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 

 

In our present readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Weeks (the Old Testament Pentecost, celebrating the giving of the Law to Moses).  He has healed a paralytic, and has been disputing with the religious authorities who accuse Him of violating the Sabbath (as He commanded the healed man to take up his bed and walk; thus carrying a burden).  In Christ's reply to them, He has spoken of His identity as Son, and equality with the Father, which enraged the leadership even more as they consider this blasphemy.  Yesterday we read that Jesus answered and said to them, "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 defends His words, for which He's been accused of blasphemy, stating that He does "the will of the Father who sent Me."  My study Bible explains that the divine will is common to the three Persons of the Trinity -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- for they all fully share the same divine nature.  It notes that when the Son is said to obey the Father, this refers to Christ's human will, which He assumed at His Incarnation.  He freely aligned His human will in every aspect with the divine will of the Father, and we are 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?"  Christ's witness cannot be untrue (see John 8:14).  But nonetheless, here He is anticipating the thoughts and challenges of the religious authorities, and offers for Himself four witnesses.  (My study Bible says He does the same thing in Luke 4:23.)  In Jewish tradition, a valid testimony requires two witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6).  But Jesus offers twice that to confirm His identity as Messiah and as Son of God.  These witnesses are God the Father, John the Baptist, His own works, and the Old Testament Scriptures, through which Moses and others gave testimony.  

We might wonder how these religious leaders can understand Christ's offering of four witnesses to His identity.  In truth, these men who are the experts in the Scriptures, and whose lives are dedicated not only to upholding them but to their interpretation and the traditions built up around them, and He expects them to understand precisely what He's talking about.  The signs that He does are all signs pointed to in the Old Testament Scriptures regarding the "works" of the Messiah, the signs that will be seen.  The marvelous works He does are not something that belongs to those who practice sorcery or magic, not even to holy men like the prophets.  These works He does, Jesus testifies, bear witness that the Father sent Him, because He does only what the Father wills for Him to do.  But the works He does are only one testimony to His identity.  There is John the Baptist, who also testified to Christ, about whom we read in the beginning of John's Gospel, and from whom came the first disciples of Christ.  Jesus says that the Father Himself testifies as witness to His identity as Christ.  And then He includes these verses:  "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."  This is very important for us to understand, for what Jesus is saying here is that without the love of God in our hearts, we will not be able to discern what is of God.  Hence, they cannot receive Christ nor "hear" the truth He tells them.  He goes on to say,  "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?"   If they "search the Scriptures," believing that in them is eternal life, then why can they not discern the testimony there regarding Jesus?  But they are not willing to come to Him.  They cannot recognize Him, because they "do not have the love of God" in them.  Again, Christ speaks of a recognition that is only borne of this love in the heart to begin with.  And the contrast He names here is very important: their focus is on the worldly, on the social recognition of a worldly name, and not on the love of God that would define all other relationships, and set them in proper order.  But, He says, He does not receive honor from men; that is, His recognition of what is good and true and honorable is from love of the Father, and not the pressures, status, worldly authority, and other "signs" of social life of human beings.  This is an important distinction for us, for we live in a world where social signals become more relevant every day to how people live their lives.  This is especially true via media saturation into the most personal of spheres in most of our lives.  So the focus begins here with the love of the Father in the heart in the first place.  It is reflective of Christ's named "first and greatest" commandment, part of the beginning of the Shema, the Jewish confession of faith.   In Deuteronomy 6 we read, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart" (Deuteronomy 6:4-6).  Let us look more closely at the two great commandments that Jesus says sum up the law and the prophets, for coupled together, the addition of the second greatest commandment also teaches us about right relatedness to others.  That commandment is,  "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18).   In this is proper relationship, and not a social hierarchy of slavish worship of status or the approval of others, for that is the place only of God, and our values start with the love of God to determine them, even to determine the shape of love, what it is, what it looks like, and what it asks of us.  Jesus sticks to His truth, which begins with the love of God, and this determines everything else that follows, including His own identity and the works He does.  Let us begin there as well, and see how this love shapes us, what it teaches us of love, what love is and means -- and even what it is not.  For, as with Jesus, our own "works" will also testify to who we are, even if others cannot discern them.