John 5:41-44
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 12 viewsNotes
Transcript
30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
41 I do not receive glory from people.
11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Obvious Jesus does not mean he does not get glorified by people
So what does he mean?
What is glory? A word we say often but can sometimes find we don’t know what it means...
Glory: High RENOWN or honor
RENOWN: Fame
So when we say God has glory
We are saying he has fame and honor
And he has fame and honor for who he is and what he has done (not what humans think but because of who he is)
In fact, what he has done is only the result of who he is
What has God done to receive fame and glory?
Lebron James has played basketball well—and has toyed with Cleveland’s heart
Because Lebron James is a good basketball player, he has performed well and thus receives honor and glory
Abraham Lincoln is the most popular president for making the South submit and freeing the slaves
Because Lincoln was a strong leader with honorable convictions he now receives glory and honor from people
What has God done to receive fame and glory?
We have spoken about this already briefly, but the greatest works God has done through the Son is creation and recreation
1 Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord, give praise, O servants of the Lord, 2 who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God! 3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant! 4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession. 5 For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. 6 Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. 7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. 8 He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and of beast; 9 who in your midst, O Egypt, sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants; 10 who struck down many nations and killed mighty kings, 11 Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan, 12 and gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to his people Israel. 13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever, your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages. 14 For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants. 15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 16 They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; 17 they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them. 19 O house of Israel, bless the Lord! O house of Aaron, bless the Lord! 20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord! You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord! 21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion, he who dwells in Jerusalem! Praise the Lord!
Many Psalms work this way:
Psalm 145
Psalm 136
Psalm 104—Is a psalm of praise for his creation and maintenance of his creation
then
Psalm 105—Is a psalm of praise for his work in the covenant with Israel
Paul connects CREATION and RECREATION together in the book of Romans when talking about salvation
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?
God has glory, honor and fame because of who he is
And all that he has done, he has done because of who he is
In fact, outside of seeing his works, we cannot know God
He is incomprehensible since he is outside of this creation
But by his works, we can get a great taste of who he is, and it should cause us to worship him
We worship because God is glorious because of who he is
This is why God gets glory in two main areas, creation and recreation
Is your prayer life dead or boring?
Do you have a hard time spending time alone with your God because your time with him is dead or boring?
Follow the pattern of Scripture and learn to appreciate your God for his
Creation:
learn to kiss the sun as it rises
And explore the different plants and animals around you
Be sensitive to the beauties of life that is every where
And let it result in happy praise to the Creator
Follow the pattern of Scripture and learn to appreciate your God for his
Recreation
Salvation—in you and your fellow brothers and sisters
We are the One bride of our one Lord and Savior
And we enjoy him in a unified fashion
We glorify him for his creation and recreation
And this is a check we can all do personally
God is clear in why he is glorious
God is clear in how we are to glorify him
His creation—his recreation
If you find yourself not doing this—it is a sin issue, that through repentance and trust upon Christ—can be fixed
Notice God is the standard of how we enjoy him—glorify him
We do not glorify or enjoy God on our own terms
There are many people who give “glory to God” for their terrorist activities
There are many people who give “glory to God” for “accepting gays”
Humans are good at creating the criteria of how God is glorified and enjoyed
Again—if you have no prayer life or time alone in which you enjoy glorifying your God—it is because you are trying to glorify him off your own standard
But God has glory for who he is and what he has done because of who he is
We praise and glorify him rightly when we are in tune with his purpose
Now
This helps us understand verse 41
41 I do not receive glory from people.
The Jewish leaders hated Jesus because he didn’t receive his glory from them
They wanted messiah to look a very particular way
Their way
And Jesus was not measuring up
And Jesus says my glory is not derived from you
Remember we are at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry
Where he is doing the works that is in keeping with what God has given him to do
And the Jewish leaders hate him for it
But they dressed their hatred up as if it was because they love God
18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
So Jesus’ words here I do not receive glory from people
is to express two major things
The Jews hated Jesus because he sought not their human glory
The fact that he sought now human glory made him much different than the Jews who only sought after human glory
So the conflict here between Jesus and the Jewish Leaders was to the heart of it, a conflict between man’s will and God’s will
Man’s testimony, and God’s testimony
Man’s glory and God’s glory
And Jesus does not compromise
In fact Jesus says
42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you.
Those who loved God were looking to the day of Jesus and his appearing
42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Jesus gets to the heart of their unbelief by saying they have no love for God
Jesus says:
I do not rely upon the glory of man…of you
Because I love God the Father
You do rely upon the glory of man
Because you do not love God
So when the glory from the father
Comes in contact with those who receive glory from man
The result is unbelief—hatred
All unbelief has this in common
They try to dictate what makes God worthy of honor
All true belief, sees that God is the one who decides what makes him worthy
And when someone does not submit to this, it is because they have no love for God
When you evangelize, you will see people in their sin—in their rebellion will try to make themselves the judge, the authority
Just like the Jewish leaders were doing here
We do well when we copy Jesus’ strategy…go straight to the root of the problem and tell them the problem here is not with God in performing the way you want him to act
The problem is your sin in your heart that causes you to dislike God and how he has gloriously manifested himself
We will only do this when we seek the glory that comes from God and not man
And Jesus, as the founder and perfecter of our faith gives us the standard here
This is something that we as those who claim Christ can fail at as well
Do I glorify the God who is all glorious of himself
And so worship him by his standard?
Or have I tried to be the judge of how to glorify God
Do I rely upon my own feelings in worshipping God, instead of being a slave to his Word where he has revealed himself?
Because as Jesus says here: the source of God’s glory is not us
And we prove that we love God when we glorify him for who he is and what he has done
As revealed in Scripture
Jesus, when dealing with the Jewish unbelievers
Says your desire for man’s glory is on display
Your lack of love of God is on display
because you do not honor me
43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
I have come in my Father’s name
The Son can do nothing without the Father
19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
The Father bears witness to the Son
32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.
37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen,
I have come in my Father’s name
AND YOU DO NOT RECEIVE ME
If another comes in his OWN name, you will receive him
You put honey on your back patio in the middle of a hot sunny day—what will that honey attract in a few hours?
An army of ants
Later that night, you turn on your back patio light—what will you see congregated at the light a few minutes later?
moths—and other flying little creatures
There are things we can use to keep unwanted things away
Mosquito spray keeps mosquitto’s away
There are certain things that either attract or keep away God’s creation based off of what’s naturally in them
Man—in his fallen state—naturally shies away from the light of God’s truth
As it proclaims what makes God objectable glorious and honorable and how it is in our best interest to submit
The Jewish leaders proved to be haters of God by not receiving the Word made flesh right before them
The Jewish leaders naturally hated Jesus because by their nature they were haters of God
The end result? They did not receive him
And to get to the heart of it once more Jesus says
44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
HOW!!!!
The answer is, they cannot
One cannot believe truly upon God when their number one objective is not to seek his glory
Man in his natural state of sin seeks man’s glory (self glory, pleasure, desires)—and thus they naturally run away from God
And they naturally flee to the human testimony that is contrary to God
Look at the mastery of Jesus dealing with unbelief here
He does not pander to them but tells them what they need to hear
You do not receive me because you hate God
And you cannot love God because you do not first seek his glory
And unbelief today is no different
It is called a presupposition
We all have things that we assume to be before we take in information
Is Jesus the messiah, the only way to God?
If your presupposition is to glorify God above self and all men then you will see Jesus as he truly is
But if your presupposition is to glorify self, humans, then you will naturally turn away from the true Jesus
Make up an idol instead
This desire to glorify self above God, had always been Israel’s problem when they ignored the covenant God made with them
25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
They did what they thought was worthy of glory
So God gives Israel a king to represent them
But the kings of Israel proved to go the way of evil—seek self glory and not God’s glory
And so God wipes Israel out, let’s them return to wait in limbo until the true King of Israel would come
He comes—and is manifest right in front of them—but the same problem persists: they sought the glory of man (what was right in their own eyes)
And so it was impossible for them to have nothing but hate for the King who came to do the will of Yahweh
You know what’s even more depressing? Israel represents all of humanity in that although God’s glory is clear and on display for all to see
In our depravity we flee from it while making excuses like these Jewish leaders here
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
The Jewish leaders represent the fallen Adamic race
In seeking the glory that comes from man—self
And thus hating God because he is not like us
But Jesus came—the King of Israel—the salvation of Israel and the World
Who, by his death and resurrection covers the sins of his people
So that when the Spirit applies this work of redemption
We go from seeking the glory of man—seeking the glory of self
To seeking the glory of God
We go from wanting to dictate what makes God worthy of glory—and trying to force that on God
To submitting to His law which declares what makes him worthy
We are freed from such insanity wrapped in faleshood
And we follow our Savior, who from the heart sought only the glory that comes from God
Is your identity found in the fallen Adam, or the Risen Adam?
Your life practice will make that clear
Let it be known of us at judgement day that we were able to believe because we sought after the glory of God above all