How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not see 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 see 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 yesterday's reading, Jesus answered and said to the religious leaders who condemned Him for healing on the Sabbath, and were outraged that He made Himself equal with God:  "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 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.  When the Son is said to obey the Father, then, this refers to Christ's human will, which was assumed at His Incarnation.  My study Bible explains that Jesus freely aligned His human will in every aspect 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 see 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?"  Commenting on this passage, my study Bible asks, how could Christ's witness ever be untrue?  It cannot (see John 8:14).  Jesus here is, in fact, anticipating the argument and speaking the thoughts of the religious leaders (he does the same thing in Luke 4:23).  My study Bible notes that in Jewish tradition, a valid testimony requires two witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6).  Here, Jesus offers four witnesses in support of His identity as Son of God.  First, there is God the Father (verses 32, 37, 38); Second, John the Baptist (verses 33-35); Third, He cites His own works which reveal or witness to Him (verse 36); and Fourth, the Old Testament Scriptures, through which Moses and others gave testimony prophesying Him (verses 39-47). 

When Jesus names His four witnesses named by my study Bible above, He 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 see the honor that comes from the only God?"  What are we to make of these statements?  Jesus draws a clear line here between what are acceptable witnesses and what are not, as He establishes His own choice of witnesses as to His identity as Son.  He says, "I do not receive honor from men."  In a sense, Jesus is challenging all of us to consider where we draw the line in terms of our own "witnesses" to our lives and identities.  By what (or rather, by whom) do we measure ourselves?  How do we take stock of who we are?  What gives a good testimony for us?  Is our honor from men; that is, from other people?  Or by what other measure may we measure ourselves?  Instead of depending upon reputation or the opinion of His contemporaries, Jesus establishes His credentials, so to speak, on the testimony of more highly esteemed witnesses with divine and eternal qualities of the holy:  God the Father, John the Baptist, His words through which His divinity is expressed, and the Old Testament Scriptures which testify to Him.  This invites us to think about what standards we use to measures ourselves.  Are the standards of how we evaluate ourselves those we learn from the Scriptures?  Are they from Christ's words and teachings in the Gospels?  Do we emulate or seek to live up to the conduct of the saints?  Do we follow what we know of God's will for us?  Do we seek to follow Christ's commandment to "love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34)?  Will these be our witnesses to the quality and meaning of our own lives, to our very identity?  Or will our popularity or reputation speak for us?  Will it be the "honor that comes from men" such as a position in the society, or our income and status or possessions?  If we give charitably, is it to be flattered by a public image in the eyes of others, or is it to help the less fortunate?  These are dividing lines that Jesus draws here, between the "honor that comes from men" and the honor that comes from God.  So much depends, really, upon our love for God, as Jesus claims here.  For what we truly love is what (or Whom) we seek to please.  Does our esteem come from pleasing God?  Or is it our own great name in the world that gives us esteem?  We must consider these measurements of our lives at every turn, because each answer will determine what we seek first, whom we seek to please the most.  Jesus gives His answer; let us carefully think about our own.  

Before Abraham was, I AM

 "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."

Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered:  "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

- John 8:47-59

Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, which is an autumn festival.  He has been engaged in dialogue -- confrontation, really -- with the authorities in the temple.  Yesterday, we read that they answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father; and you do what you have seen with your father.   They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."  Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

  "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."    Here is the teaching Jesus gives openly, and the command He gives to His disciples, and has given to those among the leadership who believed in Him:  "Abide in My word."  (See 8:31.)   My study bible points out that these particular individuals who are His enemies among the leadership can't defeat Him through logic or truth, so they resort now to personal insult.   Ironically, it's a sort of projection.  He has told them their "father" is the father of lies, the evil one, because they cannot hear the truth.  They respond by telling Him that He has a demon.

Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered:  "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word."  Again, Jesus refers back to the Father, who is witness to His identity as Son.   He has done this twice already, in giving witnesses to His identity.  In John 5:30-47, He gave four witnesses:  John the Baptist, God the Father, the works Jesus does, and the Scriptures.  In John 8:12-20, He gave two witnesses:  Himself and God the Father. 

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.  My study bible says that this phrase I AM (in Greek, ego eimi) is the divine Name of God in the Old Testament.  It was the name revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-15).  The power of this name is something incalculable; it is a statement of God.  As my study bible puts it, "It is a direct, explicit, and unmistakable claim to perfect equality with God."    We can see this clearly by their reaction to Him.  (See also Mark 14:62-64.)  My study bible says, "John places special emphasis on the use of this Name to clearly reveal Christ as God.  This divine claim illuminates Christ's authority even over death, a power belonging only to God the Father."

Once again, we observe here in the dialogue with the leadership that Jesus continually refers back to God the Father.  He defines His identity as Son with the Father, His identity comes from the Father and His relationship to the Father.  Furthermore there are more connections necessary here for that identity and for its recognition in us.  Jesus says, "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  There is a recognition here that we are indeed capable of.  It's not just the Son that somehow knows the Father, in the sense of a capacity for recognition.  Somehow our love for God the Father plays into our ability to recognize Jesus' words that come from the Father.   In John's chapter 10, Jesus will call Himself the good shepherd, and teach that He knows the sheep that are His own, and those that are His own know Him, just as the Father knows Him and He knows the Father.   (See John 10:14-16.)  This is a kind of knowing and recognition that comes from a connection of love.  We can't know God as Christ knows God; we don't know God the same way that we would know from speaking in the fullness of  being that Christ does, but we "know" and come to know better, just the same.  We're all in this together, with Him, and we are invited in.  The implication here is that these who listen and cannot hear, who cannot hear nor know, have no love of the Father in them.  They haven't got that deep desire for love in relationship to God.  They may be the experts in the law and the Scriptures, but they're not there in that place with the heart.  In Matthew 15:8 Jesus will quote the Prophet Isaiah:  These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from Me."  And there's more to it all than that.  This "knowing" is life itself, it's a sign of that life that doesn't end.  Jesus speaks of relationship to Abraham, and the leadership can only think of death, that Abraham and all the prophets are dead.  But they live in Him, and that is the life to which He invites us -- and even this leadership to which He speaks in today's verses -- to join Him in that life, to share in it.  So knowing, recognition, relationship, love, and life itself as Jesus defines it -- all of these things are bound up in faith.  That is something that asks us to touch the heart, to live in the heart, to recognize in the heart.  It's all about the love that comes from the love of God, the desire to know the Shepherd, to realize oneself as "rational sheep."   Just as Jesus is not alone, because the Father is always with Him, so we are not alone as well.  We are never alone.   Jesus' statement, "Before Abraham was, I AM" is a statement that tells us of His constant presence, a presence that's not defined nor limited by space and time.  And so, sharing the attributes of God the Father, He is always with us, always present.  We are not alone.  That ever-present I AM is there for us; He's telling that truth for us, for all time, for all of us.  Let us remember the currency of the Kingdom, the gate that opens the door for the sheep, to the sheepfold that holds us all:  it's love.  It's our love of the Goodness itself, the God who gave us His Son out of love.  By ancient tradition, to know another's name is to know them, to have them revealed to you, a kind of power that is given in the deepest intimacy, and trust.  God gives us the I AM so that we may know God, and know Christ.  It's an invitation we mustn't fail to accept.

I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you

"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 the present readings, Jesus is speaking to the authorities in the temple at Jerusalem. It began during the Feast of Pentecost (or the Feast of Weeks), during which Jesus was at a pool called Bethesda near the Sheep Gate. Many invalids waited there for the stirring of the water, which was believed to have been done by an angel. When the water stirred, it was believed that the first one in the pool would be healed. Jesus asked a man, who had been ill for 38 years, if he wanted to be healed. He told the man, "Take up your bed and walk." The authorities were upset that this man was carrying a burden on the Sabbath. When they found who Jesus was, He told them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Then they sought all the more to kill Jesus, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but called Himself equal to God. In yesterday's reading, Jesus began His discourse on the life and nature of the Son. He spoke of the Son as doing nothing of Himself but what has been given by the Father. He said, "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." Therefore all Judgment has been committed to the Son. Those who fail to honor the Son fail to honor the Father. Those with faith in the word of the Son will receive everlasting life. He told them, "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 reaffirms His dedication to the Father, and the common will of both Father and Son. My study bible points out that in their divine Being, all Persons of the Trinity share the same will and energy. But as a human being, Jesus also has human energy: therefore in life in the world - as manifest human being - "all energy originates in the Father, being communicated through the Son in the Holy Spirit." His human will, then, is offered to God the Father as the source of all. "This," it says, "is His own will which must do the will of the Father." But Jesus has just finished speaking about the Judgment that is to come. So this is an extension of the teaching that all Judgment is in the hands of the Son.

"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." In Jewish tradition, a valid testimony required two witnesses. Here Jesus begins to offer witnesses to them. First there is John the Baptist - a very popular preacher, widely respected by the people as a holy man. But we note Jesus' words here: it's not the testimony of man that He thinks is essential. What He offers them is testimony that they may be saved. This is a testimony offered for their faith, their capacity to receive the life He offers to all. John's Gospel will continually remind us of the persecution to come to the Church at the hands of human beings and institutions; here the hint is clear that only for a time were they willing to rejoice in the light of John the Baptist.

"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." Here Jesus offers the signs or miracles He's done and puts them into clear context. These signs (such as at the wedding in Cana, or the healing of the paralytic) point to the Father; they bear witness that He's sent by the Father and bears the life of the Father in Him.

"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." The Father also bears witness to Jesus' status as Son. But only those who truly love the Father are capable of hearing His word within themselves, which comes through faith, manifesting in the form of faith and trust in the One who's been sent by the Father and represents the Father in the world..

"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?" Finally, there are the Scriptures themselves, in which the leadership are authorities and experts, keeping the Law and all rabbinical interpretation. But, says Jesus, the Scriptures testify of Him, and they can't see it; they don't understand it, they can't really read it. If they had the love of God truly in them, they would recognize Him as the One of whom the Scriptures speak. But all they believe in is the glory of man, the honor of men. If a famous rabbi were to say one thing and another, they would believe. But the real faith that comes from the Father? It's not in them. They don't receive Him. Finally, He has no need to accuse them Himself, but rather Moses - whom they claim to love - will testify against them. But they fail even to understand Moses, who has written about and pointed toward the Christ. And so, how can they receive His word when they don't really believe Moses?

Jesus gives us the idea here that Scripture is the living word of God. It's not something written long ago, heard once upon a time, relevant to some people at one time. But Scripture is something else altogether. It has a life and a presence that comes from what is holy. And there we enter into a kind of communication that goes beyond language, and words, and time, and place, and all the things we understand of human life minus the Kingdom. Scripture brings an energy with it. We can have a blinding insight from one passage that reflects to us something making clear a personal situation. We can meditate with it and pray with it. So the love of God is in this living word, as Christ Himself is the living Word. So the language of the holy becomes something strong and living to us. In this is the life of Scripture and the life of faith, the word of those who tell us spiritual truth, the life of John the Baptist, the teachings of Christ, the word of Moses, and the reality of the Father's word in us, prompting us to faith, to worship in spirit and in truth. So the holy things live to us and live in us. In the life of the spiritual realm, the Kingdom, all things are present all the time. And there is where we start with faith. How do we know what we know -- or rather, trust what we trust? In this is the life of faith, something present and alive, in which we hear the words of the ages in the present moment right now. It starts with love, as Jesus says here, with the love of the Father in the heart. And everything builds from there in relationships of love.