John 5:45 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope.

NIV: "But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set.

NASB: Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have put your hope.

CSB: Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope.

NLT: Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes.

KJV: Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.

NKJV: Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust.

Popular culture tends to portray Jesus as a soft, fragile, quiet mouse of a man. While Christ was certainly known for His love and kindness (Matthew 12:20), He was also willing to be confrontational and formidable when necessary. Driving corrupt businessmen out of the temple with a whip is a prime example (John 2:13–22). Purposefully healing on the Sabbath, to provoke a reaction from the hypocritical Pharisees, is another (John 5:1–15; Luke 14:1–6; Matthew 12:9–14).

Here, Jesus shows more evidence that He was not entirely passive. The Pharisees considered themselves absolute experts on the law of Moses. This was their identity. Here, Jesus makes His criticism of these men intensely personal. Jesus has already pointed out that human testimony and His miracles are evidence supporting His ministry (John 5:30–36). He has mentioned that the Scriptures do the same (John 5:37–40). In this passage, Jesus pointedly tells the Pharisees that the very Law in which they claim to be experts condemns their actions and supports His assertions.

The religious leaders criticizing Jesus (John 5:18) are mostly Pharisees. This sect placed great importance on rigid adherence to strict and extensive laws. They added many layers of tradition onto the actual law of Moses. Their hope, as is the case in most religions, was that obedience to these rules would earn the favor of God. For Jesus to point to Moses—the cornerstone of Pharisaical traditions—as the very evidence that they were sinners is an intensely personal, direct challenge to their very identity.

John 5:30–47 continues Jesus' response to His critics in Jerusalem. After healing a crippled man on the Sabbath and claiming to be equal with God, Jesus now speaks about evidence. Rather than simply saying, "have faith,'' or ''believe Me because I said so,'' He offers reasons why He should be believed. These include human testimony, the miracles He is performing, and the words of Scripture. Jesus also makes the point that those who reject the prior words of God—the Old Testament Scriptures—aren't going to believe in Christ, no matter what.

Jesus again returns to Jerusalem, as required for the various feast days. While there, He heals a man who had been crippled for nearly forty years. Since this occurred on the Sabbath, local religious leaders are angry. In fact, they are more upset with Jesus for working on the Sabbath than amazed at His miracle. In response, Jesus offers an important perspective on evidence. Jesus refers to human testimony, scriptural testimony, and miracles as reasons to believe His declarations. Christ also lays claim to many of the attributes of God, making a clear claim to divinity.

Chapters 1 through 4 showed Jesus avoiding major publicity. Here, in chapter 5, He will begin to openly challenge the local religious leaders. This chapter is Jesus' first major answer to His critics in this gospel. The fact that Jesus is willing to heal on the Sabbath sets up a theme of His upcoming disagreements with the Pharisees. Jesus also provides an important perspective on the relationship between evidence and faith, which He will expand on in later chapters. This chapter also establishes a key point made by Jesus' critics: His claims to be God.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.