Scripture
39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life. John 5:39-40
Observation
It’s very clear from this interaction Jesus is having with the religious leaders that’s it’s possible to have a high knowledge of Scripture without knowing the Most High at all. It’s possible to study the Scripture every day and still go to Hell. Jesus isn’t saying, “you don’t know the Scriptures” as much as “you don’t know Me”. It’s a movement from head to heart He’s challenging them on. When it comes down to it, they were unwilling to come to Jesus because of their pride. They knew they were sons of Abraham and refused to know the Son of God. If they were already made right through birthright why would they need a Savior? If they were made righteous by their works, why would they need the saving work of Jesus? According to the Jewish educational system of the time one had a better knowledge of the Old Testament Scripture than the Pharisees and Sadducees. They would learn and memorize the Torah by the age of 12. “Just to give you an idea: that’s 187 chapters, or 5852 verses or 156,058 words. Just to give you the equivalent from a New Testament perspective, that is in terms of chapters, memorizing from Matthew until 1 Thessalonians including; in terms of verses it’s roughly memorizing from Matthew until 2 Corinthians including; and in terms of words (which is probably the most accurate measuring method) it’s roughly memorizing from Matthew until more than half of Hebrews. Can you imagine!! And that at the age of 12!!! Let’s do the math: 6 years = 72 months = 312 weeks = 2184 days. Thus, memorizing the Torah (which is 5852 verses) is roughly 3 verses per day (2.68 to be exact)." (Marc La Purte) They would then go on to memorize the remainder of the Old Testament in only 3 years. They knew more than anyone else and yet did not know eternal life because they didn’t know Jesus. The transition from behavior modification to internal transformation is best described by Paul in Philippians 3: “5I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. 7I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.”
Application
I remember when I first arrived at Life Bible College as a Freshmen I was so excited to go to school for something I was actually interested in, “The Word of God”. This zeal and excitement was quickly tempered by the arrogance and pride of some the Senior students who had majored in Biblical languages. They knew the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek of the New Testament so well that instead of doing their devotions out of an English Bible they would carry around their original languages Bible. They would sit in the chapel when local pastors would come through to speak every week and point out all of the ways they had mistranslated certain passages and were, therefore, not worthy of their attention or time. There were the very definition of what Paul was pointing out when he wrote, “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”(1 Corinthians 8:1). On the flip side I knew fellow students who majored in Pastoral Ministry, who had daily devotions, and even led their own small groups, and yet, when it came it out they were sleeping with their girlfriend, or watching porn on their computers, or plagiarizing their Philosophy of Ministry papers it didn’t seem to matter how good they were at devos. I remember falling to my knees during that first semester and pleading with the Lord to not let my heart become hardened toward Him. I had a vibrant relationship with Jesus going into Bible College and I didn’t want to find myself four years later knowing so much more while no longer knowing Him. This seems like an odd thing to journal on at the beginning of our 31 Days of Devos & Praise challenge, and yet the timing couldn’t be more perfect. If all I’m doing is going through the assigned reading, writing some words of application, and checking off my God box for the day to feel a sense of religious accomplishment I’ve missed the whole point. It would be like reading a sign directing me to The Magic Kingdom and never actually going inside. I could tell you the address, the hours, the rides, but if I don’t use the ticket that’s been purchased for me, if I don’t actually walk in the gates I’m not actually IN the Kingdom.
Prayer
Lord, I’m running after You. Not to earn your favor, but because You look upon me with unmerited favor. I read Your Word today not to simply have a current knowledge of Scripture, but to hear Your voice speak through Your Word to every area of my life. I pray that every day this month I would not limit what You want to say to the hour of devotions I have set aside in the morning. You speak to me through Your Word, but You want to speak to me and through me throughout the day. I repent for the times when I have been more devoted to the practice devotions then devoted to Your heart. I’m praying Hebrews 4:12-13 this morning, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
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