John 5:46

For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. FOR HAD YE BELIEVED MOSES, YE WOULD HAVE BELIEVED ME, [ episteuete (G4100)] - rather, 'If ye believed Moses, ye would believe Me.' FOR HE WROTE OF ME - an important testimony, as Alford remarks, to the subject of the whole Pentateuch, "of ME....

46._For if you believed Moses, you would also believe me. _He shows why Moses will be their accuser. It is because they do not reject his doctrine. We know that it is impossible to offer a greater insult to the servants of God than when their doctrine is despised or reproached. Besides, those whom the Lord has appointed to be ministers of his word, ought to be ready to defend it against despisers; (117) and therefore, he gave to all his prophets a twofold commission, that they might teach and instruct for the salvation of believers, and that, one day, they might confound the reprobate by their testimony. _For he wrote concerning me. _When Christ says, that _Moses wrote concerning him, _this needs no long proof with those who acknowledge that Christ is the end and soul of the Law. But if any person be not satisfied with this, and desire to have the passages pointed out to him, I would adv...

45-47 Many trust in some form of doctrines or some parties, who no more enter into the real meaning of those doctrines, or the views of the persons whose names they bear, than the Jews did into those of Moses. Let us search and pray over the Scriptures, as intent on finding eternal life; let us observe how Christ is the great subject of them, and daily apply to him for the life he bestows....

Verse John 5:46. _HE WROTE OF ME._] For instance, in reciting the prophecy of Jacob, Genesis 49:10. _The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from_ _between his feet, until SHILOH come; and unto him shall the_ _gathering of the people be_. And in Deuteronomy 18:18: _I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like_ _unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth_, c. Confer this with Acts 3:22, and Acts 7:37. Besides, Moses pointed out the Messiah in a multitude of _symbols_ and _figures_, which...

DO NOT THINK THAT I WILL ACCUSE YOU - Do not suppose that I intend to follow your example. They had accused Jesus of breaking the law of God, John 5:16. He says that he will not imitate their example, though he implies that he might accuse them. TO THE FATHER - To God. THERE IS ONE THAT ACCUSETH YOU - Moses might be said to accuse or reprove them. He wrote of the Messiah, clearly foretold his coming, and commanded them to hear him. As they did not do it, it might be said that they had disregarded his command; and as Moses was divinely commissioned and had a right to be obeyed, so his command reproved them: they were disobedient and rebellious. HE WROTE OF ME - He wrote of the Messiah, and I am the Messiah,...

EXPOSITION Here commences the second division of the Gospel (John 5:1) II. THE CONFLICT WITH THE CHOSEN PEOPLE IN JERUSALEM, GALILEE, AND JERUSALEM, TO THE DEATH SENTENCE RECORDED BY THE SANHEDRIN. JOHN 5:1 1. _Christ proved, by signs and wonders and testimonies, to be Source of life._ JOHN 5:1 (1)

FOR HAD YE BELIEVED MOSES,.... The doctrine of Moses, and what he says in his writings: YE WOULD HAVE BELIEVED ME; for there is an agreement between Moses and Christ; Christ is the end of the law of Moses, and in him is the accomplishment of his writings: FOR HE WROTE OF ME; in the books written by him, Christ is spoken of, as the seed of the woman, that should bruise the serpent's head; as the seed of Abraham, in whom all nations of the earth should be blessed; as the Shiloh, to whom the gathering of the people should be; and as that prophet, who should be like unto himself, to whom the people of Israel should hearken; and he wrote many things typically of Christ; and indeed, the whole Mosaic economy was typical of Christ, as the epistle to the Hebrews shows: and therefore disbelieving Christ, was disbelieving Moses; who therefore would be an accuser of them, and a witness against the...

CHAPTER 5 _ 1. The Healing of the Impotent Man. (John 5:1 .)_ 2. The Opposition of the Jews. (John 5:10 .) 3. His Unity with the Father. (John 5:19 .) 4. The Present Hour. Believers Delivered from Death and Judgment. (John 5:24 .) 5. The Future Hour. His Power to Raise the Dead. (John 5:26 .) 6. Witness Concerning Himself. (John 5:30 .) 7. The Witness of John. (John 5:33

This summary suggests that Jesus-' opponents had accused Him of self-glorification. In answer He traces back their failure to accept His message to want of that love of God which their study of Scripture should have taught them (Deuteronomy 6:5). If a false prophet were to come on his own authority (_cf._ Deuteronomy 18:20), and speak presumptuously in God's name, flattering their pride and self-seeking, such an one they would welcome. There is no reference in John 5:43_ b_ to the pseudo-Messiah, Bar-Kochba (A.D. 135). Deuteronomy 18:20 and the character of popular Messianism in the last century B.C. are adequate explanat

HAD YE BELIEVED MOSES, YE WOULD HAVE BELIEVED ME. Moses recorded various prophecies that were fulfilled in Christ, and all the types, shadows and symbols pointed to him. Had they believed Moses they ought to have accepted Christ. The reader should note the reverence with which Christ always alludes to the writings of Moses. The fault that he charges upon the Jews is not that they reverence Moses too highly, but that they disregard his sayings. There is not the slightest intimation that he regarded the Pentateuch aught else but the genuine composition of Moses. Those critics of our times, who profess. profound reverence for the authority of Christ, but insist that the books assigned to Moses are frauds of. later age than his time, should learn. lesson from the example of Christ. PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. 1. Unbelief is due to the heart rather than to the mind. The unbeliever chooses unbe...