John 5:45 kjv
Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
John 5:45 nkjv
Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you?Moses, in whom you trust.
John 5:45 niv
"But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set.
John 5:45 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.
John 5:45 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.
John 5 45 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jn 3:17 | For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. | Jesus' mission is salvation, not condemnation. |
| Jn 12:47 | If anyone hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. | Reiterates Jesus' role as Savior, not Judge in His first coming. |
| 1 Jn 2:1 | My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ... | Jesus as an advocate for believers, contrasting with an accuser. |
| Jn 5:40 | yet you refuse to come to Me to have life. | Immediate context, showing their refusal to accept Jesus for life. |
| Jn 5:39 | You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about Me. | Their misplaced hope in Scripture itself, missing its subject. |
| Rom 3:20 | ...for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. | The Law's primary function is to reveal human sinfulness. |
| Gal 3:24 | So the Law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. | The Law was a temporary guide, pointing to Christ. |
| Rom 7:7 | What then shall we say? Is the Law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have come to know sin except through the Law... | The Law reveals sin's presence and true nature. |
| Dt 27:26 | Cursed be anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out. | The Law brings a curse to those who fail to keep it perfectly. |
| Jas 2:10 | For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. | The Law demands perfect obedience, making all sinners. |
| Dt 18:15 | The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you... You must listen to him. | Moses prophesied about a coming Prophet, referring to Jesus. |
| Dt 18:18 | I will raise up for them a prophet like you... I will put My words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. | Further confirmation of Moses pointing to Christ. |
| Lk 24:27 | And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. | Jesus explaining how Moses and prophets spoke of Him. |
| Jn 1:45 | Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law...—Jesus of Nazareth...” | Early disciples recognizing Jesus as the one Moses spoke of. |
| Acts 3:22-23 | For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me... And everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be cut off...' | Peter directly attributes Moses' prophecy to Jesus. |
| Gal 3:10-11 | For all who rely on the works of the Law are under a curse... the righteous will live by faith. | Condemnation for relying on works of Law; salvation is by faith. |
| Rom 10:4 | For Christ is the culmination of the Law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. | Christ is the fulfillment and goal of the Law for righteousness. |
| Heb 11:6 | And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists... | Necessity of faith for pleasing God, contrasting with works. |
| Jer 17:5 | Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns from the LORD. | A warning against trusting in human efforts or figures over God. |
| Ps 118:8 | It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in humans. | Placing hope in the Lord is superior to human trust. |
| Phil 3:4-9 | Paul recounting his trust in the Law/flesh and rejecting it for Christ. | Paul's example of forsaking confidence in the Law for faith in Christ. |
| Jn 5:46-47 | If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe...? | Immediate follow-up verse connecting belief in Moses to belief in Jesus. |
John 5 verses
John 5 45 Meaning
Jesus reassures the Jewish leaders that His purpose is not to condemn them to the Father. Instead, their chosen and trusted authority, Moses – through the Law he delivered – will paradoxically be their accuser. This is because their adherence to Moses and his Law has led them to reject Jesus, the very One about whom Moses prophesied and to whom the Law points for true salvation.
John 5 45 Context
John 5:45 is part of Jesus' extended discourse defending His authority and challenging the unbelief of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. The chapter begins with Jesus healing a paralytic on the Sabbath, which provokes hostility as it breaks their interpretation of the Law. Their subsequent accusation of blasphemy, claiming Jesus made Himself equal with God, prompts Jesus' profound testimony regarding His divine Sonship and unity with the Father. In verses 31-47, Jesus provides multiple witnesses to His identity: John the Baptist, His own works, the Father Himself, and the Scriptures. This verse serves as the powerful culmination of this argument, demonstrating the irony that their cherished religious foundations—Moses and the Law—actually stand as an indictment against their rejection of God’s Son.
John 5 45 Word analysis
"Do not think" (μὴ δοκεῖτε - mē dokeite): A strong prohibitory command. Jesus is correcting a specific misconception they held: that He intended to accuse them. It implies their thought was likely on judgment and retaliation, given their own accusations against Him.
"that I will accuse you" (ἐγὼ κατηγορήσω ὑμῶν - egō katēgorēsō hymōn): "Accuse" (κατηγορέω) denotes a formal charge in a court setting. Jesus clarifies His mission is not to prosecute them before the Father for their sins in His present coming, as that contradicts His role as Savior.
"to the Father" (πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα - pros ton Patera): Specifies the ultimate divine judge. An accusation to the Father carries eternal and supreme authority.
"there is one who accuses you" (ἔστιν ὁ κατηγορῶν ὑμῶν - estin ho katēgorōn hymῶν): This introduces the true accuser with deliberate suspense, setting up an unexpected revelation. The present participle "accuses" indicates an ongoing or current state.
"Moses" (Μωϋσῆς - Mōysēs): The esteemed lawgiver, revered prophet, and foundation of Jewish identity. His designation as the accuser is a profound shock and highlights the ironic twist of their spiritual condition.
"in whom you have set your hope" (εἰς ὃν ὑμεῖς ἠλπίκατε - eis hon hymeis ēlpikate): "Have set your hope" (ἠλπίκατε) is in the perfect tense, indicating a settled, abiding, and deeply ingrained trust or confidence. This reveals their fundamental misdirection of hope—placing it in the Law or Moses as an end, rather than as a means to the Christ, resulting in self-condemnation.
"Do not think that I will accuse you...": This phrase dismisses their potential apprehension that Jesus would return their hostility with divine accusation. It clearly defines Jesus' primary posture towards them as distinct from a judge.
"...there is one who accuses you: Moses...": This is a shocking and deliberate paradox. Their source of security, the one through whom they expected justification before God, becomes their very indictment. It highlights the profound misunderstanding of the Law's purpose.
"...in whom you have set your hope.": This emphasizes the core of their spiritual error. They misplaced ultimate saving trust in Moses, elevating his role beyond that of a prophetic witness and lawgiver pointing to a greater salvation.
John 5 45 Bonus section
- This specific "accusation" from Moses is not an active, verbal denunciation but rather a testimony and consequence. Moses' writings, the very Scriptures the Jewish leaders revered and studied, contain the principles that highlight their failure to recognize and embrace God's promised Messiah, Jesus. The Law, through its demands, reveals their inability to achieve righteousness and their spiritual blindness to its true fulfillment.
- The phrase "in whom you have set your hope" indicates a reliance not just on Moses' Law, but implicitly on the national identity and presumed favor with God that came from being followers of Moses. This deep-seated hope superseded an active, discerning faith in the ongoing work and revelation of God, culminating in their rejection of Jesus.
- This statement establishes an inescapable dilemma for Jesus' accusers: either they believe in Jesus as Moses commanded and revealed, or they stand condemned by the very prophet they venerated, revealing that their allegiance to Moses was, in effect, hollow if it did not lead them to God's ultimate provision in Christ.
John 5 45 Commentary
John 5:45 stands as a profound revelation of spiritual irony for the Jewish leaders who rejected Jesus. While they might have feared Jesus would expose their faults to God, He declared that their accuser was not Him, the Bringer of Life, but Moses, the giver of the Law, in whom they had placed their ultimate hope. The Law given through Moses was intended to reveal sin and lead to the Messiah, but by relying on it as a means of righteousness apart from Christ, they turned it into an instrument of condemnation. Moses, through his writings and the commandments, bore witness to Jesus, and their failure to believe Jesus demonstrated their deeper failure to truly understand and believe Moses himself. Thus, their own chosen path to God became the evidence against their unbelief in God's Son.