfilled in the sacrifice of Christ. Anyone reading the Old Testament scriptures would be looking for God’s Messiah. The Jewish leaders read the scripture, but they didn’t really believe them. When Jesus referred to Moses, he was referring to the books of Moses which were the first 5 books of the Bible. There are many scriptures that talk about the future messiah in these first 5 books. Here are two of them. Deuteronomy 18:15, "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken." Numbers 24:17, "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel...."

We can read the Bible, and study it, and learn it in great detail. But if we don’t believe it, we will not be able to reap the benefits of serving Christ. And if we believe the teachings of the Bible, we will live our lives according to God’s principles.

Matthew Henry writes, "He proves this charge from their disbelief of him: Had you believed Moses, you would have believed me. Note, First, The surest trial of faith is by the effects it produces. Many say that they believe whose actions give their words the lie; for had they believed the scriptures they would have done otherwise than they did. Secondly, Those who rightly believe one part of scripture will receive every part. The prophecies of the old Testament were so fully accomplished in Christ that those who rejected Christ did in effect deny those prophecies, and set them aside."

Let us listen to Christ’s admonitions in these verses. May we be the kind of follower who searches the scriptures. Let us read the Bible, meditate upon it, study it, apply it to our life, honor it, and believe it. When we do these things, we will find that not only will we know God’s teachings, but we will also live them.

Footnotes:

This study on John 5:37-47 © 1998 by David Humpal. All rights reserved.

All scriptures unless otherwise noted are from the Revised Standard Version © 1971, A. J. Holman Company

Believer’s Bible Commentary, New Testament volume, pg. 314 © 1990, Thomas Nelson Publishers

Matthew Henry’s Commentary, electronic version © 1996, Biblesoft

Jamison-Fausset-Brown Commentary, electronic version © 1996, Biblesoft

MacDonald: Believer’s Bible Commentary, New Testament volume, pg. 312 © 1990, Thomas Nelson Publishers

Deuteronomy 18:15 and Numbers 24:17 from the King James Version

Matthew Henry’s Commentary, electronic version, © 1996, Biblesoft