John 5:38

38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent.

John 5:38 Meaning and Commentary

John 5:38

And ye have not his word abiding in you
Which some understand of Christ himself, the Logos, or word: who, though he was now with them, being made flesh, and dwelling among them, yet would not long continue with them: though rather this designs the written word, or the Scriptures of truth; and especially that part of them, which contains prophecies concerning the Messiah, which did not dwell in them richly, nor they dwell in their meditation on them, as was requisite. Or rather, it may intend that word of God expressed in the testimony he bore to the sonship of Christ at his baptism, by a voice from heaven, which made no lasting impression upon the minds and hearts of the Jews that heard it; as appears by what follows:

for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not;
meaning himself; for if they had had either a due regard to the sacred oracles, or to that voice from heaven at his baptism, they would have received and embraced him as the Messiah, and sent of God, and not have disbelieved and rejected him, as now they did.

John 5:38 In-Context

36 But I have a testimony greater than John's. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.
37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form,
38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent.
39 "You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf.
40 Yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.