I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.
…..I will sing your praises among the nations.
For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens.
…..Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Psalm 57:9-10 NLT
John 5:45-47 (<<click here to read the passage)
Moses is a pretty big dealTo the people of Israel, he is of the utmost importance. By God’s directive, he led the Hebrews out of their bondage from Egypt. He was the go-between that brought them God’s Law. He was their buffer between a holy God and a sinful people, standing in the gap and pleading with God to spare them when on many occasions they deserved death for their disobedience and stiff-neckedness.
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day knew most certainly that God was God but instead of seeking Him out, their time and efforts were dedicated to understanding and dissecting all that Moses had done and given them.
In the past, I’ve spoken of what I believe was their motivation…at least at the beginning. The nation of Israel had messed up so many times, and they weren’t just little mistakes. Their flagrant disobedience had resulted in exile and domination by world powers. They had lost everything, their cities, God’s holy temple, the land on which they lived and found sustenance…everything!
In a relatively short period of time (70 years) they had been allowed to return to their land and even rebuild their temple, but disobedience continued to plague them eventually resulting in the Roman invasion that continued into Jesus’ time.
Personally, I think they were so determined to not royally mess it up that they dove into the Law with great determination so as not to bring judgment on themselves once more. They erred in that, yes, they knew the Law through and through, every dot and tittle, as they say, was studied and expounded upon, but their loss came because they left the Author of the Law out of the equation! They seem to have become worshippers of Moses and forgot who Moses served – God Almighty!
So, when Jesus made these statements beginning in verse 45, as my study Bible* states, Jesus’ warning that Moses would accuse them stung them to fury.
Here is what Jesus said,
Do not think that I [am the One who] will accuse you before the Father. There [already] is one who accuses you: Moses, [the very one] in whom you have placed your hope [for salvation]. For if you believed and relied on [the Scriptures written by] Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me [personally]. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” John 5:45-47 AMP
Once more, human effort got them nowhere! It doesn’t get us anywhere either. We think we have everything figured out but far too often we can grasp the Law, but we lose connection with the Author.
With all their study the Pharisees missed what Jesus had pointed out, if they really believed and relied on what Moses wrote they would have seen that he wrote of Jesus as well.
As I wrap things up, here is one example of that very fact. First of all, many scholars credit Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, with the writing of the historical books of the Bible, Genesis included.
Genesis 3:15 reads,
“And I will put enmity (open hostility)
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed (offspring) and her Seed;
He shall [fatally] bruise your head,
And you shall [only] bruise His heel.” AMP
Here’s a very big word that I’ve heard but needed to look up to make sure I understood it – protevangelium. The study notes from the Amplified Bible explain that it is the first announcement of the gospel. This is the first prophecy about the Messiah (Christ), who through His death on the cross and resurrection would ultimately defeat Satan, the power behind the serpent, with a death blow.
Lord Jesus, may we use Your word only as a means to draw closer to You and to understand Your will for us in doing so. Knowing the Author in a very personal way is far more important than immersing ourselves in His word alone. Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
May 26th, 2021, Wed, 7:39 pm
