Search for Scripture

John 5:39 — In his sermon on John 5:39 titled “Search for Scripture,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones unfolds the fourth witness to Jesus: the Scripture. The Jews thoroughly searched the Scripture and claimed to know the Scripture, and the leaders of the Jews thought themselves to be the teachers of the Scripture. In the Scripture, they thought they possessed eternal life. They even believed that just because they possessed the Scriptures, as opposed to the Gentiles, they were set apart to eternal life. The prejudice and misinterpretation of the Scripture by the Jews dripped with hypocrisy. In providing more testimony to validate His claims, Jesus stated that the Scriptures testified about Him. The entire Old Testament pointed to Jesus through either direct prediction or preparation. Scripture validated His person, work, and identity. The Jews possessed a knowledge of Scripture, but one that led ultimately to self-deception. They held the Scripture at arms-length and imported their own ideas into Scripture instead of studying to determine what was really proclaimed, namely Jesus. The listener is encouraged to ask themselves: “Is this you? Have you engaged Scripture and think you know it all, yet you are deceived? Has the Scripture led you to Jesus and His redeeming work on the cross for your sins?” If not, they may well be self-deceived which will lead to eternal destruction.