Search for Scripture
A Sermon on John 5:39
Scripture
Testimony of the Scripture
39You examine the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is those very Scriptures that testify about Me;
39¶ Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Sermon Description
In his sermon on John 5:39 titled “Search for Scripture,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones unfolds the fourth witness to Jesus: the Scripture. The Jews thoroughly searched the Scripture and claimed to know the Scripture, and the leaders of the Jews thought themselves to be the teachers of the Scripture. In the Scripture, they thought they possessed eternal life. They even believed that just because they possessed the Scriptures, as opposed to the Gentiles, they were set apart to eternal life. The prejudice and misinterpretation of the Scripture by the Jews dripped with hypocrisy. In providing more testimony to validate His claims, Jesus stated that the Scriptures testified about Him. The entire Old Testament pointed to Jesus through either direct prediction or preparation. Scripture validated His person, work, and identity. The Jews possessed a knowledge of Scripture, but one that led ultimately to self-deception. They held the Scripture at arms-length and imported their own ideas into Scripture instead of studying to determine what was really proclaimed, namely Jesus. The listener is encouraged to ask themselves: “Is this you? Have you engaged Scripture and think you know it all, yet you are deceived? Has the Scripture led you to Jesus and His redeeming work on the cross for your sins?” If not, they may well be self-deceived which will lead to eternal destruction.
The Book of John
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.