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 Jesus answered and said to the religious authorities who questioned Him after He healed on the Sabbath, "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."  My study Bible explains here 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 is a reference to Christ's human will, which He assumed at His Incarnation.  Jesus freely aligned His human will in every aspect with the divine will of God the Father, and so 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?"  My study Bible has a lengthy note on these verses.  First, it asks how Christ's witness could ever be untrue?  It cannot (see John 8:14).  Rather, my study Bible says that Jesus is anticipating the argument and here He is speaking the thoughts of the Jewish leaders whom He's addressing (He does the same thing in Luke 4:23).  In Jewish tradition, my study Bible explains, a valid testimony requires two witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6).  Here Christ offers four witnesses to confirm His identity as Messiah and as Son of God.  First is God the Father (verses 32, 37-38).  Then there is also John the Baptist (verses 33-35).  Finally, there are His own works that He has done (verse 36), and the Old Testament Scriptures, through which Moses and others gave testimony (verses 39-47).  

 

What is this that Christ says about honor and its importance to us?  On some level, all human beings -- and even animals -- want something that is called honor.   We can consider honor to mean reputation, or status, or fame, or renown.  Somehow it conveys our presence to others and the way others think of us, where we have significance in a society or a group.  The honor we receive back from others influences also the ways that we think of ourselves.  For this is the way that our minds work.  Even for groups of animals, status within the group is essential to function.  In verse 44 of today's reading, Jesus asks, "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?"  This word that is translated as "honor" is usually translated as "glory" in the Greek.  It is δόξα/doxa.  So, considering this word, we can see its relation to reputation, renown, status among a group or society.  It is the word from which we derive the term doxology, a hymn of praise to God.  So Jesus is putting to these men a kind of challenge, to consider where they think their honor or glory comes from.  Does it come from God?  Or does it come from human beings?  Is their greatness something derived from impressing others, or from following God?  If our own notions of honor are sought by pleasing God, then where do we think our "glory" comes from?  If we look only to the world and ignore our relation with God in what we do, then where does our glory or honor come from?  In some way, this question exemplifies and underscores all that is contained in the Gospels, in the story of Jesus Christ and His ministry of salvation for this world.  For where does our honor or glory come from?  The Cross itself (and Christ's Crucifixion) exemplifies this very dichotomy, this contrast in where we think our honor or glory lies.  For in going to the Cross, Christ gave us the starkest example of One who sacrificed all worldly honor and glory for the honor and glory bestowed by God, and in so doing, He "trampled death by death" as the Orthodox Paschal Troparion declares.  As St. Paul put it, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).  St. John the Baptist, in his rigorous asceticism and radical humility, also exemplified a life lived for the glory of God only, without regard to worldly honor.  One could say that the very definition of a saint is of a person who gives all for their love of God, whatever that means in their lives.  To seek honor or glory from the only God is to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).  This is from the command known as the Shema, after the first word in Hebrew (meaning "hear"); it is the Jewish declaration of faith.  It is also called the first great commandment by Christ (see Matthew 22:36-40).  It is this commandment to which Jesus' question appeals in addressing these religious leaders.  Where does their honor or glory come from?  How can they understand Him and what He says if they do not truly love God?  He says in all earnestness, "How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?"   Today we can ask ourselves the same question. Where does our honor come from?  Where is our glory?