Read:

John 8:50-55

⁵⁰ And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.  ⁵¹ Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.  ⁵² Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.  ⁵³ Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?  ⁵⁴ Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:  ⁵⁵ Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.

Zechariah 1:5-6

⁵ Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?  ⁶ But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

Exhortation:

The Pharisees claimed Abraham as their father. Very well! Yet the One who was before them was greater than Abraham. Jesus was not trying to seek His own glory without proper witnesses to His greatness as the Son of God. So He said to them, “I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.” Here He refers to His Father, the great Judge, as the witness to His claims. Then He further reiterated the truthfulness of His claim by telling them that if any man would believe His words, he would not see death (v.51). By the word “death,” Jesus meant spiritual death, both separation from God and the eternal punishment in Hell, even the second death. Whosoever believes in Him will have salvation from spiritual death as well as resurrection from their physical death. In other words, faith in the message proclaimed by Jesus will result in spiritual life and victory.

When the Pharisees heard those things that Jesus said, they ridiculed Him all the more. His pronouncement of His glory provoked them further, and they accused Him as a demon possessed person (vv.52–53). They continued to argue with Christ to demean His glory. They wondered how He could claim to have greater power than both Abraham and the prophets who have all died long ago. How could He claim to have power to give life to the dead? Their surprise was that His claim meant that He is greater than all the great men of Israel, like Abraham and the prophets. In reply to their unbelief and wonderment, Jesus again declared that God, His Father, testifies of His glory. He also told them that the reason for their inability to understand the Father’s testimony is their disobedience to His will. While Jesus did all the will of the Father, the Jews (who claimed to be spiritual) were living disobedient lives. As long as they lived in hypocrisy, they would not be able to see the truthfulness of Christ’s person.

Thought:

Presence of sin in our lives will fade our view of the glory of Christ.

PRAYER

Lord, cleanse me and fill me with Your Spirit that I may walk before You humbly and see Your greatness by faith.