Where does your praise come from?

 This week's verses are John 5:41-44:

“I do not accept praise from people, but I know you, that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, if you accept praise from one another and don’t seek the praise that comes from the only God?

 These verses are part of a conversation Jesus is having with the religious experts of his day. They were very negative towards him and were actually plotting to kill him, because they saw him as a heretic and as a threat to their rule over the hearts and minds of the Jewish people.

Unlike these "experts," Jesus didn't have any religious credentials. None of these other rabbis and teachers of the law vouched for him. He didn't have a doctorate in divinity. (Is it necessary to have a PhD in order to speak the truth?) He wasn't part of one of the respected schools. He didn't have the endorsement of either of the major political parties. And he didn't seek any of those things, which made him difficult to control.

Jesus starts off by saying he doesn't accept praise from people, but he knows that these leaders have no love of God in them. In other words, he doesn't need their attestation to know who is on the right track and who isn't. And the fact that they are endorsed by one another means nothing, because the one thing that really matters isn't present in their lives.

He says that if he comes in his Father's name, nobody accepts him, even though God himself has vouched for him. Instead, they accept these useless endorsements from one another. On the one side, God's chosen vessel of truth, and on the other side, a bunch of clueless guys patting each other on the back. And yet, more often than not, we go for the guys and not for The Guy God has sent us.

Jesus asks them "How can you believe, if you accept praise from one another and don't seek the praise that comes from the only God?" In other words, if you want the truth, how are you going to find it if you are just looking at who is popular and not at what God has said himself? And how are you going to share the truth clearly with other people if you focus on being popular and not on being pleasing to God?

Pleasing God should be our priority. If we allow popular opinion or popularity to influence us, we won't be able to see the whole truth. The religious leaders valued each other's endorsements and were hooked on being popular "influencers" of the people. When Jesus came along, he was a threat to their popularity so they didn't want him around. And he wasn't endorsed, so they had no desire to listen to him. As a result, these "pillars of righteousness" didn't recognize him for who he was, and they missed their chance to be true pillars of righteousness.

Jesus made pleasing God his one priority. His expectation for his disciples was that they would recognize him by living the same way. Where does your most valuable praise come from? Would you recognize Jesus if you saw him today?