John 5:41-47

5:41 “I do not receive honor from men. 5:42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. 5:43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. 5:44 How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? 5:45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. 5:46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 5:47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? 

Jesus was NOT a People-Pleaser…..He was a God-Pleaser

Did Jesus come to earth to gain everyone’s approval? No, He knew everyone wasn’t going to accept Him. He knew that His teachings and expectations would bring about conflict, as they are doing up to this very day. In Matthew 10:34-36, Jesus said that He didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword, to set a man against his father…..”, etc. He said that a person’s enemies will be in his/her own household. Think about it. Here is an example of this in my mind. A person is raised in a denomination, but is converted to Christ as a young adult still living at home. Think of the conflict in that household when that young adult gets up on Sunday morning, and goes to a different place to worship than what their parents do. They have gone against everything they were raised to believe. That is how Jesus brings a sword/conflict. The truth will bring about conflict, because there are so many that don’t want to hear the truth, or have never heard the truth. Another verse that comes to mind is Hebrews 4:12 where the Word of God is called a “two-edged sword”. Jesus is the Word. (John 1:1, 14) The Word of God is a living, breathing entity that not only causes conflict between family members and friends, but also within oneself. Jesus wasn’t worried about winning a popularity contest when He walked this earth. We can’t be worried about that either. We just have to present the truth in love, and let God do the rest. 

In verse 42, Jesus says, paraphrasing, “I know your heart, and you do not understand the love of God.” In Matthew 23:25, Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees “hypocrites”, because they “cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence”. They looked the part. They “talked a good game”. They pretended to be holy. But on the inside they were the complete opposite. May we never forget that God knows our hearts. He knows our motives behind everything that we do. 

In verse 43, Jesus says, paraphrasing, “I come from God, and you won’t accept me, but I bet you would accept someone else who comes in his own name if it would make you more popular.” The Jews were concerned about how they looked to others. Jesus wasn’t the popular choice. He wasn’t from a prominent family. He wasn’t wealthy. He didn’t tell people what they wanted to hear. He was a poor carpenter’s son from Nazareth, and He didn’t sugar coat His words. He spoke the truth in love, because He wanted to save their souls. The truth was not popular with these Jews. It is not popular today, but we can’t always sugar coat it. We love people’s souls too much to do that. If another person had come to the Jews praising them and telling them how great they were, would they have accepted him? Probably. What if someone came to them who was from a wealthy and popular family? Would they have accepted him? Probably. Think about the popular false teachers that we see on television and on the internet today. Why do people follow them? They follow them because they tell them what they want to hear. They don’t say anything to convict people’s hearts. It is fluff. And they are usually rich, because they have made money off of playing with people’s emotions or promising them prosperity in this life if they “follow jesus”. Notice that I put a lowercase j, because the jesus that they are following is not the real Jesus, the True Light. It makes me sad to see so many people who think they are following Jesus Christ, but they are really following a jesus who doesn’t exist. And then, in verse 44, Jesus says, paraphrasing, “How can you believe in Me, when all you care about is approval/honor from each other? Don’t you know that the only approval/honor that matters comes from God?” This is a question for myself and all of us. Is God’s approval what truly matters to me? 

Jesus ends His testimony of witnesses with one more…..Moses. In verse 45-47, Jesus says, paraphrasing, “You don’t have to worry about Me accusing you to the Father, because Moses himself…..the one in whom you put your trust, will accuse you. If you truly believed the words of Moses, then you would believe what I am telling you, because he wrote about Me. If you don’t even believe what Moses wrote, how would you ever believe anything that I say to you?”. Moses wrote about the Messiah in Genesis 3:15 when God told Satan, who was in the form of a serpent, that the woman’s Seed (Jesus) would bruise Satan’s head, but that Satan would only bruise Jesus’ heel. An injury to the head is fatal but an injury to the heel…..not a serious injury at all. Jesus would conquer Satan and death when He was resurrected after being crucified. His crucifixion would seem like a mere bruise to the heel to the newly risen Christ who would go back to sit at the right hand of God. If we are faithful Christians, death will be like a bruised heel compared to an eternity in heaven with Jesus. But, if we are outside of Christ, we will receive that fatal blow to the head, and be sent away into everlasting torture. That blow to the head will never end. Moses also wrote about Jesus in Deuteronomy 18:15, 18, and 19, where he said, paraphrasing in my own words, “God will raise up a Prophet (Jesus) like me (Moses), from your people, and you all need to listen to Him. And God said to me, This prophet will come from your lineage, and I will put My words in His mouth, and He will say exactly what I want Him to say. He will be speaking My words, so if anyone doesn’t listen to Him, then they will suffer consequences for it.” Wow. The Jews knew about these prophetic statements that Moses had made. They had been taught them their whole lives. Yet they were so very blind. So…..the courtroom scene is over. Jesus has provided all the witnesses that prove that He is God: John the baptizer, His works/miracles, God Himself, the scriptures, and finally, Moses. What else did these people want? Well…..they did not want the real Jesus. They wanted the version of a messiah of their own making. People in the world today do the same exact thing. They make up their own version of “god” that suits their lifestyle. However, just because they call it “god” doesn’t mean that it’s THE God, the Creator of the universe. It is just “a god”, and it is really no different from the graven images of Baal and other gods from times past. As we end chapter 5, let’s always make sure that we all have a clear picture taken directly from scripture of the real Jesus, and not turn Him into just another idol like the world has done. Let’s look back at the title of this lesson. The world has turned Jesus into a people-pleaser. Jesus wasn’t a people-pleaser. He loved people, but he didn’t seek to gain their approval. He didn’t tell people what they wanted to hear. He told them the truth straight from God. Jesus was all about pleasing His Father in heaven, and no one else. What about us? Are we seeking approval from people or from God? 

Do you know the real Jesus? Have you truly studied and learned about Him? Or do you just know the Jesus that the world has shown you? Let’s learn about Jesus, the One and Only Son of God together. Please reach out if you would like to study, and learn the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? Are you saved? If you aren’t or you are not sure if you are, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

I love God’s Word. It challenges me to be better…..to do more in His service. It is interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat wondering what is going to happen next. It gives me confidence and builds me up, and it brings me to my knees when my soul needs convicting! Thank you Father for the wonderful gift of Your Word!

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)