John 5:45
in John 5Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, in whom you have put your hope.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Think not that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, on whom ye have set your hope.
KJV
Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
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This verse in John 5
Commentary
16 notes on this verseHaving said that the Pharisees cared more to live vain-gloriously than piously, and having taught that hence they turned aside to unmeasured unbelief, He says that they were accused by Moses himself, of whom it was their custom to boast very vehemently. And indeed when the man who was blind from his birth once said to them of Christ, Will YE also be His disciples? immediately they cry out and say openly, THOU art His disciple, but WE are Moses disciples.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
(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.
The Medieval Church2 voices
The best way of guarding against this sin, is to bring to our consciences the remembrance, that we are dust, and should ascribe all the good that we have not to ourselves, but to God. And we should endeavour always to be such, as we wish to appear to others. Then, as they might ask, Wilt thou accuse us then to the Father? He anticipates this question: Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father.
Then (v 45), he shows that they do not have zeal for Moses. First, how Moses was against them. Secondly, he gives the reason for this opposition (v 46). As to the first he does two things. First, he rejects their false zeal; secondly, he …
10 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
Since they constantly appealed to Moses, the Lord says that he will accuse you, because he wrote about Me. Where did he write about Him? In many places. Thus the saying "The Lord will raise up a Prophet for you" referred to Christ, and many …
Here the fourth point is touched upon, namely the defect of faith among the Jews, not only for believing Christ, but also Moses: on account of which they were accused not only by Christ, but also by Moses. "Do not think that I shall accuse …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father,.... To God the Father, as the Ethiopic version reads. The Syriac and Persic versions read by way of interrogation, "do ye think that I will?" &c.
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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:91%@v1-3
The Nineteenth Century6 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Do not think that I will accuse you - Do not suppose that I intend to follow your example. They had accused Jesus of breaking the law of God, Joh 5:16. He says that he will not imitate their example, though he implies that he might accuse them. To the Father - To God. There is one that accuseth you - Moses might be said to accuse or reprove them. He wrote of the Messiah, clearly foretold his coming, and commanded them to hear him.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
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.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Do not think I will accuse you to the Father--"My errand hither is not to collect evidence to condemn you at God's bar." one that accuseth you, even Moses, &c.--"Alas! that will be too well done by another, and him the object of all your religious boastings--Moses," here put for "the Law," the basis of the Old Testament Scriptures.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
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.
Do not think that I will accuse you - You have accused me with a breach of the Sabbath, which accusation I have demonstrated to be false: I could, in return, accuse you, and substantiate the accusation, with the breach of the whole law; but this I need not do, for Moses, in whom ye trust, accuses you. You read his law, acknowledge you should obey it, and yet break it both in the letter and in the spirit. This law, therefore, accuses and condemns you. It was a maxim among the Jews that none could accuse them but Moses: the spirit of which seems to be, that only so pure and enlightened a legislator could find fault with such a noble and excellent people! For, notwithstanding their abominations, they supposed themselves the most excellent of mankind!
The words behind it
18 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Μὴ | me | Not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| δοκεῖτε | dokeite | do think | G1380 → | 62 times |
| ὅτι | hoti | that | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| ἐγὼ | ego | I myself | G1473 → | 839 times |
| κατηγορήσω | kategoreso | will accuse | G2723 → | |
| ὑμῶν | humon | you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| πρὸς | pros | to | G4314 → | 700 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πατέρα· | patera | Father; | G3962 → | 410 times |
| ἔστιν | estin | There is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ὁ | ho | [one] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κατηγορῶν | kategoron | accusing | G2723 → | |
| ὑμῶν | humon | you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| Μωϋσῆς | mouses | Moses | G3475 → | 78 times |
| εἰς | eis | in | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| ὃν | hon | whom | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ὑμεῖς | humeis | you yourselves | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| ἠλπίκατε. | elpikate | have hoped. | G1679 → |
ΜὴNot
meG3361 →1066 times
δοκεῖτεdo think
dokeiteG1380 →62 times
ὅτιthat
hotiG3754 →1292 times
ἐγὼI myself
egoG1473 →839 times
κατηγορήσωwill accuse
kategoresoG2723 →
ὑμῶνyou
humonG4771 →2973 times
πρὸςto
prosG4314 →700 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
πατέρα·Father;
pateraG3962 →410 times
ἔστινThere is
estinG1510 →2333 times
ὁ[one]
hoG3588 →19766 times
κατηγορῶνaccusing
kategoronG2723 →
ὑμῶνyou
humonG4771 →2973 times
ΜωϋσῆςMoses
mousesG3475 →78 times
εἰςin
eisG1519 →1755 times
ὃνwhom
honG3739 →1405 times
ὑμεῖςyou yourselves
humeisG4771 →2973 times
ἠλπίκατε.have hoped.
elpikateG1679 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Galatians 3:10All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 27:26
‘Cursed is he who does not put the words of this law into practice.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Romans 8:7
because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
- Romans 3:19–20
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
- Deuteronomy 11:26–28
See, today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse—
- Jeremiah 11:3
You must tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant,
- Deuteronomy 27:26
Through
Romans 2:12All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
it leads to
- Galatians 3:10
All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
- 1 Corinthians 9:21
To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law.
- Acts 17:30–31
Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.
- Galatians 3:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About John

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 5; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 3; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 41; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.
