I can of Myself do nothing

"I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

"If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses of Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.

"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

- John 5:30-47

In yesterday's reading, Jesus began his discourse on the relationship between Himself and the Father when speaking to the religious leadership at the temple. See He who hears My word. Today, Jesus continues and further elaborates on this relationship and what it means in His works and His relations with others.

"I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me." My study bible notes here: "The divine will is common to the Persons of the Trinity, for all share the same divine energy. In their manifestation in the world, however, all energy originates in the Father, being communicated through the Son in the Holy Spirit. Here there is a sense that the Son obeys the Father. This is because, in His human nature, the Son has human energy -- including human will -- which He offers to God the Father as the source of all. This is His own will which must do the will of the Father." Jesus offers us a picture of relationship and relatedness, down to the seeking of the will of the Father, as the note in my study bible explains. He is an example for us as well.

"If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses of Me is true." My study bible has a note that covers the whole passage, with its focus on testimony: "In Jewish tradition, a valid testimony requires two witnesses (Deut. 17:6). Jesus offers four witnesses to His messiahship and divine Sonship: (1) God the Father (vv. 32, 37, 38); (2) John the Baptist (vv. 33-35); (3) His own works (v. 36); and (4) the Old Testament scriptures through which Moses gives his testimony (vv. 39-47)."

"You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light." The testimony from man is the testimony of John the Baptist whom Jesus tells us was the burning and shining lamp. John the Baptist was widely respected and popular, understood to be a prophet by the common people.

"But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me." The works, the signs, that Jesus does are also testimony; they bear witness that the Father has sent Him because they point to that deeper reality behind what is seen and witnessed on worldly terms, such as the healing of the paralytic. This was the third sign in this gospel, and it is on this occasion that Jesus is speaking. See Do you want to be made well? The temple leadership has objected to the man's "taking up his bed" and walking on the Sabbath.

"And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe." We recall the "testimony" of the Father at Jesus' baptism in the Jordan. This is the voice that spoke to John the Baptist in John's Gospel account, and we read of it here in Matthew. But Jesus implies here that this voice, His word, can also abide within us. It is this inner connection to the Father that reveals faith for us.

"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of me." Jesus points out that the Scriptures, in which the authorities are experts, testify of Jesus - to His mission and His coming into the world.

"But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you." My study bible notes here, "Jesus is aware they do not possess the love of God: it does not remain in them because they do not receive Him who comes in the name of His Father." It's important to understand that he does not receive honor from men - that is, Jesus' authority doesn't come from being honored in a worldly sense, with a title, or from having studied under a great and famous teacher. But Jesus points out what they lack. And that lack is love - love of God. Love is what creates this relationship.

"I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?" Jesus does not come in the name of a famous teacher or rabbi or school; He comes only as Himself. The testimonies he offers here to His identity and authority are the witnesses he has: John the Baptist, the Father whose word abides in those who love Him, the works Jesus does that testify to the Father's presence, and the Scriptures. But here, Jesus teaches that these men (the temple authorities he's addressing) will gladly honor those who are honored by the world, the honor they receive from one another. But if they do not seek the true honor from God within their hearts, then they cannot believe what Jesus has to tell them, what His work is all about in the world. So, therefore, the authorities do not honor Jesus. John's Gospel will repeat this teaching elsewhere - about those who love the praise of men more than the praise of God.

"Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?" Finally, Jesus speaks to the heart of their expertise. They "search the Scriptures" but they do not understand Moses at all in spirit. He, who is in front of them, who has healed the paralytic, is the One about whom Moses wrote. Jesus says they do not comprehend or truly believe the writing of Moses, so Moses himself accuses. His testimony in the Scriptures acts against the authorities who fail to perceive what is manifest to them.

How do we know what to put our faith into? What testifies to us when we make our judgments in the world? How, indeed, do we read Scripture? Jesus' lecture and teachings point always to relationship and relatedness, and this is no exception. But what is powerful in this teaching today is that connection with the Father that is in all of us, and which He chastises the authorities for lacking. This begins, it seems, deep in the heart, where we decide what we will love. The love of the Father comes first, it seems, and this opens up all the rest. But it is all tied together: we are bound in love with and for one another (as He will teach as His final and new command at the Last Supper), and with the Father, Son and Spirit. We can love one another and we can share in that love. But it is all linked; we see here in Jesus' words that without the love for the Father, we will not receive the rest of it, and we will not receive Him. This is not just a worldly love that recognizes worldly authority, but something that speaks in the heart, a power, a word, which abides in us. Let that word abide in you, take root, and grow - and see where it leads you.