“You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe him whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness to me, yet you refuse to come to me that you might have life.”
Here Jesus is contrasting his listeners with Moses who both heard God's voice and saw His form (although not seeing Him in the fullness of His being). See Exodus 33:11; Exodus 33:17-23. They saw themselves as ‘in Moses' seat' but by their refusal to hear Him were demonstrating that far from being like Moses they were actually rejecting Moses. In spite of searching the Scriptures they were blind to what the Scriptures actually revealed. So they were not only unlike Moses in that they had not seen God's form or seen His face, demonstrating their inferior standing as compared with Moses, but their failure to respond positively to Him demonstrated that, unlike Moses, they did not have the word of God abiding in them. For had they had God's word abiding in them they would have responded to the One Who was His Word.
His listeners would certainly immediately recognise in these words a reference to Moses. Moses was the one who above all heard God's voice and saw His form (Exodus 33:11; Exodus 33:23; Deuteronomy 34:10). And these Jewish leaders gloried in Moses. They laid great stress on the Law of Moses. They claimed to sit in the seat of Moses. They even looked for the coming of a prophet like Moses. And yet they were revealing by their attitude how far from being like Moses they really were. For God had borne witness to Him through Moses, and if only they would really be willing to hear Moses and the Prophets, then they would believe Him, for both spoke of Him. These are God's witnesses.
The Scribes and Pharisees especially believed that by meditation in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets they could obtain eternal life as those who by doing so proved that they were within the covenant. And they claimed to represent Moses. But, says Jesus, how far from being like Moses they were. Let them consider this. Moses heard the voice of God, Moses saw the form of God, proving his supreme prophetic status. So they should all the more carefully listen to Moses, for they have neither heard the Father's voice nor seen His form.
And yet there is an irony in these words in that they had in fact ‘heard His voice and seen His face' without being aware of it, because He Himself was among them as One Who spoke with the voice of God directly, and through Whom they could see the form of God, for, as He will later inform His disciples, ‘he who has seen Me has seen the Father' (John 14:9). Thus their sin is all the greater in that they have had a greater privilege than Moses and yet have refused to hear and see. We can compare here Jesus' words to His disciples, “Blessed are the eyes which see what you see. For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them” (Luke 10:24). The Pharisees had seen them as well, but they had closed their eyes and ears to what they saw and heard.
How unlike Moses they are, He is saying. They are like the people of Israel of old who when they heard the voice of God (Deuteronomy 4:12) asked that they should hear it no longer but that it should be conveyed to them through Moses (Deuteronomy 5:24-27). And then in the end they did not listen to Moses. And now the Judaisers are the same. Unlike Moses they do not have God's word abiding in them, for if they had, they would have believed in the One Whom God has sent. They pretend to be ready to hear Moses, but they are not.
And yet they have had a unique opportunity, the greatest possible opportunity, For the One Who makes God known has come (John 1:18), the One Who has the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14), and they have heard His voice and seen His face, but in their blindness they have failed to recognise it..
They search the Scriptures, believing that meditation in them will bring them eternal life. For example, in the rabbinic tractate Pirqe Aboth ("The Sayings of the Fathers"), we read, "He who has acquired the words of the Law has acquired for himself the life of the world to come." (Pirqe Aboth John 2:8) and "Great is the Law for it gives to those who practise it life in this world and in the world to come." (Pirqe Aboth John 6:7). These illustrate the kind of things they said and believed.
Yet, He points out, it is these very Scriptures which bear testimony to Him. So with all their confidence in the Scriptures it is clear that they do not listen to their testimony, and that their search is therefore in vain, for they refuse to come to Him for the life that they seek. The word ‘refuse' suggests more than just lack of understanding. The reason they do not come is because they do not want to listen. The voice is speaking within but their hearts are hardened.
So we discover that there are a number of witnesses to Jesus:
1). John the Baptiser
2). The Works of Jesus
3). The inner voice from God
4). Moses
5). The Scriptures