Today, I have an interesting post. The light the word website along with the mormon church seems to be taking a scripture out of context to try and make it mean something it doesn't mean. For me, this is very exciting, but also upsetting and challenging. I'm going to do my best to backup my claims with as much scriptural analysis and references as possible.To be clear, the intentions behind using this scripture were good, but it was exogeed poorly. So this isn't a bashing of mormons, it's just an excited correction.
Today's scripture is John 5:39 KJV “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life.”
Their suggestion on their site on how to view this are:
“The scriptures contain the word of God, relayed to us through inspired servants. As we study the scriptures, we grow closer to God and gain a clearer vision of our purpose on earth.”
Thats a good point. Seems nice right? Not when you go to other translations, and read it in context with the rest of the speech Jesus was giving to Jewish leaders. He was proving their warping of scripture, pointing out their self centeredness, and addressing their rejection of him as their God by telling them they search the scriptures in vain thinking that’s the way to eternal life and being made right with the father. The only way to be made right with him is by admitting Jesus christ is the son of God word made flesh and God made man and that his existence fulfilled the very scriptures the Pharisees were trying to research.
If you read the entire passage, Jesus is not telling the Pharisees to read the scriptures, he is telling them they read the scriptures with wrong motives.
Even if he wasn't saying this, it couldn't have said anything else. You don't have eternal life by reading scriptures, you have eternal life by faith in Jesus Christ.
To give the best context, I thought i’d do a chapter by chapter analysis of everything Jesus had said and done in the book of John up until chapter five, but that would be overwhelming to most readers. So i’ll just use the chapter of John 5 itself.
Most scholars agree the book of John was written by John the baptist, was a disciple of Jesus Christ (one of the 12 apostles) and mores specifically John the son of Zebedee. The purpose and theme is to declare that Jesus is the promised messiah and son of God, the long awaited messiah, and only by believing in Jesus can people have eternal life.
John 5 reads as follows:
John 5 NIV
Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. [4] [b] 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10 and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”
11 But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”
12 So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”
13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
14 Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.
The Authority of the Son
16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17 In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. 25 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
Testimonies About Jesus
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.
33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved.35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study[c] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God[d]?
45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
Phheeww… If you got through that whole chapter… CONGRATULATIONS! It's a long one!
Now, here’s the context for John 5:39 as we just read:
Jesus walks into Jerusalem, heals a guy, and Jewish leaders don’t like this because they think he is breaking one of many laws THEY made up about the Sabbath. They also didn't like him claiming to be God himself, and then he breaks down his divinity to them personally and says in verse 24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”
Next, Jesus basically preaches the gospel (of himself) and tells them if he testifies about himself it's a lie because he only testifies about the father. He also breaks down how they seem able to accept the testimony of a man who claims to be great, but refuse to believe a man who speaks of someone else's greatness.
Finally in verse 36 we see him say: 36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study[c] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
See? He’s not telling them to read more scripture, he says that they look to the word of God more than God. They aren't told to read the bible, they are convicted they read the scriptures with wrong motives. Finally to close this whole thing off to a practical application, we read verses 41-47
41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God[d]?
45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
Here we see Jesus state, that because they set their hopes on the law of Moses, then they stand accused of failing his laws. He also says if they truly held to the teachings of moses, they would believe him. Since they failed the law of moses, and didn't believe in it anyway, they stand condemned despite jesus forgiveness because they didn't believe in him, and thought the scriptures would do what only Jesus could do. They were rebuked, and NOT encouraged to read scripture.
You cannot just take out random bible verses and make them mean whatever you want them to mean. Thats called cherry picking (cherry picking: the practice of picking random words or phrases out of the bible to spin them around to form an argument or statement those words or phrases were never intended to mean) which is a serious problem within Christianity.
Whats funny is, even with as much as i've read, and using google to fill in gaps, I couldnt find a bible verse that directly says “go read your scriptures”. There are psalms and proverbs and prayers about never forgetting the word of God, ditactic teachings about the word of God being alive and revealing your inner thoughts, and other teachings saying if you hold to the commands you will live a long and prosperous life. In the old testament God directly tells his prophets such as Joshua to read and be strong and courageous. However, there isn't one that i've found for this post that is a direct command from Jesus to his disciples and future generations that says “read your word”. I think that's because someone who is following God would want to pursue him by reading his word anyway. Its naturally assumed that those who love God would want to hear what he has to say. Even Muslim scholars and Hindu Holy Men read their Quran and Hindi scripts daily for the same purpose. They are genuinely seeking the God they believe to be the one true God, or Gods.
So, here are some practical applications to “search the scriptures”:
- Ask God to give you a passion for reading his word
- Set aside time every day to spend uninterrupted to read the bible without distractions.
- Get in community, and talk about the bible with other people who are also genuinely studying it.
However, even with these applications, the only thing that will encourage you to read the bible, is to believe it's the literal word of God and that it needs to be taken seriously.
Thanks for reading, and special thanks goes out to all the microchurch leaders of Greenhouse church, for teaching historical, and cultural context bible studies while encouraging genuine relationships with God.
Special thanks also goes out to one special microchurch leader for implanting the phrase “exogeed poorly” into my head. It's been popping up every few minutes when I think about cherry picking.
All of the above essay being said, I do agree with the practice of examining the bible for yourself, even if its prove me wrong about any of what i've already said. Despite my disagreements with the way this was presented. I’m still supporting the #lighttheworld movement, as it's one of many that attempts to light up peoples lives with joy from practical applications of scripture.
Special thanks to 