"You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life."
Sometimes, as we seek an answer to our questions or a solution to a problem, we enter the search with preconceived ideas about what that answer will look like. These ideas can originate from a number of sources. Our education, life experiences, and the opinions of others will often shape what we believe to be true so much that new evidence is overlooked simply because it does not fit how we see the world. This is what happened to many of the Jews that Jesus came in contact with during his ministry on Earth.
The common belief among the Jewish people was that the Messiah would be a political/military leader to deliver his people through might and strength. When Jesus showed up preaching love and forgiveness he in no way fit the mold of what was expected; therefore, he could not be Messiah.
To make the situation even more difficult was a common view that it was the holy texts themselves filled with rules and regulations that would lead to eternal life. When Jesus made it clear that life had more to do with a relationship based on faith than following the rules this turned the theology of many upside down. He would say in Matthew 5:17, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." What Jesus was beginning to teach the people at that moment was the idea that the rules were important, but not for the reason that had been taught. The Law and the Prophets were not meant to provide salvation; they were meant to point to the one who would provide it. Those who could hear this and allow their thinking to change would be able to see the truth in what Jesus taught, while those who held tightly to their preconceived notions would be unable to hear anything that didn't fit their expectations.
This same thing happens today. Our view of the world can get in the way of seeing how it truly is. If a person is taught that a certain group of people is "bad" or "evil" then there will be an invisible wall up when that person first meets someone from that group. All of the previous ideas will get in the way of any communication. Likewise, when we believe that science holds all of the answers to reality we will disregard anything that contradicts what we believe that science teaches us. This is a major stumbling block to faith. We can scour the universities and libraries searching for the ultimate truth without ever realizing that all the research in the world only points to the truth. It doesn't contain the truth. God the Father is the truth, and God, through the Bible, points us to Jesus.
Humanity never really changes. We, like the Jews of Jesus' time, search our new, modern version of the scriptures looking for truth while the truth is standing right in front of us for all to see.
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