John 5:46

Let him he patient and gentle in his admonitions, well instructed himself, meditating in and diligently studying the Lord's books, and reading them frequently, that so he may be able carefully to interpret the Scriptures, expounding the Gospel in correspondence with the prophets and with the law; and let the expositions from the law and the prophets correspond to the Gospel. For the Lord Jesus says: "Search the Scriptures; for they are those which testify of me." And again: "For Moses wrote of me." But, above all, let him carefully distinguish between the original law and the additional precepts, and show which are the laws for believers, and which the bonds for the unbelievers, lest any should fall under those bonds.

If, then, those who were conversant with the ancient Scriptures came to newness of hope, expecting the coming of Christ, as the Lord teaches us when He says, "If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me; " and again, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad; for before Abraham was, I am; " how shall we be able to live without Him? The prophets were His servants, and foresaw Him by the Spirit, and waited for Him as their Teacher, and expected Him as their Lord and Saviour, saying, "He will come and save us." Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days of idleness; for "he that does not work, let him not eat."

Having said that the Jews would be accused by the all-wise Moses, and would undergo indictment at his hands for their unbelief in Him; He profitably subjoins these things also, teaching that He was not finding fault with them for nothing, or otherwise repudiating the suspicion of being given to railing, for it is evident that He is making no untrue speech. Be it then (saith He) that ye reject My words, I will bear with not being believed: receive your own Moses, give credence to him whom ye admire, and ye shall know of a surety Him whom not knowing ye dishonour. Break off your types which travail with the truth. For I am shadowed out in his books. Therefore will Moses himself also accuse you (saith He) when he seeth you disbelieving his writings about Me. We ought then perhaps having interpreted what is before us, to proceed in order, committing it to sincere lovers of learning to investigate the images of Christ through Moses. For his books are full of passages, and there is much said by him, yet full of difficulty to understand and replete with exceeding subtle and hidden meanings. But lest we seem to let indolence have the mastery over us, and unreasonably to shirk so glorious a toil, by simply clothing with difficulty the books of Moses, we will apply ourselves to this too, knowing what is written, The Lord will give utterance to them who evangelize with much power. But since there are, as we have said, many words on these things, and since the all-wise Moses hath through many forms foretypified the Mystery of Christ, we shall not deem it necessary to heap up a great multitude before our readers, but having chosen one out of the whole number, we will essay to make clear proof that the Word of our Saviour was true, which He spake to the Jews, saying, If ye had believed Moses, ye would have believed Me, for of Me he wrote. CHAPTER III. […]

(Hom. xli. 2) Indeed had they attended to His words, they ought and would have tried to learn from Him, what the things were which Moses had written of Him. But they are silent. For it is the nature of wickedness to defy persuasion. Do what you will, it retains its venom to the last.

(Hom. xli. 2) For I am not come to condemn, but to save. There is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom you trust. As He had said of the Scriptures above: In them ye think ye have eternal life. So now of Moses He says, In whom ye trust, always answering them out of their authorities. But they will say, How will he accuse us? What hast Thou to do with Moses, Thou who hast broken the sabbath? So He adds: For had ye believed Moses, ye would perhaps have believed Me, for he wrote of me, This is connected with what was said before. For where evidence that He came from God had been forced upon them by His words, by the voice of John, and the testimony of the Father, it was certain that Moses would condemn them; (alluding to Deut. 13:1.) for he had said, If any one shall come, doing miracles, leading men to God, and foretelling the future with certainty, you must obey him. Christ did all this, and they did not obey Him.

That the Scriptures testified of Him He declared, but where they testify He added not; desiring to inspire them with greater awe, and to prompt them to search, and to reduce them to the necessity of questioning. For had He told them readily and without their questioning, they would have rejected the testimony; but now, if they gave any heed to His words, they needed first of all to ask, and learn from Him what that testimony was. On this account He dealeth the more largely in assertions and threats, not in proofs only, that even so He may bring them over by fear of what He saith; but they even so were silent. Such a thing is wickedness; whatsoever a man say or do it is not stirred to move, but remaineth keeping its peculiar venom.

"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words?" What He saith is of this kind: "It is Moses who has been insulted more than I by your conduct towards Me, for ye have disbelieved him rather than Me." See how in every way He hath cast them out from all excuse. "Ye said that ye loved God when ye persecuted Me; I have shown that ye did so from hatred of Him: ye say that I break the Sabbath and annul the Law; I have rid Me of this slander also: ye maintain that ye believe in Moses by what ye dare to do against Me; I on the contrary show that this is most to disbelieve in Moses; for so far am I from opposing the Law, that he who shall accuse you is none other than the man who gave you the Law." As then He said of the Scriptures, in which "ye think ye have eternal life," so of Moses also He saith, "in whom ye trust"; everywhere conquering them by their own weapons.

To whom it is said that they have Moses and the prophets. But he says: "They will not believe, unless someone rises from the dead." To whom it is immediately answered: "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe even if someone rises from the dead." Certainly the Truth says of Moses: "If you believed Moses, you would certainly believe me also. For he wrote of me." Therefore what is said through Abraham's response is fulfilled. For the Lord rose from the dead, but that Jewish people, because they were unwilling to believe Moses, also scorned to believe him who rose from the dead. And since they scorned to understand the words of Moses spiritually, they did not come to him of whom Moses had spoken.

Perhaps, He says, in accommodation to our way of speaking, not because there is really any doubting in God. Moses prophesied of Christ, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up from among your brethren like unto me: Him shall ye hear. (Deut. 18:18)

"For if you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me also: perhaps" is a mark of freedom: and truly me: "for he wrote of me": Deuteronomy eighteen: "The Lord will raise up a prophet for you from your nation: you shall hear him, just as …

He presents the reason for this opposition when he says: If you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me as well, as is clear from "The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for you, from your nation and your brothers; he will be …

The Cure at the Pool of Bethesda. 1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.

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For had ye believed Moses,....

He wrote of me - For instance, in reciting the prophecy of Jacob, Gen 49:10. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. And in Deu 18:18: I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, etc. Confer this with Act 3:22, and Act 7:

This passage concludes our Lord Jesus Christ's wondrous defense of His own divine mission. It is a conclusion worthy of the defense, full of heart-searching appeals to the consciences of His enemies, and rich in deep truths. A mighty sermon is followed by a mighty application. Let us mark, in this passage, the reason why many souls are lost. The Lord Jesus says to the unbelieving Jews—"You will not come to me that you might have life." These words are a golden sentence, which ought to be engraved in our memories, and treasured up in our minds.

if another shall come, &c.--How strikingly has this been verified in the history of the Jews! "From the time of the true Christ to our time, sixty-four false Christs have been reckoned by whom they have been deceived" [BENGEL].

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This passage concludes our Lord Jesus Christ's wondrous defense of His own divine mission. It is a conclusion worthy of the defense, full of heart-searching appeals to the consciences of His enemies, and rich in deep truths. A mighty sermon is followed by a mighty application. Let us mark, in this passage, the reason why many souls are lost. The Lord Jesus says to the unbelieving Jews—"You will not come to me that you might have life." These words are a golden sentence, which ought to be engraved in our memories, and treasured up in our minds. It is lack of will to come to Christ for salvation that will be found, at last, to have shut the many out of heaven. It is not men's sins. All manner of sin may be forgiven. It is not any decree of God. We are not told in the Bible of any whom God has only created to be destroyed. It is not any limit in Christ's work of redemption. He has paid a price sufficient for all mankind. It is something far more than this. It is man's own innate unwillingness to come to Christ, repent, and believe. Either from pride, or laziness, or love of sin, or love of the world, the many have no mind, or wish, or heart, or desire to seek life in Christ. "God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." (1 John 5:11.) But men stand still, and will not stir hand or foot to get life. And this is the whole reason why many of the lost are not saved. This is a painful and solemn truth, but one that we can never know too well. It contains a first principle in Christian theology. Thousands, in every age, are constantly laboring to shift the blame of their condition from off themselves. They talk of their inability to change. They tell you complacently, that they cannot help being what they are! They know, undeniably, that they are wrong, but they cannot be different! It will not do.

THE Pharisees in our Lord's day were very fond of high-sounding titles. They had their diplomas, like our modern doctors of divinity, and they took good care to pride themselves upon them. Some were called "Rab," others, "Rabbi," others, "Rabbini." They had their various degrees of respect—degrees which signified the respect due to them, and the attainments to which they had reached. In fact, they would not listen to a teacher unless he came with the title of, "Rab," or, "Rabbi," or, "Rabbini." He must be one who had about him a great air of self-importance. He must be a witness of himself and that very abundantly, too, or else the confraternity of the Scribes and Pharisees turned away from him. Now our Lord asked no testimonials from anybody. He stood up and spoke very simply, but very earnestly, the Truth of God and He did not quote, as these old Rabbis did, authors far gone back, one upon another, and make glosses upon them. He took the authority derived from God and constantly said, "Verily this is the case," and, "Verily I say unto you that this other is the case." And when these mighty Scribes and Pharisees turned upon their heels and would not receive Him, He replied to them, "It was not at all likely that you would. You gentlemen are so given to complimentary phrases and to grandiloquent titles, that there was no likelihood that you would listen to a Man who came with Truth on His lips, and still further, in His heart." Perhaps there could be nothing more clear than that the position which the Scribes and Pharisees occupied was most dangerous. They were prejudiced. They considered that they had the key of knowledge.

THE Pharisees in our Lord's day were very fond of high-sounding titles. They had their diplomas, like our modern doctors of divinity, and they took good care to pride themselves upon them. Some were called "Rab," others, "Rabbi," others, "Rabbini." They had their various degrees of respect—degrees which signified the respect due to them, and the attainments to which they had reached. In fact, they would not listen to a teacher unless he came with the title of, "Rab," or, "Rabbi," or, "Rabbini." He must be one who had about him a great air of self-importance.