Hey. So I’m out of food. Well, not because I don’t have money but because I’ve had no time to do grocery shopping.

“That was harsh!” these are the words that came out of my mouth after reading John 5 today. I had never noticed it before, but Jesus is “cru” (French for “raw”) with the truth, he tells it “raw”, without polishing it or serving it with some “but…” or “you know…” The context is that Jesus healed a man who had been ill for 38 years on the sabbath (0bviously!) and the Jews were not happy with that and the fact that Jesus called God His own Father, so making Himself equal to God. Here’s a portion of John 5.

You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light. I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has Himself testified concerning me. YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD HIS VOICE NOR SEEN HIS FORM, NOR DOES HIS WORD DWELL IN YOU, FOR YOU DO NOT BELIEVE THE ONE HE SENT. YOU DILIGENTLY STUDY THE SCRIPTURES BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT BY THEM YOU POSSESS ETERNAL LIFE. THESE ARE THE SCRIPTURES THAT TESTIFY ABOUT ME, YET YOU REFUSE TO COME TO ME TO HAVE LIFE.

Harsh. It seems to me that by saying this, Jesus implies that He has heard and seen the Father. Plus, Jesus tells them that the Word of God DOES NOT dwell in them because they do not believe in Him. It does not matter that they THINK they can find eternal life by the Word of God, they remain blind to Its truth, pointing to Jesus as Messiah and God. It must have been hard for the people to hear that. They probably became even more enraged. Well, I haven’t read chapter 6, well I have but it’s been a while.

It can be touchy to deal with people who read the Bible, use its texts, claim it to be the Word of God, but don’t see Jesus as the Messiah. Sometimes people say that the Jews and the Christians make no sense because they use the same Book but don’t believe the same things. It does sound as if again you can interpret the Bible in many different ways and there’s no ultimate truth. People can easily think that. BUT. Jesus says that one can read and preach and teach the Bible and think to be on the right path. As long as one doesn’t believe in Jesus as Messiah and God, that’s wrong thinking.

Any religiosity and piety means nothing without Jesus as your Savior, Jesus, Son of God.