How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?

"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

Here, in today's passage, Jesus is speaking at the Festival of Weeks, or the Jewish Feast of Pentecost. Earlier (in the reading for Monday), Jesus healed a paralytic man, telling him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." The authorities objected to this violation of the Sabbath, and confronted Jesus. Jesus told them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Then they wanted to persecute Jesus the more, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. In yesterday's reading, Jesus expounded on the nature of His relationship with the Father. The Son can do nothing of Himself, but only what is given Him of the Father to do. They will see yet greater works -- because as the Father gives life to the dead, so the Son gives life to whom He will. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but leaves judgment to the Son. Therefore, he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live." He also told them, "The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." Today, we continue reading Jesus' discourse to the temple leadership.

"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." Jesus establishes clearly the priority of the Father in all things He does. We remember that He is speaking as Son of Man -- God incarnate. But in this passage there is communicated both the divine relationship and His human will. My study bible has a note that teaches the theology of this divine relationship and the human Jesus: "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." In this obedience, there is One who witnesses of Jesus, and this is the Father's testimony. Jesus begins to establish His identity here to the temple leadership, offering witnesses to Sonship. In Jewish tradition, says my study bible, a valid testimony requires two witnesses. Here Jesus offers God the Father as the first.

"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." Here is Jesus' second witness to His Sonship, John the Baptist. John, in Jesus' imagery here, was the great burning and shining lamp which cast light to illumine the truth, and to point the way to prepare for the Son. He was greatly respected in his ministry, widely considered a holy man. He preached a baptism of repentance for preparation for Messiah (who would baptize with the Holy Spirit) and the coming of the Kingdom.

"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." Jesus offers a third witness to His Sonship, and that is the works that the Father has given Him to do. They bear witness that He is sent by the Father, because they are signs given by the Father.

"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." Here is a powerful statement; Jesus returns to the Father as witness. It is implied here that through the works or signs Jesus is given to do, the Father bears witness to the Son. But Jesus' accusers can't read these signs, they can't understand them, because, Jesus says, they don't have God's word abiding in them. If they heard the Father's word within themselves, they would believe the One whom the Father has sent. It is a sense in which the word of the Father, abiding in human beings, creates recognition of the authority of the Son. God the Father is beyond all understanding in "hearing" and "seeing" but His word may abide in us. Moses testified through the word of the Scriptures, and the Scriptures bear witness to the Son. The Scriptures of the Old Testament are Jesus' fourth witness to Sonship.

"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?" Again (as in yesterday's reading), Jesus refers to the life that is in Him, the life that is His to give. He contrasts the capability of embracing the love of God in faith with the "honor from men." They don't receive Jesus, who comes in His Father's name, but they will receive those who have great names in a worldly sense. This goes to the heart of the recognition of Jesus' authority (as in the cleansing of the temple), and the power of faith. If they had the word and the love of the Father abiding in them, they would recognize Him. But they only recognize a worldly sense of authority, the honor that comes from men; their eyes are focused on the worldly to the exclusion of the spiritual life, which Jesus has spoken of as worship "in spirit and truth."

"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?" Again, He returns to the Scriptures of the Old Testament, in which the leadership who accuses Him claim to be experts. So, Jesus here is going deeply into matters of faith, accusing them of not truly believing Moses, and therefore the Scripture in which they are supposed to be experts. My study bible cites the words and testimony of Moses from Deuteronomy: "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him" . . . "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him."

In Jesus' words today, we get a taste of the interrelatedness of spiritual reality and of our faith. There are four witnesses to Jesus' Sonship: God the Father, John the Baptist, the works He does (which are seen as signs in John's gospel), and the Old Testament Scriptures. But we also get a great lesson in faith: the leadership cannot truly recognize who He is because they don't really have the love of God abiding in them, and hence can't truly accept Moses' testimony, in which they are experts. This is, importantly, contrasted with the honor from men. It is as if there is an exchange posited here: we substitute one for the other. Without the true love of God within ourselves, we may be fooled by the picture of worldly honor, persuaded of authority where it does not exist, and missing authority where it does truly exist. Jesus makes it explicitly clear, twice saying that "I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved" and " I do not receive honor [or glory] from men." Jesus' honor or glory comes from the Father, and those who would worship in spirit and truth seek a relationship with this glory or honor, and recognize it where it is found. A "hardened heart" is unaware of this, blind to it, and recognizes only the glory that comes from the praise of men, a purely worldly sense of authority and conviction, of truth. Which will it be? These words are offered to us for a reason. It is all about relationship; without the first great love ("You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might"), we will be unable to recognize the Lord's work and whomever the Lord has sent; we will substitute for this love only the glory of the praise and authority of men. How do we keep this love, in spirit and truth, alive in our hearts? The question is there for all of us, today, here and now -- not just the temple authorities in this passage.