A Lesson in Encounter

John 5:39-40, "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to Me! Yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life." New Living Translation

The verse above consistently challenges me. It reminds me that we can be well versed in Scripture, doctrine, and the practices of our faith; and yet we can still miss out on the person of the Lord. The warning here is that we can be so dogmatic about what we believe about G-O-D that His activity in our lives can be overlooked. Even when He is standing right in front of us.

The men that Jesus is referring to are the ones who had dedicated their lives to the Scriptures. It was their duty to study, to understand, to interpret, and to apply the Torah. Jesus' words to them indicate that they have missed the greatest prophetic moment of their lives. As we read on in the New Testament, we discover that even the Law was meant to point us toward Christ. How could these devoted men miss out on the Messiah?

PRIDE
The refusal to admit we are wrong. The unwillingness on our part to simply say "we missed it."

BLINDNESS
I don't know if the religious leaders of the day could not see or just would not see. If they would not see then refer to the above section on PRIDE. If they could not see, then refer to the next section.

RELIGION
When God gets wrapped up in a religious system then we have to defend the system. The Jews believed their religion to be true with everything in them. All the rituals. All the traditions. All the rules. To have a breakdown in any area meant to have a breakdown with God. They had to protect it.

ARROGANCE
Most of us have heard about Jesus the Carpenter. How many of us have heard about Jesus the Rabbi? I have head a lot of teaching about the religious leaders being offended at this carpenter, but how about their offense at this teacher of the Law upsetting their understanding? I'm sure His age was offensive as well. How could someone so young made such radical declarations? How could He just come in and upset our way of doing things?

BIBLIOLATRY
The worship of Scriptures is never encouraged in Scripture. Is there a need to reverence what is written? Absolutely. However, anytime we lift up the written word above the revealed WORD, we have some major problems. Of course, the Jews did not hold within our scrolls what we hold in our hands today, but in their reading of the Torah they should have been able to see His coming.

I'm sure there are other things that were in play, but the warning here for us today is clear: We don't need to get so caught up in our belief systems that we miss the person of Jesus. The Bible should be a way of encountering Him. Our doctrines/beliefs should be a way of knowing Him in a better way, not trying to box Him in. Everything about our faith should lead to encounter. It should lead us to seeing Him clearly.

The religious leaders did not have a chapter & verse to explain Him. What they failed to realize is that He was the chapter & verse. HE IS THE WORD MADE FLESH. He is the divine expression of God. What they believed about the Scriptures should have led them to Him. However, in the end, they chose their religion and their own understanding over the life He offered.

May we have eyes to see and ears to hear. This is a lesson we need to learn. May we see Jesus.