Passage Read: John 5-6
Meditation Verses: 6:64-65
Thought
John is talking about Jesus' followers, His disciples, both among the Twelve and beyond. Jesus knew who among them actually believed and who didn't. He also knew who would betray Him. And with this teaching, many turn back from following Him. Jesus earlier said that if someone does not believe the writings of Moses, they do not really believe in Jesus. They believe in a Jesus of their own imaginings, which is easy to do when you don't read and believe all that the Scriptures say, when you believe only what your favorite teachers teach about Jesus. The test of real, saving faith is believing all that the Scriptures say to be true, especially the hard things of Moses, not just laws and command, but the origin of all things, including creation and the global flood and Babel and all the rest. If we do not believe in the God who did all those things and everything else in Scripture, if we do not believe all He taught, then we do not believe in the one true God, and we will not be able to believe in the one true Jesus. So Jesus says that no one can believe in Him unless real faith is given him by the Father. Saving faith comes only from the Father, and is revealed by the childlike trust that believes all the Scriptures teach, including and significantly, all the writings of Moses.
Application
Every word Moses wrote, Moses did so at the command and revelation of God Himself. Every word is trustworthy and true. Every event, every miracle, every impossible thing, every command and instruction reveals who God really is. To deny or disbelieve any of it is to deny the true and living God. It's an insult to His character, considering Him a liar, if not calling Him one outright! I cannot claim to believe in Jesus if I cannot also believe everything God has done as recorded in the Scriptures. In fact, to deny the trustworthiness of the written record is to deny the power of God to ensure and preserve the truth for all generations. What kind of God can't do that? Not the true God. This also tells me that anyone who sets themselves up as an expert, but denies the trustworthiness of all Scripture is not really a believer. They believe in a God who doesn't exist, so why would I listen to or believe anything they say about Jesus? They are a false teacher and I can safely disregard their teachings. In fact, I need to, so as not to be confused by them.