John 5:40

And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

And {G2532} ye will {G2309} not {G3756} come {G2064} to {G4314} me {G3165}, that {G2443} ye might have {G2192} life {G2222}.

but you won’t come to me in order to have life!

yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.

and ye will not come to me, that ye may have life.

Commentary

Commentary on John 5:40 (KJV)

John 5:40 presents a poignant and direct statement from Jesus Christ to the Jewish religious leaders of His day, encapsulating a central tension of His earthly ministry: the human will's resistance to divine truth and grace.

Context

This verse is part of a larger discourse in John chapter 5, following Jesus' healing of a man at the Pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. This act provoked strong opposition from the Jewish authorities, who sought to persecute and even kill Him (John 5:16). In response, Jesus delivers a powerful defense of His identity and authority, asserting His unity with the Father and His role as the giver of life and the judge of all (John 5:19-30). He then appeals to multiple witnesses: John the Baptist (John 5:33), His own miraculous works (John 5:36), the Father's direct testimony (John 5:37-38), and crucially, the very Scriptures they diligently studied (John 5:39). Despite all this evidence, Jesus confronts their fundamental issue: their unwillingness to embrace Him.

Key Themes

  • Unwillingness to Believe: The core message is not that they *cannot* come to Jesus, but that they *will not*. This highlights the role of human choice and free will in accepting or rejecting Christ. Their hearts were hardened by pride, tradition, and a misunderstanding of God's true nature.
  • Jesus as the Source of Life: Jesus unequivocally states that eternal life is found exclusively in Him. He is the life-giver, and coming to Him is the prerequisite for receiving this life. This contrasts with their belief that life could be gained through adherence to the Law or mere intellectual study of the Scriptures, apart from Him.
  • Spiritual Blindness: Despite their diligent study of the Old Testament, which pointed to the Messiah, they failed to recognize Him when He stood before them. Their self-righteousness and preconceived notions prevented them from seeing the truth. As Jesus mentioned in John 5:39, they searched the Scriptures, thinking they would find eternal life in them, but missed the One the Scriptures testified about.

Linguistic Insights

The phrase "ye will not come" is crucial for understanding this verse. In the original Greek, it uses the verb thelete (θέλετε), which means "you are willing" or "you wish." Thus, "ye will not come" (οὐ θέλετε ἐλθεῖν - ou thelete elthein) strongly emphasizes a deliberate, volitional unwillingness on their part. It's not a matter of inability, but a matter of their stubborn refusal to humble themselves and receive Him. The "life" Jesus offers here is zoe (ζωή), referring to spiritual, eternal, and abundant life, rather than mere physical existence, a theme consistent throughout John's Gospel, such as in John 10:10 where Jesus states He came that we might have life more abundantly.

Practical Application

John 5:40 serves as a timeless warning and a profound invitation. It reminds us that salvation and spiritual life are not earned through religious rituals, intellectual ascent to doctrine, or even diligent study of the Bible if that study does not lead to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The critical step is "coming to Him"—an act of faith, repentance, and submission to His lordship.

This verse challenges us to examine our own hearts: Are we truly willing to come to Jesus, or are there hidden resistances, pride, or self-sufficiency that prevent us from fully embracing Him as the sole source of life? It underscores that God honors human free will, and while He invites, He does not compel. The choice to receive eternal life through Christ remains a personal and deliberate one.

Note: Commentary was generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash, utilizing a prompt that emphasized Biblical fidelity over bias. We've found these insights to be consistently reliable, yet we always encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit.

Please remember that only the commentary section is AI-generated. The main Scripture and cross-references are stored on the site and are sourced from trusted and verified materials.

Cross-References

  • John 3:19

    And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

  • John 1:11

    He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

  • John 6:37

    All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

  • John 7:37

    ¶ In the last day, that great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

  • John 7:38

    He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

  • Matthew 23:37

    O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not!

  • John 6:27

    Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
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