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Daily Devotions

John

John 
Day 
Day 79

An appeal to reason

Text: John 5:16-47

AN APPEAL TO REASON

Jesus obviously appealed to reason as He spoke to The Jews! He knew their prejudices! He knew their murderous ways too! They had a very fixed mindset! Their understanding of religion was cast in stone! Nevertheless, Jesus appealed to the sense of reason! Would they listen?

He had given two other witnesses, apart from His own testimony. He had appealed to John the Baptizer as a witness. He had gone on to speak about His works as a witness too! Would reason prevail?

4. GOD THE FATHER AS A WITNESS

Jesus must have absolutely astonished His hearers as He uttered the next few words.

“And the Father Himself, who sent Me,
Has testified of Me.
You have neither heard His voice at any time,
Nor seen His form.”
John 5:37

Imagine calling upon God as a witness! How could anyone do that? How could Jesus say that? What did He mean by that?

In the ordinary sense of the word, this appeal would amount to very little. It is all too easy to say that God is a witness. The problem is how to demonstrate that God is a witness. Nevertheless, Jesus spoke very clearly and deliberately spoke of God as His witness!

Did Jesus have in mind what He had experienced not so long ago? At His baptism, His Father had caused His voice to be heard.

“You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Luke 3:22

Yes, His Father had testified of Him, as His beloved Son. He was well pleased with a Son who did His bidding. He was well pleased with the way in which Jesus conducted Himself and lived out His life on earth!

Jesus had more than just that one-off incident of God speaking to Him at His baptism! He was in close and constant communion with His Father! What did the Jews know of God the Father anyway? They have never had the privilege of God speaking to them. They had never been blessed with seeing His form either!

As we read these words, we are surely reminded of the time when Moses asked to see the glory of God (Exodus 33:18). Moses had heard God’s voice. He was privileged indeed, for God communed with him closely.

Moses went on to ask if He could see God’s glory. What he really meant was that he wanted to see God face to face. Moses recorded carefully what God said to him.

“I will make all My goodness pass before you,
and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you…
But He said,
‘You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me,and live.’
And the Lord said,
‘Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.
So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you
In the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand
While I pass by. Then I will take away My hand,
And you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.'”
Exodus 33:19-33

The Jews could scarcely be compared to Moses in any way! Moses was an outstanding servant of God in every sense of the word. It was because of his faithfulness to God that he was allowed to have this special glimpse of God! Could The Jews understand what Jesus meant when He spoke of God being His witness? Probably not. Jesus went on to say to The Jews,

“But you do not have His word abiding in you,
because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.”
John 5:38

Did The Jews at least have God’s Word abiding in their hearts? They certainly didn’t have the privilege of knowing God in the same way as Moses knew Him. But they had been given the word of God. Did they at least treasure the word of God given to them? The Jews were so privileged! We are reminded of what the Apostle Paul wrote concerning the Jews in general.

“My country-men according to the flesh,
Who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption,
The glory, the covenants, the giving of the law,
The service of God, and the promises…
But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect.
For they are not all Israel who are of Israel.”
Romans 9:3-4, 6

God had given to Israel His Word. If people had truly regarded His Word seriously, then they would have hidden what God had said in their hearts. They would then have recognized that God had indeed sent Jesus as the Messiah.

However, they did not believe in Jesus at all. They had rejected Him. They had persecuted Him and had even sought to kill Him! The Apostle Paul was right when he wrote and commented, that “they are not all Israel who are of Israel”. They may have been physical descendants of Abraham, but they were not the true sons of Abraham.

The rejection of Jesus had most serious implications! It meant that The Jews had also in fact rejected the witness of God the Father! How do you see Jesus?