Scripture Union Discovery 13th February 2025 Devotional Message for Thursday
TOPIC: Mistaken Identity
Opening Prayer
Father in Heaven, I come thanking you for your Son and asking that today’s passage in your Word shows me something new about him. Open my eyes to fresh insights about my Savior.
Read JOHN 5:31–47
Testimonies About Jesus
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.
33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study[a] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God[b]?
45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”
Reflect
Where might you see divisions in the church today where disagreements seem more important than the preeminence of Jesus and proclaiming his love?
We often think of the Jewish leaders in the New Testament as pantomime villains—after all, they were mostly responsible for Jesus’ death. In fact, some Pharisees (like Nicodemus in chapter 3) became secret disciples and followed Jesus. The problem with the Pharisees wasn’t that they were faithless but that their faith blinded them to God’s love.
I think that verses 39 and 40 are among the saddest in the New Testament: ‘You study the Scriptures diligently … yet you refuse to come to me to have life.’ The Pharisees spent their lives poring over God’s Word, trying to live according to the Law of Moses. They expected the Messiah to come, yet when Jesus stood before them, they didn’t recognize him.
The reason that Jesus didn’t fulfill their expectations is that in fulfilling God’s great law of love he broke the lesser law of the Sabbath (e.g., 5:9, 10). It wasn’t that Sabbath rest wasn’t important, but God didn’t take a day off from healing the world, and Jesus was continuing his Father’s work. The Pharisees were passionately, and tragically, wrong. Can we sometimes get trapped by our own assumptions and miss what God might be saying to us?
Apply
Do you have ideas about God (perhaps given to you when you were young) that need challenging? How might you use Scripture to give you a better picture of his love?
Closing prayer
Holy Spirit, continue to show me more of who Jesus is, continue drawing me closer to him and making me more like him.
Scripture Union Discovery 13th February 2025 Devotional © 2025 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved
