Can you hear Me now?
The Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You have not heard his voice at any time, and you haven’t seen his form. You don’t have his word residing in you, because you don’t believe the one he sent. You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, and yet they testify about me. But you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life. I do not accept glory from people, but I know you—that you have no love for God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and yet you don’t accept me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. John 5:37-43
In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees were trying to impress Jesus by their knowledge of God’s Word. They thought just by simply being conversant and knowledgeable with the Old Testament, they would please God. They manifested their ability to memorize and quote long, complicated passages of Scripture. They engaged in discussions and debates concerning the laws found in the Bible. Yet Jesus expressed His disappointment with them because in spite of the fact that they knew the Scriptures, they did not know God. This is what we have in our text. They were full of pride because of their knowledge but missed on knowing God and His purpose in coming to this earth. They failed to respond to God’s invitation to know Jesus and place their faith in Him. We can be so enthralled because we find God’s word as a source of inspiration. But God doesn’t want us just to be inspired but to have a deeper knowledge of who He is and experience His life within. The Bible will tell us our spiritual condition and will provide solution to our spiritual dilemma. Unless we act on His prescription as revealed from His word, then we will come away remaining the same. “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” (James 1:23-24). God is seeking a relationship with us by having faith in Him as we continue to discover who He is through His Word. What good it will do to us if we know information about God’s word and yet will not act on what He has revealed to us? The Pharisees where admired by the people because of their knowledge of the Old Testament but Jesus revealed what was on their heart. “You are not willing to come to me so that you may have life. I do not accept glory from people, but I know you—that you have no love for God within you.” So, do not just be satisfied with having an enormous amount of knowledge about His word and yet miss knowing Him as your Lord and Savior. We will gain more appreciation of His word if we know and have a relationship with the Author Himself. “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17).
Blessings,
Noel De Guzman
www.my-wbc.com
