John 5:43-47
 
John 5:43 (KJB)
I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
 
Here the Lord Jesus is stating that He comes to them in the name of His Father and the works that He does backs up his claim. They did not accept Jesus because they would not accept the fact that He came from God and here is the essence of unbelief. If a person comes to them claiming to be someone, and they are without witness, they will be accepted by their very words. Jesus came teaching and confirming who He was, plus He had the Father’s witness with Him from the time of His baptism by John when God the Father spoke from Heaven. This same situation exists today, especially in the charismatic movement. All someone has to say is they raised someone from the dead and they will be accepted. Ask them to produce such a person with confirmation and they will go on to the next town. If someone comes preaching prosperity, they will be welcomed. Why will preachers like this be welcomed? It is simple, money and health. If their message is tied to the world such as money or health, then you know they are frauds. If a preacher comes preaching the message of the Bible and does not skip the judgment verses, then you can almost guarantee they are true preachers.
 
John 5:44 (KJB)
How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
 
Here Jesus divides up belief into two categories. First, is a false belief which comes from the teachings of men who receive approbation from each other. (2 Cor 10:12 KJV) For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. The Apostle Paul dealt with this situation because those leaders he was addressing were comparing themselves to themselves. It is like preachers and theologians today who continually venerate each other and their books. Jesus is basically asking these Jews, how can they believe if they are only receiving the teachings of men? In other words, how will they ever come to truth about Him and the conditions of their souls? Then the second kind of belief is the true belief, when someone receives the teachings of Scripture, they will be able to understand the truth about Jesus and the conditions of their souls. Jesus is counseling these men and us to seek the true teachings of Scripture and not the false teachings which come from men. In the Pre-tribulation teachings, every preacher who believes in the pre-millennial teaching, has not done their homework but has only studied and quoted the theologians and preachers who are of the same teachings. I know because I started out my life as a pre-tribulation adherent and I did that by reading prophecy books who quoted other prophecy books. Once you put aside the teachings of men and delve into the Scriptures, you will find that you have been greatly deceived by many of those books. This why I believe that the Christian book store is the most dangerous place for a Christian.
 
John 5:45 (KJB)
Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
 
The indictment of these Jews has already been around for 1500 years. Jesus would not have to indict them because the law of God written by Moses in the first five books would condemn their unbelief. They were trusting in the belief that because they had the Scriptures, they were all saved and in good standing with God. Yet, Jesus is telling them that the very Scriptures they trust are the very ones which will condemn them. It almost sounds backwards but let me give a quick illustration. Many homes have Bibles in them and mostly for display. The ones who own them never read them and they may keep that Bible as sort of a “good luck charm” which would protect them from evil. Without knowing what those Scriptures teach, those people who passed by the Bible everyday on their way to work or soccer practice, were walking past the very Scriptures which could bring salvation or judgment. This was the problem with the Jews as they added many things to the law and that caused the truth of the Scriptures to be shrouded. So the very Scriptures they thought would bring salvation will actually bring damnation and this is the message Jesus was giving to them and us.
 
John 5:46 (KJB)
For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
 
Here is the continuation of the thought from the previous verse. They had the Scriptures but they did not believe them, instead they added so many things that their commentaries, like the Talmud, overshadowed the truth. One of the most serious mistakes that many make and that includes Christians, not realizing that the Bible is all about Christ but it has been made into a math book to figure out dates, it has become a Hollywood script for movies, and a great moneymaker for prophecy preachers who find black helicopters on every page in Revelation. The Bible speaks about the redemption of man through the Lord Jesus Christ and that means all books of the Bible bring about a teaching about Christ.  Below are three verses out of the Pentateuch which prophesied the coming of Christ.
 
(Deu 18:18 KJV) I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
 
(Gen 49:10 KJV) The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
 
(Num 24:17 KJV) I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
 
John 5:47 (KJB)
But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
 
Basically Jesus is asking them, if you do not believe the written word of God, then how will you believe the living word of God which stands before you. Since they could not recognize Him, He was a total stranger to them. Moses was inferior to the Lord Jesus Christ because he was only a mortal but he was saved and wrote the first five books of the Bible plus Psalm 90. The Jews had placed Moses above everything else even though they were ignorant of the Scriptures that Moses penned under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures Moses penned were not studied as they should have been but the name Moses was used as a sword to use against the people to make them obey the leaders according to their wishes. This happens today in many churches. Pastors use the Bible as a weapon against the people instead of a book to grow the people and increase their knowledge of God. It falls under pastoral abuse.

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