John 5:45 Commentary and Bible Study

We could look at many Old Testament passages that warned Israel of the danger of unbelief. Psalm 14 says, ‘The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.’ It is an absolutely universal statement. They are all gone aside, Jew and Gentile. Of course, there were saved people, among the Jews particularly, but generally speaking, ‘they are all gone aside’, the whole human race. ‘Haven’t you ever read that?’, the Lord might well have said to the Jewish leaders. Then there is Isaiah 53: ‘He was wounded for our transgressions.’ Here is Isaiah preaching to Jews. He is speaking of the coming suffering servant of God, the Messiah. ‘Why was he was bruised for our iniquities, and why are we healed with his stripes’, people may have asked. Because ‘all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.’ How can you read these things, the Lord may well have said to those Jewish leaders, and not realise that the Jews are not in the position that they already have reconciliation with God? Here Christ says, ‘There is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.’ There are so many references in the books of Moses but Deuteronomy 29 and 30 are a clear example. ‘You do not understand and you never have understood. You have got to be personally forgiven. You have got to be personally changed and have new life. You have got to be saved and have circumcision of your heart.’