An Expert Breakdown of John 5:39: Scripture Points to Jesus

Setting the Scene: Sabbath, Healing, and Unbelief

John 5:39 comes right after a powerful healing miracle and a tense clash over Sabbath rules, setting the stage for Jesus’ striking words to religious leaders who respect the Bible but miss its heart.

Jesus had just healed a man who’d been sick for thirty-eight years at the pool of Bethesda, telling him to pick up his mat and walk - even though it was the Sabbath. The religious leaders objected, not because they doubted the healing, but because they believed it broke their strict Sabbath laws. This conflict reveals their focus: obeying religious rules correctly, even at the cost of celebrating a miracle.

In this charged moment, Jesus redirects them to the Scriptures they claim to live by, saying, 'You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,' exposing the tragic gap between studying God’s Word and truly receiving the One it points to.

The Scriptures Bear Witness: Jesus and the Living Word

Jesus isn’t dismissing Scripture but exposing a fatal misunderstanding: the religious leaders treat the Bible as the source of eternal life itself, rather than the witness to the One who gives it.

In first-century Judaism, diligent study of the Torah was deeply respected and seen as a path to righteousness and life - yet Jesus flips this assumption, saying the very Scriptures they search so carefully are testifying about Him. The Greek word for 'bear witness' (martyreō) carries legal weight, like a reliable testimony in court. This shows the Bible is a personal testimony pointing to a person, not just information. This is a significant theme. John’s Gospel opens with 'the Word became flesh' (John 1:14), showing that the living Word fulfills the written word. Jesus is claiming that without Him, Scripture is read in the dark - its deepest meaning locked.

The religious leaders honored Moses and quoted his writings, but Jesus says, 'If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me' (John 5:46). This is a stunning claim: Moses, the giver of the Law, actually prophesied about the Messiah. Think of how Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness so that those who looked would live (Numbers 21:9) - Jesus said He would be 'lifted up' in the same way (John 3:14). Even the Sabbath, which they policed so strictly, was made for rest and relationship, not rule-keeping. Jesus declared, 'The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath' (Mark 2:28), showing He fulfills its true purpose.

The tragedy is that they studied the map but refused to follow it to the destination. The Scriptures were never meant to be the end point - they are the voice pointing to the One who gives life.

The written Word points to the living Word - not to replace it, but to reveal Him.

This leads directly into Jesus’ next challenge: if they won’t come to Him, the very Law they trust will ultimately accuse them, because it reveals their need for a Savior they’re rejecting.

From Studying to Trusting: Coming to Jesus for Life

The heart of the matter is this: the Scriptures point to Jesus, but they’re not a substitute for a personal relationship with Him.

John’s Gospel was written so that people 'may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name' (John 20:31). This story fits perfectly - religious leaders pore over the text but miss the living Savior standing in front of them. The timeless truth is clear: knowledge of the Bible, while good, doesn’t save us. Only Jesus does.

Eternal life isn’t earned by studying the Bible - it’s received by coming to Jesus.

So the call is simple: don’t stay stuck in the pages. Let the Word lead you to the Word made flesh, because as Jesus said, 'You refuse to come to me that you may have life' (John 5:40).

The Whole Bible Points to Jesus: A Consistent Witness

The pattern Jesus reveals in John 5:39 - that the Scriptures bear witness to Him - is not a one-time claim, but a consistent thread woven throughout the entire Bible.

After His resurrection, Jesus opened the Scriptures to His disciples, showing how 'beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself' (Luke 24:27). Later, He told them, 'These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled' (Luke 24:44).

All Scripture, from beginning to end, is meant to lead us to Jesus.

Similarly, when Philip met the Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah, he 'told him the good news about Jesus' by explaining the passage (Acts 8:35), proving that from the earliest days, the church understood all of Scripture as pointing to Christ.

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