John 5:41-47 (WEL) “I am not trying to get human praise. 42 “But I know you, that you do not have God’s love in you. 43 “I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 “How is it possible for you to believe when you get praise from one another and are not seeking praise from the only God? 45 “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, in whom you trust. 46 “But if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me because he wrote about me. 47 “And if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
V41 “I am not trying to get human praise.
Principle: Receiving praise from God is more important than receiving praise from humans. Reason? Praise from God is eternal; praise from humans is subjective, temporary, and perhaps manipulative. Compare Galatians 1:10, Matthew 6:1, John 12:43, and Matthew 5:16.
V42 “But I know you, that you do not have God’s love in you.
Jesus is conversing with people who are seeking praise from other people, pleasing other people, and loving themselves. God wants people to be seeking praise from God, pleasing Him, and loving Him (obedience). This is not narcissistic but reality as God is the one and only God, King of kings, Lord of lords, creator, Law Giver, the highest judge, etc.
What a horrible reality—they do not love God. If we love God, we obey Him, but most Jews in Jesus’s day obeyed manmade rules and man-centered interpretations.
Principle: Jesus knows the hearts, motives, and desires of everyone, including you and me.
V43 “I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will receive him.
Jesus has been commissioned by the Father. Jesus was sent to the Earth as Messiah and to minister as such. Compare 1 John 4:9, Galatians 4:4, Romans 8:3, and John 1:18.
Jesus was not welcomed as Messiah by most of the Jews, especially the leaders.
(Ryrie Study Bible Notes) Though you won’t follow Me, Christ says, you will, ironically, follow false messiahs—which the Jews did periodically until finally crushed by Rome in A.D. 135.
(Zondervan King James Version Commentary, New Testament) To come in the name of someone is to function under the authority of the one named. A person’s name is the quintessential token of his personal identity, his status, and his character. Jesus not only executed His commission in the Father’s name but also shares the identity, status, and character of the name because He is not only the agent of God but also the Son of God (“I am,” 8:58). When Jesus said, “If another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive,” He was stating that His opponents would accept anyone who came in his own authority because that one would function as their peer and not as their superior. In Jesus, God had a claim on them that they rejected. The question Jesus asked is rhetorical. The answer was clear already. They did not want to submit to God. They therefore rejected the one who came in His name. Their self-seeking honor (advantage and benefit) showed that they did not accept the one who came from God, and therefore they missed the advantage and benefit that comes from God.
V44 “How is it possible for you to believe when you get praise from one another and are not seeking praise from the only God?
Since these people sought only the praise of humans, especially rabbis and other religious leaders, they dismissed God’s praise for them.
Compare John 12:48.
Balaam is an example of a person seeking glory from humans (Numbers 22:37).
Principle: It is more important to get praise from God than from humans.
V45 “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, in whom you trust.
Compare Romans 2:12-13 and James 2:10.
V46 “But if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me because he wrote about me.
Moses, as a prophet writing the message of God, referred to Messiah a number of times, including Genesis 49:10 and Deuteronomy 18:15.
Compare Luke 24:27.
Scriptures are the standard of right and wrong. If the Bible states something is OK or not OK, that is the standard. God expects people to align themselves perfectly with His Laws, but it is impossible (Ecclesiastes 7:20 and Romans 3:23).
V47 “And if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
The people did not trust in God for salvation and forgiveness of sins, but rather in their ability to keep Mosaic Law perfectly, as interpreted by humans.
Since they do not believe Moses, they cannot believe Jesus.
Principle: The Bible is the only source of 100% truth.
We learn:
- Not to seek praise from humans.
- Not to trust in ourselves for salvation.
Questions:
- Are you seeking praise from humans?
- Are you seeking salvation by sacraments and other humans’ efforts?