Your Accuser is Moses . .
.
"But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set." (John 5:45-46)
Jesus has just
healed a crippled man beside the pool of Bethesda (John
5:1-15). Such a miracle certainly cannot be hidden,
and before long, the Jewish leaders begin their
interrogation: "It is the Sabbath; the law
forbids you to carry your mat . . . Who is this fellow who
told you to pick it up and walk?" (John 5:10,12)
Then comes their criticism: "So, because Jesus was
doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted
him." (John 5:16-17)
And Jesus' response? "But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?" (John 5:45-47)
These men were the
Bible scholars of the day. They knew all there was
to know ABOUT the Scriptures. Yet they didn't know
the Author of the Scriptures. If they had of known
Him, they would have recognized Jesus! And since
they did not believe what their beloved Moses wrote, how
could they be expected to believe what Jesus Himself said?
This is religion, my
friends! Religion studies the Word of God without
getting to know the Author. Religion knows all there
is to know about God, but is so swept up in its
pre-conceived ideas, that when God does manifest
Himself, they don't even recognize that it is God!
We are no better
than the religious leaders of Jesus' day, my friends!
They HAD Jesus, but refused to see that He was the Son of
God. With their OWN eyes they saw His miracles, yet
they accused Him of doing them in the name of the devil.
We, too, can HAVE Jesus today, for He says: "Here
I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my
voice and opens the door, I will come in
and eat with him, and he with me."
(Rev 3:20). We can also experience His miracles!
Yet so many times you hear people deny the power of God.
Attributing His miracles to "chance", to "science", to "it
would have happened anyway", and worse, "It's of the
devil!"
No, Perhaps 2000
years HAVE passed by, but religion has not changed, and it
continues to ensnare and blind those that Jesus came to
set free. What would Jesus say to us today?
Would He say: "Your accuser is Moses, on whom your
hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe
me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe
what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?"
Or, perhaps His
message for us is a bit stronger: "You say, 'I am
rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But
you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor,
blind and naked." (Rev 3:17-18) and "because you
are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you
out of my mouth." (Rev 3:16-17)
Jesus is still real,
my friends! He still walks among us! He has
not changed! (Heb 13:8: "Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday and today and forever.") But we still
can! We do not need to fall into the same traps that
ensnared the Jewish leaders in Jesus' day! We can
get to know God personally, rather than simply reading
about Him. We can learn to watch for where He is at
work. We can learn to listen to His quiet voice.
We can put our faith in a God who is still alive and at
work in the world today. We can believe His
miracles. Then, at the judgment day, Moses will not
have to testify against us.
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart,
Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets (
www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org ,