Joh 5:44 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord Jesus knows on what conditions they would accept Him. If only He would caress their glory, if only He would fulfill their human, carnal expectations, they would honor Him. But He does not seek glory from men. He Who knows He has been sent by the Father does not want glory from men. Glory from men is what the world is all about. Not only does He not seek it, but He does not desire it at all, not even if it were offered to Him. The difference between what He seeks and what these Jews seek is the love of God. They lack the love of God and He is full of it. They do not have the love of God in themselves, because they are full of self-love. Therefore there is no place for the love of God in them. Those who do have this love in themselves only seek the honor of God. He lets himself be guided by that love, a love that flows back to its source. His coming in the Name of His Father means that He seeks to glorify Him, His Father. This is completely strange to them, they have no connection whatsoever with it and therefore they reject Him. The Lord Jesus then says that this mind and attitude of them toward Him opens the way for the coming of another who will come in his own name. By this He means the antichrist. They will accept him. In the antichrist the self-glorification of man finds its climax. This most wicked and lawless of all men who have ever lived, declares himself to be God ( ). The antichrist forms a complete contrast with Christ Who never sought or seeks His own honor, but with Whom it has always been and always will be about the Name of His Father. In Him God comes too close and therefore they reject Him. The search for people’s honor is opposite to the search for the honor that comes from the only God Who came in Christ. The search for the glorification of man prevents them from believing. As long as someone still has expectations of man and as long as he still boasts in something of man, it is impossible for him to come to faith. The tribute to a human being, blocks faith in Christ as the Only One in Whom God has come to man. If the honor of Christ is sought as the Son Who came from God, it is no longer about the honor of people, but rather life is lived out of faith. To boast in men is also a danger for believers. Paul warns against this ( ).

‏ John 5:44

Glory From Men

The Lord Jesus knows on what conditions they would accept Him. If only He would caress their glory, if only He would fulfill their human, carnal expectations, they would honor Him. But He does not seek glory from men. He Who knows He has been sent by the Father does not want glory from men. Glory from men is what the world is all about. Not only does He not seek it, but He does not desire it at all, not even if it were offered to Him.

The difference between what He seeks and what these Jews seek is the love of God. They lack the love of God and He is full of it. They do not have the love of God in themselves, because they are full of self-love. Therefore there is no place for the love of God in them. Those who do have this love in themselves only seek the honor of God. He lets himself be guided by that love, a love that flows back to its source. His coming in the Name of His Father means that He seeks to glorify Him, His Father. This is completely strange to them, they have no connection whatsoever with it and therefore they reject Him.

The Lord Jesus then says that this mind and attitude of them toward Him opens the way for the coming of another who will come in his own name. By this He means the antichrist. They will accept him. In the antichrist the self-glorification of man finds its climax. This most wicked and lawless of all men who have ever lived, declares himself to be God (2Thes 2:4).

The antichrist forms a complete contrast with Christ Who never sought or seeks His own honor, but with Whom it has always been and always will be about the Name of His Father. In Him God comes too close and therefore they reject Him. The search for people’s honor is opposite to the search for the honor that comes from the only God Who came in Christ. The search for the glorification of man prevents them from believing. As long as someone still has expectations of man and as long as he still boasts in something of man, it is impossible for him to come to faith. The tribute to a human being, blocks faith in Christ as the Only One in Whom God has come to man.

If the honor of Christ is sought as the Son Who came from God, it is no longer about the honor of people, but rather life is lived out of faith. To boast in men is also a danger for believers. Paul warns against this (1Cor 3:21).