John 5:40 kjv
And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
John 5:40 nkjv
But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
John 5:40 niv
yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
John 5:40 esv
yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
John 5:40 nlt
Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.
John 5 40 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isa 55:1-3 | "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters... incline your ear and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live." | Invitation to come and receive life |
| Matt 11:28 | "Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." | Jesus' universal call to come and find rest |
| Matt 23:37 | "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... How often I wanted to gather your children... but you were not willing!" | Jesus laments Israel's unwillingness |
| Lk 13:34 | "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... How often I wanted to gather your children... but you were not willing!" | Echoes Matt 23:37 on Jerusalem's refusal |
| Jn 3:19-20 | "And this is the judgment: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light." | Loving darkness over light as rejection |
| Jn 3:36 | "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life." | Connection between belief, obedience, and life |
| Jn 6:35 | "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst." | Coming and believing are intertwined with life |
| Jn 6:37 | "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out." | Assurance for those who do come |
| Jn 6:44 | "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." | Divine initiative in drawing, but human response still vital |
| Jn 6:65 | "And He was saying, 'For this reason I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.'" | Reinforces God's enabling grace |
| Jn 7:37 | "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink." | Invitation to satisfy spiritual thirst |
| Jn 10:10 | "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." | Jesus offers abundant life |
| Jn 14:6 | "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." | Jesus as the sole source and path to life |
| Acts 4:12 | "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." | Exclusivity of salvation in Christ |
| Rom 6:23 | "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." | Eternal life is a gift through Christ |
| Heb 3:12-19 | "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away... they were unable to enter because of unbelief." | Danger of an unbelieving heart and refusal to enter |
| Psa 81:11-12 | "But My people did not listen to My voice... so I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to walk in their own counsels." | Israel's stubborn refusal to obey God |
| Jer 6:16 | "Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’" | Rejection of the path to rest |
| 1 Jn 5:11-12 | "And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life." | Life found exclusively in having the Son |
| Deut 30:19 | "I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live." | Command to choose life, implying free will |
| Jn 5:39 | "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me." | Context: Searching scriptures but missing their point |
| Jn 12:48 | "The one who rejects Me and does not receive My words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day." | Judgment comes from rejecting Jesus and His words |
John 5 verses
John 5 40 Meaning
John 5:40 is Jesus' direct accusation to the Jewish religious leaders, revealing the root cause of their spiritual blindness: a deliberate, volitional refusal to come to Him. Despite their diligent study of the Scriptures, which testified about Him and promised eternal life, they chose not to accept Him. This verse highlights the profound human responsibility in rejecting God's provision for salvation, emphasizing that their condemnation stemmed from an unwillingness to seek the life He offers.
John 5 40 Context
John 5:40 is the climactic statement in a protracted discourse by Jesus to the Jewish religious leaders following His healing of a paralytic man on the Sabbath (Jn 5:1-9). This act provoked intense opposition because they viewed it as a violation of their Sabbath laws (Jn 5:10, 16). Jesus then asserted His divine authority and equality with God (Jn 5:17-23), claiming the power to give life (Jn 5:21, 25-29). The ensuing discussion (Jn 5:31-47) is Jesus presenting multiple "witnesses" to His identity and mission: John the Baptist, His own works, the Father Himself, and finally, the Scriptures. Verse 40 comes immediately after Jesus declares that the leaders diligently search the Scriptures (Jn 5:39) because they believe eternal life is found within them, yet they fail to recognize that these very Scriptures testify about Him. Thus, the context reveals Jesus exposing the spiritual paradox of those who meticulously adhere to religious practice and knowledge but deliberately reject the Person to whom all their rituals and texts point.
John 5 40 Word analysis
- And (
kai- Greek): This conjunction can mean "and," "but," or "even." Here, it carries a strong adversative (contrasting) force, best translated as "yet" or "but." It emphasizes the stark contradiction between their diligent study of the Scriptures (Jn 5:39) and their refusal to come to the One revealed in them. - ye will not (
ou thelete- Greek): This is crucial.thelete(fromthelo) denotes a strong act of the will, a desire, a choice. It signifies an unwillingness or refusal, not an inability. It's not "you cannot come," but "you are not willing to come," placing responsibility squarely on their conscious choice and stubborn resistance. This points to a moral, rather than merely an intellectual or circumstantial, failure. - come (
elthein- Greek): An aorist infinitive oferchomai, meaning "to come." In John's Gospel, "coming to Jesus" is consistently used as a metaphor for believing in Him, trusting Him, receiving Him, and submitting to His authority as the Messiah and Son of God. It implies an active, personal response of faith. - to Me (
pros me- Greek): "To My person." The emphasis is directly on Jesus Himself as the object of their refusal. Their problem wasn't a general rejection of spirituality, but a specific, personal rejection of Christ. - that (
hina- Greek): A subordinating conjunction introducing a purpose clause. It clearly states the intended outcome if they were to come. - ye may have (
echete- Greek): Fromecho, meaning "to have" or "to possess." The present subjunctive indicates a potential, yet unactualized, possession of something. - life (
zoen- Greek): Refers tozoē aiōnios(eternal life), which is mentioned explicitly in the preceding verse (Jn 5:39) and elsewhere in John's Gospel. This isn't merely biological existence but a divine, spiritual quality of life—abundant, never-ending, and lived in fellowship with God. It is the greatest good, the ultimate gift, made available through Jesus.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "And ye will not come": This phrase exposes the volitional barrier. They possess the knowledge (through the Scriptures) that points to life, but they consciously choose not to engage with the very source of that life. This highlights the human capacity for stubbornness and resistance to divine truth, even when truth is self-evident. It also critiques external religious devotion that lacks an internal, saving faith.
- "to Me": This is a profound declaration of Jesus' central role. He is not merely a prophet or a teacher; He is the only personal pathway to the life the Scriptures promise. The refusal to come to Him is therefore a refusal of the Father's ultimate provision and the life God intends for humanity.
- "that ye may have life": This establishes the benevolent purpose of Jesus' invitation. He seeks not their condemnation (Jn 3:17) but their flourishing and eternal well-being. The tragedy is amplified by the fact that the greatest possible gift (eternal life) is freely offered but deliberately rejected by those who thought they were earning it through their own efforts or mere study of sacred texts.
John 5 40 Bonus section
The context surrounding John 5:40 also includes Jesus stating that these leaders do not have the love of God in them (Jn 5:42) and they love human glory more than the glory that comes from the one God (Jn 5:44). This further elucidates why they refuse to come to Him: their motivations are misaligned. Their pride, desire for human approval, and lack of genuine love for God manifest as an unwillingness to acknowledge or accept Jesus, whose claims challenged their authority and self-righteousness. This "unwillingness" (ou thelete) is therefore rooted deeply in moral and spiritual corruption, demonstrating that human unbelief is not merely a mental block, but often a heart problem that resists divine light out of a preference for self-sovereignty or worldly honor.
John 5 40 Commentary
John 5:40 acts as a stark indictment of spiritual hypocrisy. The Jewish leaders meticulously delved into the Old Testament (Jn 5:39), convinced they would secure eternal life through their intellectual grasp and adherence to the Law. Yet, their intense study blinded them to the very person the Scriptures heralded—Jesus, the true and living embodiment of that "life." Jesus identifies their core issue not as ignorance, but as a willful resistance, a hardened will (ou thelete). They knew the way, or at least they had the clues (Scriptures) pointing to the Way, but they refused to embark on it because it meant submitting to Jesus' authority. This verse exposes the critical distinction between intellectual knowledge about God and a living, volitional faith in God through Christ. Eternal life is not an outcome of searching texts alone; it is a relational experience with Christ. The pathos of this verse lies in the tragedy that the greatest blessing was freely available, yet intentionally shunned by those who needed it most. It reminds us that salvation is a choice of the will to come to Jesus.