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 

 

Yesterday we read that, after healing the paralytic by the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, Jesus answered and said to the Pharisees who questioned Him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.  For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.  For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.  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.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.  Do not marvel at this; for 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." 

"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."   Here Jesus continues to address the prerogative of judgment which the Father has given to Him.  But the action of "giving" is reciprocal.  My study bible explains that the divine will is common to the three Persons of the Trinity -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- for all fully share the same divine nature.  When the Son is said to obey the Father, this refers to His human will, which Christ assumed at His Incarnation.  Christ freely aligned His human will in all aspects with the divine will of the Father, and so are we called to do likewise.  

"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?"   My study bible asks, how could Christ's witness ever be untrue?  It cannot (see John 8:14).    Here in this part of His discourse to them, Jesus is anticipating the arguments which the leadership will pose to Him, and speaking their thoughts (He does the same thing in Luke 4:23).  In Jewish tradition, a valid testimony requires two witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6).  Jesus offers four witnesses to confirm His identity as Messiah and Son of God.  First He speaks of God the Father (verses 32, 37-38), as has been His priority throughout the discourse so far (see also yesterday's reading, above).  Next He offers John the Baptist (verses 33-35).  Third, the works He does offer testimony to Him (verse 36); in this sense they are signs that point to His divine identity.  Finally there are the Old Testament Scriptures, through which Moses and others gave testimony (verses 39-47).  

In today's reading, Jesus tells the religious leaders:  "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?"   This is a theme that is returned to in John's Gospel, this idea of receiving "honor that comes from one another," and its conflict with "the honor that comes from the only God."   In chapter 12, John tells us, "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42-43).  In Luke's chapter 15, in another theme regarding the conflict between the honor that comes from men and the honor that comes from God, Jesus preaches, "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon" (Luke 15:13).  But when the Pharisees, whom we're told were "lovers of money," deride this teaching, Jesus replies, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 15:14-15).  So there are several angles that appear in the Gospels to illustrate this conflict between the honor that comes from men (or rather, other human beings) and the honor that comes from "the only God."  It is enlightening that Jesus uses the phrase, "the only God," because we can so easily make an idol out of the praise of men.  When social media stars become admired, rich, and famous because one Instagram photo can make them millions of dollars, we are living in a world that simply exemplifies what it is have the honor that comes from men, multiplied exponentially, particularly when the notoriety and admiration come from nothing resembling the ways we know to honor our communion with God and with the sacred.   When Jesus speaks to the leaders in today's reading, no doubt He's speaking of the honor that comes from highly-esteemed places in the religious hierarchy, or the fame of a renowned rabbinical teacher.  But in a culture which values notoriety for its own sake, or for all kinds of reasons that might be antithetical to what it is to serve and perform the word of God, simply choosing to please God can become a kind of subversive, even "counter-cultural" act.  Showing kindness to the one who is left out of the social hierarchy because they don't wear the right clothes is one small way to do that.  Expressing mercy and forgiveness to one attacked and bullied for an honest heart, rather than one that conforms to the deceit of the day, is another.  There is an inordinate emphasis on how we appear, what words we use, and all kinds of forms of social currency that lie on the surface only.  This is the recipe for the kind of hypocrisy Jesus repeatedly condemned.  But the one with a pure heart is capable of seeing beyond these things.  That is because the deep connection to God in the heart invites us to a deep connection with others, beyond the surface judgments and the latest scapegoat.  Jesus makes clear that this begins with a genuine love of God, and a desire to please God before all else.  Let us be the rare ones who seek to do that, in a culture that seems to value the "honor that comes from men" in ways unimaginable in the time of Christ.