John 5:19-40 Judgement and Life

Observation: Jesus is in the middle of an argument with the religious authorities after healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. Jesus turns the conversation to his connection with his Father. While they follow the letter of the law, Jesus does what he sees his Father doing. Jesus says his Father has given judgment into his own hands. As the Father gives life, Jesus can also give life. A line that jumped out for me was "You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they who testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life."

Application: For too long, Christians have made an idol out of the Bible.

We have the Reformation to thank for the idea of "sola scriptura," that scripture alone is the ultimate authority for what we believe and teach. At its heart, this is a good idea, because it keeps us from being led astray by the whims and attitudes of  human leaders. It is good to have a high view of scripture as God's inspired word.

But it's important to remember that scripture gains its authority from Christ, not the other way around.  Too often we treat the Bible like a comprehensive rule book, as with the memorable but terribly misguided acronym, "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth." That's not what the Bible is at all. The Bible is not just a list of do's and don'ts. It's a witness to God's loving action in the world. Luther called it "the cradle in which the Christ child is found." I've said this hundreds of times, but it bears repeating: We don't worship Jesus because he's the star of the Bible. We read and cherish the Bible because we already have a life-giving relationship with Jesus. Scripture is a great place to find him, but it isn't the only one. 

Like the religious authorities of Jesus' day, we sometimes search the scriptures as though they are the only place where life can be found. And when we do that, we may find ourselves blind to other places out in the world where Jesus is at work, giving life. If we can't see him outside those pages, the true message of scripture isn't getting to us to begin with.

Prayer: Jesus, help us to find you not only in the text of the Bible, but in the text of our neighbor, our community, our world. Let us find you and trust in you there as well. Amen.