The Courtroom and the Glory Game Text: John 5:31-47
Introduction: Evidence and Unbelief
We live in an age that prides itself on being evidence-based. People say, "Show me the proof," as though their unbelief were a result of some unfortunate information deficit. If only there were a bit more data, a clearer sign, another miracle, then they would gladly bow the knee. But this is a profound self-deception. The problem has never been a lack of evidence. The problem is a rebellious heart that suppresses the truth in unrighteousness. The universe is screaming the name of God, and fallen man has his fingers in his ears, humming loudly.
In our text today, Jesus confronts the religious leaders of His day on precisely this ground. He puts Himself on trial, so to speak, and begins to call witnesses to the stand. But this is no ordinary trial. The evidence He presents is overwhelming, divine, and multifaceted. Yet the jury has already made up its mind. Their verdict was decided before the first witness was called. Why? Because they were not interested in the truth. They were interested in their position, their reputation, and their system of self-congratulation.
Jesus dismantles their excuses one by one, exposing the fact that their unbelief is not intellectual, but moral. It is not a problem of the head, but a problem of the heart. They reject Him not because the evidence is weak, but because their love for human glory is strong. This is a devastating diagnosis, and it is as relevant in our modern world of academic pride and social media posturing as it was in the courtyards of the Jerusalem temple. We must attend carefully, because the disease Jesus identifies here is endemic to the human condition. We are all tempted to play the glory game.
The Text
"If I alone bear witness about Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness about Me, and I know that the witness which He gives about Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. But the witness I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was the lamp that was burning and shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the witness I have is greater than the witness of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish, the very works that I do, bear witness about Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father who sent Me, He has borne witness about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. And you do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that bear witness about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
(John 5:31-47 LSB)
A Convergence of Testimony (vv. 31-36)
Jesus begins by acknowledging a basic legal principle, one found in their own law (Deut. 19:15). A man's testimony on his own behalf is not legally sufficient.
"If I alone bear witness about Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness about Me, and I know that the witness which He gives about Me is true." (John 5:31-32)
Jesus is not saying His testimony is false, but that by the legal standards of men, it requires corroboration. He immediately provides it: the Father is His primary witness. This sets the stage. The conflict is not between Jesus and the Jews; it is between God the Father and the Jews. To reject Jesus is to call God the Father a liar.
He then turns to a witness they themselves sought out: John the Baptist.
"You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth... He was the lamp that was burning and shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light." (John 5:33, 35)
They had a brief flirtation with John's ministry. It was a novelty, a spectacle. But Jesus immediately puts John's witness in its proper place. John was a lamp, not the Light. He was a pointer, not the destination. Jesus says He doesn't ultimately rely on human testimony, but He brings it up for their sake, "so that you may be saved." This is sovereign grace in the middle of a sharp rebuke. Even as He dissects their unbelief, His motive is their salvation.
But there is a greater witness than John. "But the witness I have is greater than the witness of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish, the very works that I do, bear witness about Me, that the Father has sent Me." (John 5:36). His miracles, His healings, His authority over demons and disease, these are not mere parlor tricks. They are the fingerprints of the Father all over His ministry. They are divine credentials. These works testify that Jesus is not a freelancer; He is on a mission from God.
Bibliolatry and Willful Blindness (vv. 37-40)
The testimony of the Father is not limited to the works of Jesus. The Father has also testified in the Scriptures.
"And the Father who sent Me, He has borne witness about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. And you do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent." (John 5:37-38)
Here is the problem. The testimony is there, but they are spiritually deaf and blind. The evidence is present, but their hearts are unreceptive. God has spoken, but His Word finds no place to lodge in them. It does not "abide." And the proof of this is plain: they do not believe the one He sent. Their rejection of Jesus is the clear symptom of their prior rejection of God's Word.
This leads to one of the most penetrating rebukes in all of Scripture.
"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that bear witness about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life." (John 5:39-40)
Notice the tragedy. They were the Bible scholars of their day. They memorized it, debated it, and revered it. They were "searching" the Scriptures, which is a good activity. But their motive was corrupt. They treated the Bible as a sort of magical text, a rulebook that, if studied correctly, would grant them eternal life. They were engaged in bibliolatry, the worship of the book. They were like a man who receives a love letter, and instead of running to meet his beloved, he stays home and dissects the grammar of the letter. The entire point of the Scriptures is to point to Christ. The Old Testament is a book full of signposts, all pointing down the road to the Messiah. These men spent all their time polishing the signposts while refusing to travel to the destination.
The problem was not a lack of searching, but a lack of coming. "You are unwilling to come to Me." It was a problem of the will. They loved their system more than the Savior. They preferred the map to the treasure. They wanted eternal life on their own terms, as a wage earned for their study, not as a free gift received from the Son.
The Root of Unbelief: The Glory Game (vv. 41-44)
Jesus now performs radical surgery on their souls, exposing the root cancer of their unbelief. Why were they unwilling to come to Him?
"I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves." (John 5:41-42)
Jesus operates on a completely different economy. He is not motivated by human approval. But they are. He diagnoses their condition with laser precision: "you do not have the love of God in yourselves." Their religion was a hollow shell. It was all external performance with no internal love for God. And what had filled that void? The love of human glory.
"How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the only God?" (John 5:44)
This is the heart of the matter. They were trapped in a closed loop of mutual admiration. Their entire sense of worth was derived from the praise and respect of their peers. Rabbi so-and-so praises my insight, and I praise his. We build our little kingdom of reputation, and we are the gatekeepers. This is the glory game. And Jesus says it is impossible to have true faith while you are playing this game. Why? Because faith, by its very nature, is looking away from self and away from the opinions of others to seek approval and glory from God alone. You cannot serve two masters. You cannot seek the applause of men and the "well done, good and faithful servant" of God at the same time.
This is why they reject Jesus and would accept a fraud. "I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him." (John 5:43). Jesus comes with the Father's authority, seeking the Father's glory. He doesn't fit into their system. But a charlatan who comes in his own name, building his own brand, seeking his own glory, he would be perfectly intelligible to them. He would be playing their game.
Moses, the Prosecuting Attorney (vv. 45-47)
The final blow is a masterful stroke of divine irony. Jesus tells them He will not be the one to accuse them before the Father.
"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope." (John 5:45)
Their greatest hero, the foundation of their entire religious system, the very man they invoked to justify their rejection of Jesus, will be the star witness for the prosecution. They have built their entire identity on being disciples of Moses, but they have fundamentally misunderstood him. Their hope was in Moses, but it was a misplaced hope.
The reason is simple and devastating. "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me." (John 5:46). The Pentateuch, from the promise of the seed of the woman in Genesis 3, to the Passover lamb, to the rock that gave water, to the bronze serpent, to the promise of a prophet like himself in Deuteronomy 18, is saturated with Christ. To read Moses and miss Christ is to not believe Moses.
Jesus concludes with an unanswerable question. "But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?" (John 5:47). They have rejected the written Word of God, which they have had for centuries. Why would anyone expect them to accept the living Word of God standing before them? Their rejection of the lesser, written testimony makes their rejection of the greater, incarnate testimony inevitable. Their unbelief is not a new problem; it is a consistent, long-standing rebellion against God's revelation.
Conclusion
The courtroom is adjourned, and the verdict is clear. The problem is not a lack of evidence. The witnesses have testified: John the Baptist, the works of Christ, the Father, and the Scriptures themselves, represented by Moses. The evidence is overwhelming. The problem is a heart that is in love with the praise of men.
This is a searching word for us. How much of our spiritual life is a performance for others? How much do we hunger for the approval of our Christian friends, our pastor, our spouse, or our online followers, more than we hunger for the approval of God? The glory game is the native air that we breathe. It is the default setting of our fallen hearts.
The only escape from this prison of human opinion is to be captivated by a greater glory. It is to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. It is to understand that He did not receive glory from men, but for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame. He traded human glory for the cross so that we could be freed from our addiction to it.
Therefore, we must repent of our people-pleasing and our reputation-management. We must search the Scriptures, not to find rules to make ourselves righteous, but to find Him of whom they testify. And having found Him there, we must do the one thing the Pharisees were unwilling to do. We must come to Him, that we might have life.