You Search the Scriptures
Written by Kailynn Nelson
Last Sunday we talked about John 5 where Jesus healed a man at a pool in Jerusalem. This healing led to a discussion with the Jews about Jesus being the Son of God. Jesus told the Jews that His authority comes from His Father and that He only does what His Father wills. John tells us that the Jews were persecuting Jesus because He was healing people on the Sabbath and He was calling Himself the Son of God, which made Him equal with God.
As I was studying this chapter and as Jeremy talked about it on Sunday, God reminded me of something He convicted me of a few years ago. At one point in this story, Jesus says to the Jews, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).
This statement by Jesus hit me hard a few years ago. I was frustrated with my Bible reading. I kept feeling empty in it. I would come to the Bible, or even to church, ready to hear from God. But I always came up with nothing, or at least what I thought was nothing. But the truth is I was coming to the Bible and church for the wrong thing. I was looking for some sort of application, some sort of practical advice for my life. What God showed me was that Jesus is ultimately the application of Scripture and why we should be going to church. Instead of being content with just being in the presence of God, I was looking for something else.
You see, the Jews in Jesus' day had a similar problem. They studied the Law of God and knew the Scriptures better than everyone else. They kept the Sabbath better than anyone else. But in their studying and in their Sabbath keeping they missed the whole point. They came away with a religious, moral code, but they missed what the Scriptures and even the Sabbath were all about. They missed Jesus. Jesus tells the Jews that both Moses and the Scriptures point to Him.
Back when God first convicted me of this, I wrote a blog post for a website called Brave Daily reflecting on how easy it is to miss the point of Scripture. We come to the Bible and to church on Sunday much like the Jews came to the Sabbath and the Scriptures. We look for something other than the simple presence of God. We look for something other than Jesus.
God has reminded me of this as we have been studying John, and especially as I've studied John 5. As God has reminded and convicted me again, I would like to share this post with you.
You can read that blog post here: Brave Daily: Jesus is Enough
I think, hope, and pray that this will be helpful for y'all as you read the Bible for yourselves, and even when you come to church on Sundays.
Last Sunday we talked about John 5 where Jesus healed a man at a pool in Jerusalem. This healing led to a discussion with the Jews about Jesus being the Son of God. Jesus told the Jews that His authority comes from His Father and that He only does what His Father wills. John tells us that the Jews were persecuting Jesus because He was healing people on the Sabbath and He was calling Himself the Son of God, which made Him equal with God.
As I was studying this chapter and as Jeremy talked about it on Sunday, God reminded me of something He convicted me of a few years ago. At one point in this story, Jesus says to the Jews, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).
This statement by Jesus hit me hard a few years ago. I was frustrated with my Bible reading. I kept feeling empty in it. I would come to the Bible, or even to church, ready to hear from God. But I always came up with nothing, or at least what I thought was nothing. But the truth is I was coming to the Bible and church for the wrong thing. I was looking for some sort of application, some sort of practical advice for my life. What God showed me was that Jesus is ultimately the application of Scripture and why we should be going to church. Instead of being content with just being in the presence of God, I was looking for something else.
You see, the Jews in Jesus' day had a similar problem. They studied the Law of God and knew the Scriptures better than everyone else. They kept the Sabbath better than anyone else. But in their studying and in their Sabbath keeping they missed the whole point. They came away with a religious, moral code, but they missed what the Scriptures and even the Sabbath were all about. They missed Jesus. Jesus tells the Jews that both Moses and the Scriptures point to Him.
Back when God first convicted me of this, I wrote a blog post for a website called Brave Daily reflecting on how easy it is to miss the point of Scripture. We come to the Bible and to church on Sunday much like the Jews came to the Sabbath and the Scriptures. We look for something other than the simple presence of God. We look for something other than Jesus.
God has reminded me of this as we have been studying John, and especially as I've studied John 5. As God has reminded and convicted me again, I would like to share this post with you.
You can read that blog post here: Brave Daily: Jesus is Enough
I think, hope, and pray that this will be helpful for y'all as you read the Bible for yourselves, and even when you come to church on Sundays.
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