John 5:30-47 | Food for Thought
LISTEN: CONTEXT > CONTENT > QUESTIONS > VISION FOR DISCIPLES
Context
A Bigger Conversation | This focal passage (just like the previous one!) is a continuation of Jesus’ response to the Jews who were accusing him of breaking the law and blasphemy in light of a healing he performed on the Sabbath. It might not be a bad idea to read ALL of John 5 just to remind you of the context!
Content
Jesus knows that we need evidence.
Jesus himself relies on the will of the Father to help him figure out what to do! He needs someone “outside of himself” to point him in the right direction.
Jesus also knows that we need others besides himself to corroborate his story! (“If I alone bear witness about me, my testimony is not true.”) So he commends to us…
John the Baptizer, who the people were eager to receive!
Jesus’ own works!
The Father’s own testimony (which they’ve not been able to witness).
The Scripitures and Moses!
We miss how it all points to Jesus.
For example…
They rejoiced in John’s message, but Jesus has a greater message - and they are skeptical.
They search the Scriptures for eternal life, but they miss that they’re about Jesus / refuse to come to him!
They put their hope in Moses, but they don’t believe him, because they don’t believe Jesus!
It’s possible to immersed in all the Christian things, but if we’re not able to see how it all leads to Christ himself, then we’ve missed the point entirely!
Bible knowledge; lawful living; prophetic words; even acknowledging works / miracles / etc. - you can have or experience all these things, but if you refuse to let them lead you to Christ himself, then it’s all an exercise in missing the point.
These Christless but “Christian” things only serve to come back to bite us in the end. (“There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope.”) Every other standard and savior demands something from us that it never provides to us; Jesus alone satisfies the needs of his own law, and in doing so, can be the only saving source of hope!
In other words, our favorite “Christiany” things will only serve to condemn us in the end if they’re meant to be our source of assurance / hope for us and others.
We ought to surround and saturate ourselves with those who are more passionate about Jesus than about “Jesus-y” things.
We’ll understand when we stop settling for lesser glory.
Even though we miss Jesus, he’s no less glorious for it… because he doesn’t get his glory from other people! He gets it from the Father / because he himself is God!
However, we’re quick to give and receive glory from one another (pats on the back; affirmed in our flesh; never hear hard things that aren’t calling US to repent and believe).
Jesus says that we can’t believe as long as we’re busy getting glory from people instead of seeking it from Jesus.
Rubber meets the road: This is harder than it might seem!
We have to give up glory from the people around us!
We have to admit need / falling short in the eyes of God!
We have to admit that we don’t have / meet / aren’t the standard!
We have to admit that we need to change our minds / behaviors / beliefs!
Rubber meets the road: This is WAY BETTER than we might imagine!
Jesus will NEVER accuse us when we come to him! (1 John 1:5-10)
We CAN hear and see the form of and have the Word of the Father in Jesus!
We CAN have eternal life!
We CAN have glory from the Father (looking ahead to glorification, as well!)!
We CAN read the Scriptures for what they’re saying!
Moses CAN be a good word for us and point us to hope!
Questions
What does Jesus seem to say about needing evidence / others to corroborate what’s true?
Is this encouraging to you / would this be encouraging to others you know who might say they want or need evidence for Jesus / Christianity? What kind of evidence are you looking for?
What does this seem to say about the nature of the Scriptures, the Law, the Prophets, Jesus’ miracles, etc.? What’s it all about? How can that be?
How would we know if we were approaching these things (God’s Word, good works, “Christian” words) like Jesus or like the Jews? What markers would we look for to know if we were approaching these things to come to Jesus and eternal life? What might tip us off that we’re approaching it in another way?
How can “Christian stuff” turn into our own worst enemy? (How can Moses turn from their source of hope to their only accuser before the Lord?)
How does Jesus connect our ability to believe with our willingness to receive glory from other people (instead of the Lord!)? Why would that be a barrier?
How does that play out in real life? What’s it look like to “receive another coming in his own name?”
What would it mean to seek the glory that comes from the only God?
What’s the COST to our glory from other people today?
What’s the GAIN to us (and the kingdom!) by coming to Jesus?
How does Jesus’ refusal to be our ACCUSER (and his source of glory, life, etc. from the Father) open wide the doors and make easy the path to look for Christ - not “Christian things” - when we approach faith and life?
Think pracitcally - how would your discipleship (conversations, groups, goals, etc.) look different if we were more concerned with CHRIST than CHRISTIAN THINGS?
Vision
The best things healthy disciples offer isn’t good advice, life hacks, pragmatism, etc. - it’s Jesus himself!
Healthy disciples are also ROOTED in Jesus himself - not Christian disciplines, things, or what have you. The source of their life and hope and peace is Jesus!
Healthy disciples will refuse to “pile on” or “score points” among others; they’ll let their reputation take hits, their popularity suffer, their platform stay small (or non-existent!), and their relevance wane if it means refusing to make a bigger deal about anything else other than Jesus.
And healthy disciples will revel in the glory that comes from the only God - who they’ve heard, seen, and whose words are in them!