Biblica_1:Layout 1 21-11-2011 12:59 Pagina 388 388 PHILIPP F. BARTHOLOMÄ vocate 32. There is no need, says Jesus in John 5,45a, for him to stand up as their accuser: “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father”. Rather, according to John 5,45b, it is Moses, their es- teemed lawgiver, who is a continuing witness against them: “your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope”. While Jesus’ denial of being the ultimate accuser is without significant synoptic counterpart [0/0-level of closeness], 5,45b has at least some concep- tual similarity to Mark 7,6-13 par. (cf. also Matt 12,41-42 par.). In this utterance the Synoptic Jesus not only likewise invokes another Old Testament writer as an accuser against the Jews (“Isaiah proph- esied rightly about you hypocrites”), but also points out that signif- icant parts of their religious rules indeed contradict Mosaic teaching (“For Moses said … But you say …”) [0/1-level of closeness]. Jesus then directly addresses the witness of Scripture in John 5,46-47, saying: “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote [e;grayen] about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote [toi/j evkei,nou gra,mmasin], how will you believe what I say?” This probably refers to a misguided way of reading Scripture. “The reason why Moses would accuse them was that he, as the lawgiver, knew the law’s true purpose. (…) [Jesus] refers to the Jews’ failure to grasp the true essence of the Scriptures, including their prophetic orientation toward Jesus” 33. The content of these last two verses of the discourse shows a close resemblance to Jesus’ teaching in the Synoptics. The other Gospels clearly address the unwillingness of the Jews to listen truly to the Scriptures in general and to the writings of Moses in particular, thus resulting in a lack of understanding of what these writings are about. At the end of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16,31, Jesus has Father Abraham say: “If they do not listen to Moses [Mwu?se,wj] and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” [1/2-level of closeness] 34. Both John and the Synoptics maintain that Jesus’ teaching is in line with revered scriptures, and accordingly both con- clude that “one’s response to Jesus is an indicator of how one has re- 32 Cf. KÖSTENBERGER, John, 194; as well as CARSON, John, 265-66; MOR- RIS,John, 295. 33 KÖSTENBERGER, John, 195. 34 Luke 16,31 is mentioned as a synoptic parallel to John 5,46-47 by NA27; BLOMBERG, Historical Reliability, 117; CARSON, John, 266; KEENER, John, I, 661; cf. also KÖSTENBERGER, John, 195, n. 107.