And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You people have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time, nor do you have his word residing in you, because you do not believe the one whom he sent. You study the scriptures thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life, and it is these same scriptures that testify about me, but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life. (John 5:37-40 NET)
The Hebrew religious leaders were busy making up their minds about who Jesus was, judging Him according to their own beliefs and prejudices, to what they saw and heard. But they did not realize that God was making up His mind about them by the way they treated Jesus. God had sent His one and only Son into the world to speak His word and do the things He had commanded Him. Jesus was God in a human body, speaking with a human voice—Jesus was God on earth.
Here Jesus reveals God's judgment of the religious rulers in the past, and of religious people today. He says that they had never heard God's voice, had never seen His form, and had never even let His word into their hearts. Though they studied the Scriptures diligently, the Scriptures’ purpose was to prepare people to receive Jesus Christ, and they despised and rejected Him. Their treatment of Him showed them to be corrupt, selfish, and godless.
Still today, God judges men and women by the way they treat the Lord Jesus. Religious rituals and knowledge of the Bible mean nothing when Jesus is not our Lord and Savior. The purpose of the Bible is to reveal how we can have a real, living relationship with God, and so whenever we read the Bible, we must do it with reverence, realizing that God is actually talking to us. The Bible will teach us, correct us, challenge us, guide us, and comfort us. — The Bible points to Him: Jesus Christ the Lord: Savior, Healer, Deliverer, Provider.
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