Jesus tells his hearers, 'Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.' The saying assumes serious engagement with Israel's sacred writings.
The dispute is therefore not between Jesus and people indifferent to Scripture.
Study, recitation, interpretation, and public reading of Scripture were central features of Jewish religious life. The Greek verb in John 5:39 can be read as an imperative, 'Search the Scriptures,' or an indicative, 'You search the Scriptures.' Either way, Jesus' next words make the central point clear: the Scriptures testify concerning him.
He subsequently appeals specifically to Moses, whom his hearers regard as an authority.
The religious context makes Jesus' criticism more searching. Devotion to the biblical text does not automatically guarantee recognition of the one to whom, in John's presentation, that text points.
Jesus does not dismiss Moses or Scripture. He argues the opposite: properly understood, Moses' writings become witnesses against unbelief because Moses wrote concerning him.