John 5:30-47 - Jared Skitt

A while back, I was in Pennsylvania, where I

grew up, and I was driving somewhere, and I had

the GPS on, because it had been a little bit,

and it was telling me to go a certain way. But

I remember thinking, nah, I know these roads.

I grew up here. I know the back roads to the

main roads, and I know all the shortcuts. And

see, there's this special kind of confidence

that comes when you're driving roads you knew

before Google Maps existed. before MapQuest existed,

back when you had to open the Atlas or fold open

the map and drive. And see, I knew the turns,

I knew the shortcuts, I knew the back roads,

or at least I thought I did. See, what I didn't

know was that some road work was being done,

and the road that I wanted to be on was closed.

And the alternative road that I knew was actually

being totally rerouted to a different direction.

Keep in mind, this is Pennsylvania, where there's

more than one road to get to where you're going.

Like, if it's closed, go into Anchorage. Sorry.

This was like, there's like 15 directions that

you can get to the same place. And I think I

tried 14 of them. And all of the, something was

up, and I was like, what in the world is going

on? And the whole time, my map's like, rerouting,

rerouting. It was basically saying, hey, idiot,

why don't you follow what I'm trying to tell

you to do? Because I can tell you that these

are all closed. So it didn't work out. And the

map kept trying to redirect me. But I didn't

want to listen because I trusted what I thought

I knew more than the direction I was being given.

See, there's lost because you don't know the

way. And then there's lost because you're convinced

that you already do know the way. And that's

where we are in John chapter 5. See, if you remember

John 5 · chapter mention

back to last week, Jesus in John chapter 5 is

John 5 · chapter mention

talking to these religious leaders. These are

the Pharisees, the Sadducees, some of them who

are in training. Scripture doesn't tell us exactly

which group, but these are the people that they

know the roads. They know the lay of the land.

They know God's word. They had the scriptures.

They had Moses, their categories, their rules,

religious training, their expectations. But Jesus

is directly confronting what they thought they

knew. And near the center of the passage, Jesus

says this in John chapter 5, verse 39 and 40.

John 5:39

You pour over the scriptures because you think

you have eternal life in them. and yet they testify

about me, but you are not willing to come to

me so that you might have life. See, guys, last

week we were in John chapter 5, verse 19 through

John 5:19–29

29, and the big idea, the call, was look to Jesus.

If you remember these little white bracelets,

the reminder to look to Jesus, that's actually

part of the mission of our kids program, Radiant

Kids, is to have Christ -centered kids that look

to Jesus. But that's beyond just for our kids.

That's a call that we all have is look to Jesus.

And so this week, as we continue, we're still

going to look to Jesus. But now Jesus presses

us to take the next step. As we look to him,

we see the son who gives life. And the son says,

come to me. so that you may have life. So the

big idea this morning, it's simple. Come to Jesus.

We're going to walk through the passage in three

movements. First, we're going to look at these

witnesses that point to Jesus. Second, we're

going to see how the scriptures testify about

Jesus. And third, we're going to see that the

heart must come to Jesus. But before we do that,

You're not here just to hear my words. We're

here for God's words. So let's pray and let's

ask that the Lord would guide our hearts and

our minds as we open his word. Heavenly Father,

we praise you because you are so worthy of all

honor, of all praise, of all glory, of all dominion.

Lord, as we open your word this morning, I just

pray that you would be at work in my heart, in

the hearts of everyone that's here this morning.

Lord, help us to focus on what it is that you

are saying. Lord, if there are things that have

our focus, other things that we are looking to

right now, I pray that you would help us to turn

our eyes to you. Turn our eyes to Jesus. Lord,

we thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen. So I mentioned

these three movements. We're going to look verse

by verse, and we're going to start with John

John 5:30

chapter 5, verse 30. So when we look at what

is being said, we want to make sure that we're

being faithful to the text. We're not reading

things into it. That's called fancy term eisegesis.

We want to do something called exegesis, which

is look at the text and let God's word be the

one that speaks. So we're going to go verse by

verse. So chapter 5, verse 30, it says, I can

do nothing on my own. I judge only as I hear,

and my judgment is just, because I do not seek

my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

Now, depending on what Bible you have, our book

of John doesn't have this, but you might see

these letters in red. And that means these are

words that Jesus is saying. And even if your

Bible doesn't have something in red, these are

words that Jesus is saying. So when he says,

I can do nothing on my own. I judge only as I

hear, and my judgment is just. Don't hear, oh,

the pastor saying he's going to judge. No, this

is Jesus's words. So we want to focus. on him.

See, Jesus is saying he's not acting independently

from the Father. He's not building out his own

platform. He's not chasing his own agenda. He's

not seeking his own will apart from the Father.

And so some of this comes back into the verses

that we were just coming through. Kind of seems

a little bit abrupt that we're jumping in and

saying, I can do nothing of my own on my own.

I judge only as I hear. This is in relation to

what Jesus has been saying to these religious

teachers. Back earlier in chapter 5, there was

this man who was... by a pool and this angel

would come and would stir up these waters and

the first person to get in and touch it would

be healed. This man was 38 years in this paralysis

and he's standing there and Jesus comes and he

heals him. And the religious leaders are like,

what's going on here? What's going on? By whose

power are you doing this? You did this on the

Sabbath. And they start looking at the law and

they start questioning Jesus. And so Jesus has

been talking to this religious leader. So this

is the continuation. And Jesus is saying, guys,

I'm not here to build my own platform, chase

my own agenda, seek my own will apart from the

Father. He says his judgment is just because

he seeks the will of his Father who sent him.

Now, back in verse 18, John tells us why these

religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus. So if

you look back in John chapter 5, Back to verse

John 5 · chapter mention

18, it says this, this is why the Jews began

trying all the more to kill him. Not only was

he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling

God his own father and making himself equal to

God. But this doesn't scare Jesus off. He doesn't

back away from this. He doesn't soften his claim

of who he is. Instead, he shows that the Father

and the Son are not divided. The son does what

he sees the father doing. The father gives life,

the son gives life. The father judges and he

is entrusted judgment to the son. So if these

leaders reject Jesus, they're not defending the

father, defending God. They're actually rejecting

the one that the father sent. And Jesus is walking

them through and confronting this. So then when

we look at verses 31 and 32. It says this, if

I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.

There is another who testifies about me, and

I know that the testimony he gives about me is

true. Jesus is not saying here like, hey guys,

my words are false, so you need to hear from

somebody else. He's actually speaking in legal

terms that these religious leaders would have

understood. Because back in Deuteronomy, in the

law, a claim was established as truth by two

or more witnesses. So Jesus is saying, look,

it's not just me saying this. You want testimony?

God has given you testimony, and I'm going to,

within the structure of the law, actually provide

the witnesses. So this isn't just me saying this.

And so he begins to lay out these witnesses.

So first, he says how John the Baptist bore witness.

So if we look back at John chapter 1 verse 29,

John 1:29

John the Baptist said, here is the Lamb of God

who takes away the sin of the world. And then

in verse 1, chapter 1 verse 34, he says, I've

seen and testified that this is the Son of God.

So if we come back to John chapter 5 and we look

John 5 · chapter mention

at verse 33, he says, you sent messengers to

John and he testified to the truth. This is what

John was saying. Here is the Lamb of God who

takes away the sin of the world. I have seen

and testified this is the Son of God. See, John

was a witness, but John was not the destination.

John was not the Messiah. And we've gone through

the chapters where there's people coming and

they're asking, and John's like, guys, no, it

is Jesus. He is the focus. So John was a witness,

but John wasn't the destination. And then we

see in John chapter 5, Verse 35, Jesus says,

John 5:35

John was a burning and shining lamp, and you

were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

See, John was a lamp, but Jesus is the light.

Jesus calls John a lamp on purpose. Actually,

the word that he uses there matches the same

Greek word that would be used in the Sorry, guys.

Psalm 132, verse 17. This is a passage that these

Psalms 132:17

religious leaders would have been pretty familiar

with because it was talking about the coming

Messiah. So Psalm 132, 17, and if you only have

your book of John, it'll be up here on the screen

behind me. Psalm 132, 17, it says, there I will

make a horn grow for David. I've prepared a lamp

for my anointed one. See, in Psalm 132, it's

looking. towards God's promise to David, toward

the coming king, the anointed one. So when Jesus

calls John a lamp, he's not making John the Messiah.

He is showing John's role as a witness. And he's

actually specifically using language that would

have registered with these leaders. And that's

why John could say in John chapter 3, verse 30,

John 3:30

He must increase. Jesus must increase, but I

must decrease. Because John was a lamp that points

to Jesus. John wasn't trying to get glory for

himself. John the Baptist's whole ministry was

meant to say, look there, look to him. He is

the one. So John was pointing to Jesus. But what's

really interesting here is as Jesus is referencing

John as a witness, He's actually also extending

grace and mercy. So John chapter 5 verse 34,

John 5:34

he says, I don't receive human testimony, but

I say these things so that you may be saved.

So Jesus is actually saying, I don't need John's

endorsement. I don't need the endorsement of

man. But he brings up John's witness for the

religious leader's sake because it said for a

while they rejoiced in the light of John's message

about the Messiah. So even in confrontation here,

Jesus is actually being merciful. He's exposing

their unbelief, but he's also giving them the

testimony that leads to life. Testimony that

they rejoiced in this light as John the Baptist

was saying, the Messiah is coming. The religious

leaders are like, oh yeah, listen to this dude.

And then now they're like, oh, but maybe not

this Jesus guy. Like he doesn't quite fit the

mold of what we view as the Messiah. So Jesus

is being merciful. He's saying, look, guys, you

don't believe, but here's this testimony that

leads to life. You rejoice in John's light. I

am the one. So first John bore witness, and then

we see that the works of Jesus. their witness.

So Jesus is bringing up now a second witness.

So John chapter 5 verse 36. Jesus says, but I

John 5:36

have a greater testimony than John's because

of the works that the Father has given me to

accomplish. These very works I am doing testify

about me that the Father has sent me. See, the

works of Jesus testify about Jesus. See, these

signs aren't random miracles. They're not magic

tricks. They're not just displays of power. They

reveal who Jesus is. When Nicodemus came back

in chapter 3 to Jesus, he looks at him and he

says, these things you're doing, they have to

be from God. So even the religious leaders are

saying like, okay, this is not just like, you

know, the basic thing. Like, this guy's at least

a prophet because the only way he's doing these

things is if God is the one behind it. And so

Jesus is using this, is the works that the Father

has given him. And this connects back then to

what happened earlier in John chapter 5, when

John 5 · chapter mention

Jesus had healed this man who had been disabled

for 38 years. That miracle was mercy, but it

also was a witness. Jesus was not just helping

a hurting man, he was also revealing who he is.

The healing testified, this is the one sent by

the Father. This is the Son who gives life. This

is the one who has authority over brokenness.

This is the one who has authority over weakness

and sin and death. Then John, the author John,

tells us near the end of his gospel why these

signs were written down. So John chapter 20.

John 20 · chapter mention

verse 31, all the way at the end, towards the

end of the book here, John, the author says,

but these are written so that you may believe

that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and

that by believing, you may have life in his name.

See, the signs point to Jesus so that we would

believe and have life in his name. So the second

witness was the works and the signs that the

Father had given for Jesus to accomplish. Then

we get to this third. And that's the Father.

God the Father bore witness. So John chapter

John 5:37

5, verse 37 and 38. The Father who sent me has

himself testified about me. You have not heard

his voice at any time, and you have not, haven't

seen his form. You don't have his word residing

in you because you don't believe the one he sent.

Ouch. It's a hard word. See, these religious

leaders, You could say these are Bible people.

These religious leaders are men who studied,

debated, memorized, and taught the scriptures.

And Jesus says, you don't actually have God's

word residing in you. Then he tells them what

exposed it. It's because they do not believe

the one the Father sent. Jesus isn't saying,

hey, you guys don't know the Bible. You guys

have failed, and you're all terrible. It's not

what he's saying. He's saying, guys, the piece

where there's failure is that you missed the

one who all of this is pointing to. That's when

Jesus says, you don't have his word residing

in you. See, this is exactly what Jesus said

earlier in chapter 5. We saw this last week in

verse 23. Jesus said, anyone who does not honor

the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

See, you can't reject Jesus and honor God. You

cannot dismiss the Son and claim to love the

Father. The Father bears witness to the Son.

So look at what Jesus is saying. He's saying,

John the Baptist points to the Messiah. The works

point. the Messiah. The Father points to the

Messiah, and Jesus is the Messiah. See, the issue

is not that God had been unclear. The issue is

actually that they don't want the one to whom

all the witnesses point. Like turn -by -turn

directions on a map, like that GPS that I chose

not to follow. All the witnesses are actually

pointing in the same direction and to the same

destination. But These religious leaders trust

what they think they know more than the actual

direction that God has given. And at least for

me, this is where the passage kind of pressed

in on my heart a little bit. See, life's not

found in the witnesses themselves. John cannot

give life. Miracles and the works of Jesus cannot

give life. Religious experience cannot give life.

Bible knowledge cannot give life. A reputation

for being serious about God cannot give life.

Jesus gives life. So come to Jesus for life.

And as Jesus continues on, he comes to verses

39 and 40, and we see this. You pour over. the

scriptures, because you think you have eternal

life in them, and yet they testify about me.

But you are not willing to come to me so that

you may have life. See, Jesus is moving from

these initial witnesses to the scriptures, which

actually is really the fourth witness that's

here. And this is kind of the center of the passage.

If we had like a crux of this passage, I think

the verse is here. would be 39 and 40. You pour

over the scriptures because you think you have

eternal life in them, and yet they testify about

me, but you are not willing to come to me so

that you may have life. Sit with the irony here

for a minute. These men, they're not irreligious.

They're not casual pagans. They searched the

scriptures. They claimed Moses. They cared deeply.

about the law. They cared about holiness, tradition,

Sabbath, religious identity. They had or they

were working on having the first five books of

the Bible memorized and probably most of the

Psalms as well. And Jesus says, guys, you missed

the point. Not because they read too much Bible.

That's not the problem. Jesus doesn't rebuke

them for searching the Scriptures. He rebukes

them for searching the Scriptures while refusing

the one the Scriptures were written about. They

had the map in their hands. They had Google Maps

telling them exactly which direction to go, but

they would not go where the map was leading.

You can know Bible verses, and you can miss Jesus.

You can know doctrine, and you can miss Jesus.

You can know the religious words to say, the

categories, the way to act, and miss Jesus. You

can defend truth in a way that actually keeps

you from surrendering to the truth himself. See,

the scriptures testify about Jesus. That doesn't

mean that every verse is like this secret code

where we force Jesus into the text. But it means

the whole storyline of scripture moves towards

him. The scriptures testify about Jesus. The

promises throughout all of God's word point to

Jesus. The sacrifices in the Old Testament point

to the ultimate sacrifice that would be made

through Jesus on the cross. The entire priesthood

and the structure and the rules and the ritual

pointed to Jesus. The temple pointed to the work

that Jesus needed to do. The kingship points

to him. The law exposes our need for him. The

prophets anticipated him. See, the scriptures

testify about Jesus. And yet, Jesus says in verse

40, but you are not willing to come to me so

that you may have life. And that's the tragedy.

See, the problem here, it's not that there's

a lack of access. For these religious leaders,

they had scripture. The problem wasn't a lack

of religious seriousness. They had that too.

The problem is not that God failed to give enough

testimony. We have John, the works of the Father,

the works, the Father, the scriptures, they all

testified. The problem here is the will. You

are not willing. See, they searched the entire

scriptures that testified about Christ. while

refusing to come to Christ. That's where that

opening story comes back in, right? They knew

the roads and the back roads. They knew Moses.

They knew Sabbath. They knew the scriptures honestly

better than probably everyone in this room does.

They knew the categories, but the road that they

trusted in was closed. Their righteousness, righteousness

road could not give life. Their religious standing

could not reconcile them to God. Their Bible

knowledge could not become a substitute for coming

to Jesus. And guys, that same danger that these

religious leaders fell into, it's still real

for us today. I've wrestled with this myself.

See, you can use good things wrongly. We can

use scripture to avoid surrender. You can use

theology and doctrine to avoid repentance. We

can use ministry to avoid dependence on him.

We can use morality to avoid grace. We can use

Bible knowledge to avoid actually coming and

surrendering our hearts. to Jesus. So we need

to ask plainly, where am I looking for life apart

from Jesus? Am I looking to being right? Am I

looking to my politics? Am I looking to being

respected? Am I looking to being independent?

Am I looking to being needed, being seen as faithful,

being morally impressive, being the person who

knows the answer? Because none of those things

can give life. The scriptures are good. The law

is good. Doctrine is good. Ministry is good.

But none of those things are life. Because only

Jesus is life. The Bible doesn't invite us to

terminate on Bible knowledge. The Bible brings

us to Christ. So with this testimony of the scriptures,

it says, come to Jesus for life. And in verse

40, Jesus is saying, but you're not willing to

come to these religious leaders. So we come to

the third movement here is that then the heart

must come to Jesus. Because now Jesus presses

even deeper. He moves from evidence to the heart.

So when we look at verse 41 and 42 here in John

John 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5, we see, I do not accept glory from

people. but I know you, that you have no love

for God within you. See, Jesus is saying, look

guys, I'm not needy. I'm not desperate for the

approval of man. I'm not waiting for you as religious

leaders to validate me. I'm not trying to win

a popularity contest or become the most influential

rabbi in Israel. Jesus says, I don't need human

glory, but he knows what's in the hearts of these

religious leaders. So this is something that

he's saying directly to the people he's talking

to. But I think it still kind of hits home, at

least for myself today. I don't know about you

guys. He says, you have no love for God within

you. And that's a devastating thing to hear as

these religious leaders, as people who say, I

love God. These men would have, everyone else

would have looked at them and they said, oh yeah,

they're lovers of God, clearly. They knew the

scriptures, they observed the law, they guarded

tradition, they cared about Sabbath. But Jesus

says they don't have the love of God within them.

And then he shows how he knows that. Because

when we look at verse 43, John 5, 43, he says,

I have come in my father's name, and yet you

don't accept me. If someone else comes in his

own name, you will accept him. See, if they truly

loved the Father, they would receive the Son

sent by the Father, but they're rejecting him.

And then Jesus exposes the glory system that's

holding up and is underneath their unbelief.

Verse 44, he says, how can you believe since

you accept glory from one another, but don't

seek the glory that comes? from the only God.

Ouch. Because Jesus is no longer arguing with

their ideas. He's actually going directly and

exposing what their hearts love. They accept

glory from one another. They want religious credibility.

They want admiration, status. They want God.

They do. They want to know him better. But they

also want to be seen as righteous, and they want

their place protected. And when human approval

becomes your reward, the glory of God becomes

inconvenient. That's the piece, right? Jesus

is talking to these religious leaders. But that's

the piece that struck my heart this week as I

prepared. Because how often do I come to a point

where I'm like, man, I want my own glory. And

I may not say it that way, but the way that I

choose to live often does drive right into that.

And so while Jesus was speaking to these religious

leaders, man, I got a little Jesus spanking this

week as I was reading through this. Because when

human approval becomes your reward, the glory

of God becomes inconvenient. And Jesus here is

threatening the religious leader's glory system.

See, if Jesus is right, they are wrong. If Jesus

is the son, then their rejection is rebellion

towards God himself. If Jesus gives life, then

their own righteousness and fulfillment of the

law as best as they possibly could cannot. If

Jesus is the center of scripture, then their

Bible knowledge has not made them alive. If Jesus

is the true Messiah, and he is, then their expectations

have to die. And they don't want that. They would

rather keep their glory and their version of

what the Messiah should be than to come to Jesus

for life. And then Jesus goes and he brings Moses

into the conversation. See, Moses is the one

these leaders were such students of. So in verse

45, Jesus says, do not think that I will accuse

you to the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on

whom you have set your hope. That would have

landed with a little bit of force, kind of like

a kick in the pants, because they thought Moses

was on their side. Guys, Moses was their defense

attorney. Jesus is turning this around and saying,

guys, Moses is actually going to be your accuser.

I'm not even the one that's directly accusing

you here. What you say you follow is the thing

that is going to bring this accusation before

the Father. So Jesus says Moses will be their

accuser, and then Jesus explains the charge.

So John chapter 5, verses 46 and 47. For if you

John 5:46

believed Moses, you would believe me because

he wrote about me. But if you don't believe what

he wrote, how will you believe my words? See,

they had set their hope on God, but via obeying

the law that Moses had relayed. They ended up

setting their hope a bit on Moses, but Moses

wasn't ever meant to be a hiding place. for their

self -righteousness. The law reveals God's holiness

and our own unholiness. The law exposes human

sin. The law shows that we need a better mediator,

a better sacrifice, and a better righteousness.

Put simply, the law points to our own inability

to save ourselves and points to our need for

a savior. And that savior is Jesus. The religious

leaders had taken what should have exposed their

need and turned it into a platform for their

pride. They took Moses and they made him a badge.

They took the law and they made it a ladder to

try to fulfill their own righteousness. They

took scripture and used it as defense for self

-righteousness. But Moses was never meant to

terminate on Moses. Moses points forward. All

the way back in Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse

Deuteronomy 18:15

15, Moses says this, The Lord your God will raise

up for you a prophet like me from among your

own brothers. You must listen to him. And then

a couple verses later, in Deuteronomy 18, verse

Deuteronomy 18:18–19

18 to 19, then the Lord says, I will raise up

for them a prophet like you from among their

brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and

he will tell them everything I command him. I

will hold accountable whoever does not listen

to my words that he speaks in my name. So when

Jesus says, if you believed Moses, you would

believe me, because he wrote about me, he's not

just grabbing some random proof text. Moses is

himself actually part of the witness. That's

witness number five now. Moses wrote about the

one they now refuse to hear. And then the Lord

speaks about him. The Passover lamb pointed forward.

The sacrifices pointed forward. The tabernacle

pointed forward. The priesthood pointed forward.

The laws exposure of sin pointed forward. Moses

wrote about Christ Jesus. So to claim Moses while

rejecting Jesus is actually to entirely misunderstand

Moses. And this is what he's telling these religious

leaders. But now the passage becomes deeply personal

because Jesus is speaking to these religious

leaders, but the human heart still does this.

My heart still does this. We want to be seen

as confident. spiritual, wise, put together,

the good parent, the faithful spouse, the dependable

friend, the strong leader, the serious Christian,

you name what it is for you. But when the approval

of people becomes our functional reward, we resist

anything that begins to threaten that image.

We resist confession because Confession hurts

the image. We resist repentance because repentance

admits need and that I can't do it myself. We

resist correction because correction feels like

humiliation. We resist grace because grace means

that I didn't earn it. And if we're honest, sometimes

we resist Jesus because Jesus doesn't come. to

admire our righteousness. He comes to replace

it with his own. Jesus doesn't say, bring me

your impressive record and I will polish it and

make sure everyone else gets to see. He says,

come to me so that you may have life. Come needy.

Come exposed. Come thirsty. Come guilty. Come

done with pretending. Come with empty hands.

This is the invitation of Jesus. See, there's

a lot of scripture. I spent some time this week

looking at all the scripture where Jesus says,

come to me. But I just want to focus on two because

these encapsulate the invitation of Jesus. Matthew

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11 and verse 28. It says, come to me,

all of you who are weary and burdened, and I

will give you rest. And then in John chapter

John 6:37

6, verse 37, he says, everyone the Father gives

will come to me, and the one who comes to me

I will never cast out. Guys, that's not an invitation

to your reputation. That's not an invitation

to your Bible knowledge, to your church attendance,

to your ministry involvement, to your role, to

your moral record. This is an invitation to Jesus

himself. Come to Jesus for life. And as we look

to Jesus, we're not looking at an idea, a symbol,

a distant teacher, or this general religious

concept. We are looking to the Son of God who

gives life. And the one we look to is the one

who says, come. So here's the question that we

have to ask, that Jesus presses to the religious

leaders, but it's the same question even now

for us today. Have you come to Christ? Have you

stopped looking to your own righteousness? Have

you stopped trying to make Jesus fit your expectations?

Have you stopped using religion to protect yourself

from surrender? Have you come to Jesus for life?

See, John 5, 30 through 47, this is often taught

as a courtroom scene. And I believe that's faithful

to the text. But Jesus is not merely just trying

to win an argument. This is not a, case closed,

you rejected me, that's it. The sentence is coming

and it's hell. See, the witnesses all testify.

John points to Jesus. The works point to Jesus.

The Father points to Jesus. Scripture points

to Jesus. Moses points to Jesus. And every single

one of those witnesses is saying the same thing.

Life is not found in the witness. Life is found

in the one they are the witness to. John chapter

John 5:40

5, verse 40. Jesus says to the religious leaders,

but you are not willing to come to me so that

you may have life. So this invitation is for

everyone. It's just the same as it was for the

religious leaders Jesus was speaking to then.

Come to him. If you don't know Christ, come to

Jesus for life. Not after you clean yourself

up. Not after you understand everything. Not

after you become religious enough. Not after

you prove you're serious. Come to him now. Come

guilty. Come needy. Come exposed and empty -handed.

See, Jesus, he doesn't need people who have life

figured out. He invites sinners who need life

from him. He says, come to me. all of you who

are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

And he promises, everyone the Father gives me

will come to me, and the one who comes I will

never cast out. So let's stop looking to our

own goodness. Let's stop looking to our own record.

Stop looking to your own excuses. You can't make

yourself right with God. Come to Jesus because

he is the son sent by the father. He is the lamb

of God who takes away the sins of the world.

He's the one Moses wrote about. He's the one

scriptures testify about. He's the one who died

and rose again so sinners could have life in

his name. Come to Jesus for life. And if you

do know Christ, If you say, Jesus is my Lord

and Savior, I have come to Jesus. Coming to Jesus

is not only the beginning of salvation, it's

also the shape of discipleship. We come to him

with the places that we're pretending, and we

continue to submit those before him. We keep

coming to Jesus. The places where we're striving.

The places where we're defending ourselves. The

places where we're trying to earn what Christ

has already given. The places where we're seeking

the approval of people more than we are seeking

the glory of God. Becoming Christ -like is not

moving past Jesus because we made a one -time

decision to come to him. It is learning to keep

on coming to him. It's learning to bring more

of ourselves to Jesus, to bring our sin, our

shame, our ambition. our weakness, our ministry,

our relationships, our marriage, our parenting,

our work, our fears, our anxiety, our need for

approval. Guys, there's so much more that we

need to surrender at the feet of Jesus. And when

we look to Jesus and come to him with all of

it, Jesus doesn't merely show us the way to life.

He says, I am life. So look to Jesus and come

to Jesus. for life. Let's pray. God, you are

so good. You have given us your Son, Jesus Christ,

who came as the perfect sacrifice, the fulfillment

of the law, to do a work that we could not do,

to live a life that we could not live free of

sin. to be beaten, to be nailed to the cross,

to bear the sins of the world, to have died,

to have been buried, and to have risen again.

Thank you for the shed blood of Jesus. Thank

you for the call to come to you for life. Lord,

I pray that we would be willing. We would be

willing to look to Jesus to come to him for life.

You are good. We thank you so much for that free

and wonderful gift. We pray this all in Jesus'

name. Amen.