Nothing Special
I am sure the people hearing what Jesus had to say didn't want to believe him.
“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me. "If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that his testimony to me is true. You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But I have a testimony greater than John's. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent. "You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I do not accept glory from human beings. But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?" - John 5:30-47
What is Jesus saying here?
He tells them that he does not accept the testimony of John, even though John was a shining light and spoke the truth.
Maybe it is just my mood today but I think Jesus is being insecure. He says he is not the accuser. That, he says, is Moses.
If you believe Moses and believe in the Father you will believe in Jesus. But what are we to believe Jesus is and can do for us?
No wonder people are confused.
At the very least, he is example of how we should live our lives. He is a servant of all and we should be as well. He is a teacher of the way to live. Should we be that as well?
I can understand why people fail to believe in Jesus. He claims that God is his father and then tells us we are all God’s children. So nothing special?
Maybe that’s the message. Jesus came to show us we should not seek anything from each other. Instead, we should serve each other. If that’s all there is, will we bother to follow him?
More to come…