Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1245
“How can you believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that comes from God only?” John 5:44.
OUR Savior was addressing Himself to Pharisees who would not receive Him, and who, no doubt, pleaded that they could not believe on Him. They had just seen a very notable miracle worked by Him—a man who had been sick many years had been suddenly restored and that by a word. That miracle, being of the same nature as the wonderful works of the great Father, a miracle of tenderness and Omnipotence, ought to have convinced them that Christ was the Son of God. They saw the miracle, however, and instead of drawing the proper inference, they began to quibble at the Master because He had performed it upon the Sabbath Day. The teaching of our Lord’s wonderful work of mercy and power was lost upon them. They could not, they would not see the finger of God in the miracle.
Before this miracle had occurred, John the Baptist had come—the Elijah who was foretold to herald the Messiah. These Pharisees had felt a partial belief in John and the popular voice compelled them to stifle any unbelief concerning him which may have lingered in their hearts. They dared not say that his ministry was altogether of man, and consequently they were posed by the Savior’s question, “The ministry of John, was it from Heaven or of men?” They could not answer the question because if they denied his mission, the people would cry out against them. But, on the other hand, if they confessed that John came from Heaven, our Lord’s reply would have been, “Why, then, did you not believe him and accept his testimony concerning Me?”
They had, therefore, in addition to the miracle which Jesus worked, the testimony of John the Baptist, but still they could not believe. In addition to this, these men were exceedingly well acquainted with the Scriptures. The scribes made it their business to transcribe the Old Testament. They learned chapters and books by heart. Many of them were so well acquainted with the letter of Scripture that they could tell you which was the middle verse in each book! They have left us Masoretic notes which tell us what is the middle verse of the Bible, and the middle letter of the Bible and like trifles. They were very curious and careful concerning all the little jots and tittles of the sacred manuscripts.
Now, those books speak plainly of Christ. It is marvelous that men conversant with Old Testament Scripture could see Jesus Christ and observe His doings and not discover that He was the Messiah of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets did write. What witness can be plainer than that of Isaiah? Here was testimony upon testimony and yet, in the teeth of it all, the Christ was rejected! There are still persons of this kind in the world. They believe the Scriptures to be the Word of God, though they do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ! They accept the Gospel narrative. They have no doubt, whatever, that Jesus, the Son of God, did live a life of perfection on earth and died as a substitutionary Sacrifice. They also believe that He has risen from the dead and is gone into Glory and has all power to save.
They believe that the Gospel message is true and yet they do not believe on the Lord Jesus—I mean that they do not so believe in Him in spirit and in truth as to believe unto salvation. They stop short with the knowledge of the outward facts. They do not come with their hearts and rest upon Him as their whole salvation. And if you ask them why not, they will not say that they will not, and shall not, but that they cannot. They plead a need of ability and they endeavor, as well as they can, to screen themselves behind that lack of ability. It is a monstrous thing, beyond all things monstrous, that a man should plead that he is under a necessity to call his God a liar!
It is an amazing thing that a man should actually urge as an apology for remaining at enmity to God that he cannot believe Him! That is to say, he actually pleads the great sin of calling God a liar as an excuse for his rebellion! What is that but to insult the Majesty of Heaven with an excuse which is, in itself, the highest insolence? To say I cannot believe a man is to malign his character. And to say that I cannot believe God is to do Him the highest conceivable dishonor. To
what a pitch has the human heart gone in extravagance of presumptuous daring, when it boldly tells God that it cannot believe His testimony concerning His Son?
And though He says, “Believe in My Son and you are saved,” man dares to answer Him thus, “We cannot believe in Your Son,” as if the Christ of God were a liar, too, and He who died for us and gave the best pledge of His love, was not to be trusted. Alas for our race! Has it, indeed, come to this, that it is a hard thing to rely upon One who cannot deceive us, and difficult to place our dependence upon One who is able to save to the uttermost? Now, I want to deal as gently as I dare with those of you who have pleaded inability. It is very likely true that you cannot believe—let us try to find out the reason for it.