He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him

 

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answer1ed them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

 

- John 7:14–36 

 

Yesterday we read that after disputes over His teaching on His Body and Blood,  Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of the Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.   

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  My study Bible comments that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  Spiritual blindness comes from unwillingness to know God or recognize the authority of God.  It cites St. John Chrysostom as paraphrasing Christ in this way:  "Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God.  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no  longer be afflicted in this way." 

 

 The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."   In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus gives various blameless Sabbath violations (Matthew 12:3-5) when accused of doing work on the Sabbath.  Here Jesus points out their own exception for circumcision on the Sabbath.  Therefore, if circumcision can be performed on a Sabbath, why not making a man completely well on the Sabbath?  My study Bible comments that this therefore demonstrates that the law is not absolute over human need or service to God.  

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  The crowds from Jerusalem say, "We know where this Man is from . . .."  But my study Bible comments that the crowds are mistaken, in both an earthly sense and in a divine sense.  In terms of Christ's humanity, they know Jesus as being from Nazareth in Galilee.  But they are not aware that in fact He was born in Bethlehem, a factor prophesied in terms of the identity of the Messiah.  More than that, they cannot understand His teaching that He has come from the Father in heaven, and that in His divine identity He is eternally begotten before all ages.  So, therefore, both in a human and a divine sense, His origin is unknown to them.  

Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  Christ's hour, as discussed in yesterday's commentary, is the time of His suffering and death.  My study Bible comments that He is Lord over time, which is an authority possessed by God alone.  Jesus comes to the Cross of His own free will, and in His time, and not according to the plots of human beings (see John 8:20; 10:39).  

 

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."   My study Bible explains suggests that this latter statement refers to Christ's death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven. 

Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"  To go among the Greeks means to go among the Gentiles.  My study Bible says that this unwitting prophecy points to the time after Christ's Ascension when His name will be preached among the Gentiles by the apostles.  

In today's reading, Jesus tells the religious leaders, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."  This is a complicated statement, and quite interesting, because He posits directly to them that they don't recognize that His doctrine is from God, because they don't will to do God's will.  Essentially what He is saying is that those who truly desire to serve God will also recognize Him, and where He is coming from, so to speak.  What is important here is the consistency of authority that is at work when instead of seeking only to serve ourselves we seek to serve God.  Or, as Jesus has put it, the One who sent Him.  Jesus puts this in the framework of a mission, with Himself as Servant, loyally serving the One who has sent Him.  It puts us in mind of a good soldier, or a good loyal servant, or one who serves a higher ranking authority in government or any other institution or enterprise.  If one is loyal to the one who sent you, then the mission is carried out with loyalty, true to the plan of the person one serves.  But to seek one's own glory and own will is to be inconsistent with the mission, a poor servant.   With this kind of logic, Jesus clearly frames an argument challenging the religious leaders about their lack of comprehension of what He does and who He is, because they are not loyal to the One whom they are supposed to serve.  As the religious leaders of the people, they are entrusted with the care of the flock of Israel, the beloved people of God.  They are meant to serve God by caring for this flock, and leading the people back to God.  But they seek their own glory instead, vying for their own authority rather than that of the One whom they're meant to serve.  They seek their own ends for their own purposes.  In Matthew 23, Jesus gives His full speech in condemnation of the devices and practices of the religious leadership.  Here, as they begin to show their desire to attack and be rid of Jesus, He tackles the heart of the problem and their divided loyalties which keep them from serving God and recognizing that He does so Himself.   If we take these words at face value, we can see how they would also apply to ourselves, because Jesus invites us also to consider whose will we seek to serve.  How will we recognize Him for who He truly is?  If we love and seek to serve the Father, we will also recognize the aim of Jesus; we will mutually seek to serve the same will of the Father.  And this continues as a kind of testing pattern for all who come into the Church and call themselves Christians:  whose loyalty is commanded in us?  Whom do we seek to serve?  Whose will do we desire to do?  In a sense Jesus is teaching that in that will of God the Father all those who love God may converge to recognize one another.  If it sounds complex, it needn't do:  we're meant to pray to find the way to discern, and to look to our hearts for where our love and loyalty lie.  Let us consider the power of this faithful Servant and His mission, and that we are invited to share in and do our part serving the same.