You
search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me. Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life. I don’t receive glory from men. But I know you, that you don’t have God’s love in yourselves. I have come in my Father’s name, and you don’t receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God?
John 5:39-44
John 5 [31.] “If I testify about myself, my witness is not valid. It is another who testifies about me. I know that the testimony which he testifies about me is true. You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. But the testimony which I receive is not from man. However, I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John, for the works which the Father gave me to accomplish, the very works that I do, testify about me, that the Father has sent me. The Father himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form. You don’t have his word living in you; because you don’t believe him whom he sent.
John 5 [39.] “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me. Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life. I don’t receive glory from men. But I know you, that you don’t have God’s love in yourselves. I have come in my Father’s name, and you don’t receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God?
John 5 [45.] “Don’t think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about me. But if you don’t believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
Meaning:
Jesus has called his witnesses: John the Baptist, his own works, and the Father (John 5:31-38). Now he names one more, the very Scriptures his opponents studied so carefully. Then he exposes the real reason they will not believe: not lack of evidence, but hearts that seek human praise rather than God’s.
- “You search the Scriptures”
The religious leaders devoted their lives to studying the Law and the Prophets, memorizing and debating every word. That was good; Luke praises the Jews of Beroea who were “examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). The problem was not their study but their goal. They thought that studying and keeping the Scriptures was itself the way to eternal life.
- “These are they which testify about me”
The Scriptures are not an end in themselves; they point to Christ. After his resurrection Jesus showed this to two disciples: “Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). He told the apostles that “all things which are written in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). Paul reminded Timothy that the Scriptures make us wise “for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).
- “Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life”
Here is the tragedy. Life was standing before them, yet they would not come. Their refusal was a matter of the will, not of evidence. Jesus offers life freely, but he never forces it on anyone.
- “I don’t receive glory from men… you don’t have God’s love in yourselves”
Jesus does not need human approval; he seeks only the Father’s glory. But he sees into his hearers’ hearts. For all their religious devotion, they lacked the love for God that the Law itself put first: “You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Isaiah had described such worship: “this people draws near with their mouth and with their lips to honor me, but they have removed their heart far from me” (Isaiah 29:13).
- “If another comes in his own name, you will receive him”
Jesus came in his Father’s name, with the Father’s authority, and was rejected. Yet people readily follow leaders who come in their own name, promoting themselves. History bears this out: in the following decades several men claimed to be deliverers and drew many followers. Jesus warned, “many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray” (Matthew 24:5).
- “How can you believe, who receive glory from one another”
The love of human praise blocks faith. Faith in Jesus requires humility, admitting our need and accepting what others may despise. Those who live for the approval of others cannot easily do that. John later notes that even some rulers who believed in Jesus would not confess it, “for they loved men’s praise more than God’s praise” (John 12:43).
The Significance of John 5:39-44
- Reading the Bible to find Christ
Bible study is precious, but its purpose is to lead us to Jesus. We should read the Scriptures asking what they show us of him and come to him for life.
- Whose approval do we seek?
The desire for human praise can quietly shape our choices and even our faith. Paul wrote that he spoke “not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4).
Cross-References:
Luke 24:27: “He explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Christ in all the Scriptures.
Acts 17:11: “Examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Searching the Scriptures rightly.
Isaiah 29:13: “They have removed their heart far from me.” Religion without love for God.
John 12:43: “They loved men’s praise more than God’s praise.” The love of praise that blocks faith.
Conclusion: In John 5:39-44 Jesus tells the religious leaders that the Scriptures they search so carefully testify about him, yet they refuse to come to him for life. He reveals that they lack love for God and seek glory from one another rather than from God, so they reject the one who comes in his Father’s name. The passage calls us to read the Scriptures to find Christ and to seek God’s approval above the praise of people.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible