This chapter contains a lot of doctrine regarding the nature of Jesus, and there is much that we could dig into here.
- Jesus as the Lord of the Sabbath
- The fact that the Jews recognized that Jesus, “made himself equal with God.
- The relationship between the Father and the Son
- Judgment and resurrection
- That Jesus, John the Baptist, and the signs that Jesus performed all testified testifying that the Father sent Jesus
- The scriptures purpose of testifying to Jesus – whether it’s the Old or New Testament.
This is another one of those chapters where the words themselves are simple, but the depth of what Jesus is saying is enormous.
What grabbed me as I was reading was v. 44. “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”
Whose recognition do we seek? Do we seek the recognition of our peers, our family, our church members, etc., or do we seek the recognition of God – the glory of God (because glory is more than recognition when it comes from God)?
Surely, by comparison, we can see the foolishness of seeking glory from one another as opposed to seeking the glory that comes from the only God. Isaiah 40:6-8 says, “A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the filed. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
Paul talks about this too in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath [a crown of laurel leaves], but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
Perishable/Imperishable. Fading flowers/a word that stands forever. Glory from one another/glory from God.
I understand why we seek the glory here – it’s more immediate, I can get my hands on it easier, and it’s a lot easier to get. Some people’s standards might be high, but they’re nothing compared to God’s standards. In Matthew 5:48 Jesus says, “Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” None of us achieves that on our own!
So, how do we get the glory of God? “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” “How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called Children of God?” It is great indeed! In fact, we could say it is glorious!
The glory that comes from the only God comes to us because of His action in our lives. He loves us. He claims us. He is our Father and we are His children. We are His, and that is glorious. But remember, children are not loved by their parents because of what they have to offer their parents. Children are just loved (or at least should be) and that is a kind of glory. But when the children do good things, parents rejoice in that and praise them. It doesn’t make them love them more, they just praise (another kind of glory) in response to their action – which was likely taught them by their parents.
Remember you are loved today. No matter what. Live in that love. Be confident because the Father loves you no matter what and that is eternal glory! And do what you learn from Him and receive that glory too and he looks on you with loving pride.
- Jesus as the Lord of the Sabbath
- The fact that the Jews recognized that Jesus, “made himself equal with God.
- The relationship between the Father and the Son
- Judgment and resurrection
- That Jesus, John the Baptist, and the signs that Jesus performed all testified testifying that the Father sent Jesus
- The scriptures purpose of testifying to Jesus – whether it’s the Old or New Testament.
This is another one of those chapters where the words themselves are simple, but the depth of what Jesus is saying is enormous.
What grabbed me as I was reading was v. 44. “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”
Whose recognition do we seek? Do we seek the recognition of our peers, our family, our church members, etc., or do we seek the recognition of God – the glory of God (because glory is more than recognition when it comes from God)?
Surely, by comparison, we can see the foolishness of seeking glory from one another as opposed to seeking the glory that comes from the only God. Isaiah 40:6-8 says, “A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the filed. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
Paul talks about this too in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath [a crown of laurel leaves], but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
Perishable/Imperishable. Fading flowers/a word that stands forever. Glory from one another/glory from God.
I understand why we seek the glory here – it’s more immediate, I can get my hands on it easier, and it’s a lot easier to get. Some people’s standards might be high, but they’re nothing compared to God’s standards. In Matthew 5:48 Jesus says, “Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” None of us achieves that on our own!
So, how do we get the glory of God? “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” “How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called Children of God?” It is great indeed! In fact, we could say it is glorious!
The glory that comes from the only God comes to us because of His action in our lives. He loves us. He claims us. He is our Father and we are His children. We are His, and that is glorious. But remember, children are not loved by their parents because of what they have to offer their parents. Children are just loved (or at least should be) and that is a kind of glory. But when the children do good things, parents rejoice in that and praise them. It doesn’t make them love them more, they just praise (another kind of glory) in response to their action – which was likely taught them by their parents.
Remember you are loved today. No matter what. Live in that love. Be confident because the Father loves you no matter what and that is eternal glory! And do what you learn from Him and receive that glory too and he looks on you with loving pride.
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