Thursday 26 March 2009
- Bible Book:
- John
"You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf." (v.39)
Background
The Gospel of John contains some of the most memorable sayingsof Jesus and some of the best stories. Stories told about Jesus andstories told by Jesus. It was the last of the Gospels to be writtenand is therefore more reflective, in many ways, than the previousthree (Matthew, Mark and Luke). But this Gospel, which manydescribe as the 'spiritual Gospel', also has tedious complicatedreflections about Jesus and his work.
This passage makes tough reading. It refers to the argument duringthe life of Jesus and throughout the early centuries of theChristian era as people struggle to understand the importance ofJesus.
Some professed to a life-changing connection with the carpenter ofGalilee. It led them to identify Jesus as the promised specialservant who uniquely reveals the nature of God. These becamefollowers of the new Christian faith. Some denied that connectionupon hearing the witnesses and came to a very different conclusion.But both groups - the Jews and the Christians - claimed theScriptures of ancient Israel (the Law, the prophets and thewritings) as witness to their conclusion.
To Ponder
In matters of faith, what would you regard ascompelling evidence to the truth?
How important is it to you to live a life basedon faith?
What place do you sense there is in our modernworld for debate and discussion around matters of faith?