John 5:41-44b
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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?
Jesus is in the middle of an argument with those who hate him—The Jewish Leaders
The Jews have dressed up their hatred out of a devotion to 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.
But Jesus—from verses 19-47 is answering this by showing that he can only do what he has been shown by the Father
Salvation—Judgement—things that show the most supreme power is given to Jesus by the Father to do
He then tells them how Messiah has testimony—not primarily from man but from God
And this testimony reaches its apex in the Word of God—that all points to him
And since he is talking to a people who knew the Scriptures well he tells them their folly
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.
How? How is it possible that they would know the Scriptures so well yet miss that they bear witness to Jesus
How is it possible that they would see messiah in flesh right before them, but refuse to go to him for life?
How is it possible for people today not to see Jesus for who he truly is?
Do they have a good excuse?
Does Jesus say here…this whole mix up is understandable
When he comes back to judge the living and the dead, will he say, “your unbelief is justifiable”
No
Because the heart of unbelief is not innocent—or cute…it comes from utter depraved wickedness
And these next few verses get to the heart of such unbelief
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.
What does he mean then—he doesn’t receive glory from people?
What does glory mean?
Glory: To have high honor or fame
Lebron James…has glory from people because he is good at basketball
Abraham Lincoln…has glory from people because he was a good president
People have determined that they were worthy of fame for what they have done
Adolf Hitler—does not have glory
People have determined he is not worthy of it
The problem is, that people think they can do the same for God
Hmmm…what has God done, is he worthy of glory from me
I didn’t get that job I wanted
My house is too small, my car is too old
And my husband annoys me
Or something I get a lot when evangelizing
God judges people too much…he is too strict
I mean he told the Jews to exterminate all the Canaanites…that’s genocide
I hear Christians say they do not feel the need to submit and worship to God because he has not done enough
They either say that explicitly with words, or they say it implicitly with their actions
Or an equal problem is when someone deems God worthy of glory based off of their own standards—I have enough money, possessions etc…therefore God is worthy
In Jesus’ day—the Jewish leaders were to determine if the Messiah was worthy of glory based on his performance for them
The Messiah better be exactly what we say he should be
What does all of this have in common? Man is the authority and Judge
But Jesus flips this on its head by stating
41 I do not receive glory from people.
Now Jesus is glorified in his saints
But what makes him worthy of such glory is not us
God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit is glorious inherently
We know what is worthy of Glory because God is the standard of it
It’s not that it is our opinion that God is good and beautiful and worthy of our praise
He is the standard of good, and beauty…and he is the standard of praisworthyness
Jesus is saying—I am unlike you…God is unlike you…I am the final authority of these matters
I am not judged by man as to whether or not I am glorious
How much people need to be told this when they give the reasons as to why they are not a believer---and they put themselves in the judgement seat
Jesus does not allow the Jewish leaders to be in the jdugement seat over him
He says I am the judge
And your problem is not anything but
42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you.
Since Jesus came in the glory of the Father
And since the Jewish leaders hated the Father—they are rejecting the Son
Jesus knew they did not love God because they were rejecting him
A love for God does not mean he meets our standard
Hollywood has taught us that love is a feeling that happens to us
True love for God is when we forsake our own standard and we submit to him
Because he is, of himself, the standard of glory
The problem here is that Jesus came in his own glory with the Father
And he is talking to a people who hate the Father and so hate him
Because they lust after their own glory
We have believed a lie from Hollywood that love is subjective
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.
The whole point Jesus has been driving is that he is driven by God—he has come in his name
He can do nothing outside of God
All of the testimony of God is found in Jesus
And it is because of that that they do not receive him
The Jewish leaders tried saying Jesus was sinning against God and that is why they rejected him
Jesus says it is the opposite---I am in perfect union with God, and so you hate me
in fact
if another comes in his own name, you will receive him
or
If I were to come in man’s name you would have received me
And this has been the testimony of all time in Israel
Prophets had short life spans
False prophets lived in luxury
Why?
Because man, in our rebellion naturally try to make ourselves the judge
And if something does not measure up to our standard, we do not receive it
Just look at what’s happening right now in the world with liberalism and the leftist agenda
You better bow down to what we say if not the whole world will come crashing down on you
We are meant to be very dogmatic like that…but not by our standard, but God’s in his word
That is why if they get their way, Christians who hold to a standard that is revealed in the Word will be the first to be persecuted
Jesus says you do not receive me because I come in the Father’s name
And the great deception of Satan is they had convinced themselves that they acted on behalf of God
People reject Jesus because they have been deceived by the prince of this world
And going even deeper to the heart of the issue at hand, 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?
A presupposition is something you suppose to be true when receiving data
If someone presupposes all police officers are evil and they see them using force on rioters…what will they conclude?
If someone presupposes police officers are perfect and they see one knelling on someone’s neck for close to ten minutes…what will they conclude?
By the way, I see no one assuming that
The heart of the issue with the Jewish leaders was that there presuppositions was faulty
Because they had no love for God, they made the glory of man their presupposition
And Jesus says since you seek the glory that comes from each other and not God
It is impossible for you to believe in God’s Messiah
