For a full description of the (Y3) reading plan, see the “About” page.
- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
John 5
There is a lot of good stuff in this chapter, which makes sense because most of it is Jesus’ words, and His words are good. There were three verses in particular, however, that hit me this morning.
John 5:24
“Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.” That is the essence of God’s good news, His Gospel, to us. Jesus is our escape from God’s judgment. It’s that simple. And it’s that amazing.
John 5:30b
“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.” How do we discern if our actions are good or evil? We get super honest with ourselves and figure out who we are doing them for. Most humans do pretty much everything with some kind of underlying personal agenda. We do things because we want to; because we enjoy them or stand to gain something from them. Often, we do even seemingly selfless things either looking for the accolades that tend to come with such acts or attempting to alleviate some sense of guilt or obligation.
I’m not saying that just because we want to do something means it is a bad thing to do. Quite the contrary. The goal, after all, is to grow to want the things God wants. As with everything, though, it is the focus that counts. Truly selfless acts consider neither the cost nor the benefit to self. When we do things because they are the right thing to do, because we can love God and love people by them, then, perhaps, we are becoming just a little more like Jesus.
John 5:39-40
“You pore 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.” This ties into the previous two verses. Together with verse 24, it tells us that we need to be careful where we put our hope. Jesus is the one who gives us life, not the things associated with Him. When we then connect all of that with verse 30, we see that those religious acts we do in order to be a good person are centered not on God but on self. Even pouring over Scriptures, which should be an act of seeking God, becomes an act of seeking self-righteousness. Not good!