Jesus spoke firmly to a crowd of religious leaders who contested his connection with God the Father. He said, You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
A person can study the Bible for years and not know Jesus. I’ve met many who do so. Students and professors when I took graduate classes in religious studies, tour guides steeped in biblical history, friends familiar with the teachings of Jesus, and even pastors who refuse to believe all that Jesus claimed.
The words in the text are not magical. No incantation summons up Jesus. Rather, the illumination of the Holy Spirit reveals the teachings of Jesus to our minds and hearts.
To know and understand the Scriptures, I need the Holy Spirit as my guide. I pray, Holy Spirit, open my eyes and show me wonderful things from your law. I lean into impressions as I read. I jot down thoughts. I dive in hoping to discover more about the Lord and myself. The Scriptures are rich when laid open by the Holy Spirit.
It’s possible for diligent study to veer off path. I want my learning to lead me closer to the Lord rather than farther away.
John 5 in reading the Bible in 2023
Photo by Aaron Burden
So you are saying that if I listen to that “small” voice that I call the Holy Spirit I will be led at all times. I have felt that all a long but have had doubts sometimes.