Thomas Aquinas Commentary John 5:41-47

"I receive not glory from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in yourselves. I am come in my Father`s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, who receive glory one of another, and the glory that [cometh] from the only God ye seek not? Think not that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, [even] Moses, on whom ye have set your hope. For if ye believed Moses, ye would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" — John 5:41-47 (ASV)

1. After God confirmed the greatness of His power through the testimonies of men, of God Himself, and of the Scriptures, He here rebukes the Jews for being slow to believe.

   The Jews persecuted Christ on two grounds: for breaking the Sabbath, by which He seemed to oppose the law, and for saying that He is the Son of God, by which He seemed to oppose God. Thus, they persecuted Him on account of their reverence for God and their zeal for the law. Our Lord, therefore, wishes to show that their persecution was not inspired by these motives, but by contrary reasons.

   He first shows that the cause of their unbelief was their lack of reverence for God. Second, He shows that another cause of their unbelief was their lack of reverence for Moses, beginning with the verse, Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father.

   Regarding the first point, He does two things:

   1. He shows their irreverence for God.
   2. He shows that this is the cause of their unbelief, in the verse, How are you able to believe, when you receive glory from one another?

   Concerning the first of these, He does two things:

   1. He mentions their lack of reverence for God.
   2. He makes this obvious by a sign, starting with, I have come in the name of my Father.

   With respect to the first of these, He does two things:

   1. He rejects what they might have assumed to be His intention from what He had said before.
   2. He presents His real intention, in the verse, But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.

2. The Jews might have assumed that Christ was seeking some kind of praise from men, since He had reminded them of so many witnesses to Himself: John, God, His own works, and the testimony of the Scriptures. Against this thought, He says, I do not receive glory from men, that is, I do not seek praise from men, for I have not come to be an example of one seeking human glory. As it is written, we did not seek glory from men (1 Thessalonians 2:6).

   Alternatively, I do not receive glory from men means that I do not need human praise, because from eternity I have glory with the Father: Glorify me, O Father, with yourself, with the glory which I had, before the world was made (John 17:5). For I have not come to be glorified by men, but rather to glorify them, since all glory proceeds from me. It is through this wisdom that I have glory (Wisdom 8:11, Vulgate).

   God is said to be praised and glorified by men—glorify the Lord as much as you are able; he will still surpass even that ()—not so that He might become more glorious by this, but so that He might appear glorious among us.

3. Thus, Christ presented the various testimonies to Himself not for the reason they thought, but for another one: but I know you, that is, I have made it known about you, that you do not have the love of God in you, although you pretend to have it. Therefore, you are not persecuting me because of your love for God. You would be persecuting me for the love of God if God and the Scriptures did not bear witness to me; but God Himself bears witness to me by Himself, by His works, and in the Scriptures, as has been said. Consequently, if you truly loved God, then far from rejecting me, you would come to me. You, therefore, do not love God.

   Another interpretation is this: but I know you, that you have not the love of God in you. It is as though He were saying: I have not brought in these witnesses because I wanted your praise. Rather, I know you do not love God, and your waywardness makes me sad, so I want to lead you back to the way of truth. Now they have both seen and hated me and my Father (John 15:24); the pride of those who hate you continuously rises (Psalms 74:23, Vulgate).

4. Here we should point out that God cannot be hated in Himself by anyone, nor can He be hated with respect to all His effects, since every good in things comes from God. It is impossible for anyone to hate all good, for he will at least love existence and life. However, someone may hate some effect of God, insofar as it is opposed to what he desires; for example, he might hate punishment and things of that sort. It is from this point of view that God is said to be hated.

5. Then, with the words, I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not receive me, He gives a sign that they do not love God. He gives first, a present sign, and second, a future sign, with the words, if another shall come in his own name, you will receive him.

6. The present sign concerns His own coming, so He says, I have come in the name of my Father. It is as if to say: What I say is obvious, for if one loves his lord, it is clear that he will honor and receive one who comes from him and seeks to honor him. But I have come in the name of my Father, and I make His name known to the world—I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me (John 17:6)—and yet you do not accept me. Therefore, you do not love Him.

   The Son is said to make His Father known to men because, although the Father, as God, was known—God is known in Judah (Psalms 76:1)—He was not known as the natural Father of the Son before Christ came. Thus Solomon asked: What is his name? And what is the name of his son? (Proverbs 30:4).

7. The future sign concerns the coming of the Antichrist. The Jews could say: "Although you come in His name, we have not accepted you, because we will not accept anyone but God the Father." The Lord speaks against this, saying that this cannot be, because you will accept another, who will come not in the Father’s name, but in his own name. What is more, he will come in his own name precisely because he will not seek the glory of the Father but his own. And whatever he does, he will attribute it not to the Father, but to himself: who opposes and is exalted above all that is called God, or is worshipped (2 Thessalonians 2:4). You will receive him. The Apostle continues in the same letter: God will send them a misleading influence so that they might believe what is false (2 Thessalonians 2:11). This is because they did not accept the true teaching, that they might be saved. So the Gloss says: "Because the Jews were unwilling to accept Christ, the penalty for this sin will be, fittingly enough, that they will receive the Antichrist, with the result that those who were unwilling to believe the truth will believe a lie."

   According to Augustine, however, we can understand this text as applying to heretics and false teachers, who spread a teaching that comes from their own hearts and not from the mouth of God, and who praise themselves and despise the name of God. Of such persons it is written: you have heard that the Antichrist is coming; and now many antichrists have appeared (1 John 2:18). So it is clear that your persecution of me does not spring from your love for God, but from your hatred and envy of Him. This was the reason they did not believe.

8. He concludes: How are you able to believe, when you receive glory from one another—that is, human praise—and the glory that is from God alone, you do not seek? This latter is true glory. The reason they could not believe in Christ was that their proud minds were craving their own glory and praise. They considered themselves superior to others in glory and regarded it as a disgrace to believe in Christ, who seemed common and poor. This was why they could not believe in Him.

   The one who can believe in Christ is the person of humble heart, who seeks the glory of God alone and strives to please Him. And so we read: Many of the chief men also believed in him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, that they might not be cast out of the synagogue (John 12:42).

   We can see from this just how dangerous vainglory is. For this reason, Cicero says: "Let a man beware of that glory that robs him of all freedom, that freedom for which a man of great spirit should risk everything." And the Gloss says: "It is a great vice to boast and to strive for human praise: to desire that others think you have what you really do not have."

9. Then, with the words, Do not think that I will accuse you, He shows that they do not have zeal for Moses. He first explains how Moses was against them, and second, He gives the reason for this opposition, with the words, If you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me also. As to the first point, He rejects their false zeal and then shows them true zeal, with the words, There is one who accuses you, Moses.

10. Regarding the first point, He says: Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There are three reasons for His saying this.

    1. The Son of God did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save it. So He says, Do not think that I have come to condemn; I have come to free. For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world—that is, to condemn the world—but that the world might be saved through him (John 3:17). And so the blood of Christ cries out, not to accuse, but to forgive: We have the blood of Christ, crying out better than that of Abel (Hebrews 12:24), whose blood cried out to accuse. Who will accuse God’s elect? It is Christ who justifies. Who is it, then, who will condemn? (Romans 8:33–34).
    2. As to His second reason, He says, Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father, because I will not be the one to accuse you, but to judge you: the Father has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22).
    3. The third reason is: Do not think that I, that is, I alone, will accuse you to the Father for what you are doing to me, for even Moses will accuse you for not believing him in the things he said of me.

11. Consequently, He adds: There is one who accuses you, Moses, in whom you trust, because you believe you are saved through his precepts.

    Moses accuses them in two ways. First, materially, because they deserved to be accused for transgressing his commands: Those who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law (Romans 2:12). Second, Moses accuses them because he and the other saints will have authority in the judgment: The two-edged swords will be in their hands (Psalms 149:6).

12. He presents the reason for this opposition when He says: If you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe me also. This is clear from verses like, The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for you, from your nation and your brothers; he will be like me: you will listen to him (Deuteronomy 18:15), and from all the sacrifices, which were a symbol of Christ.

    He says, perhaps, to indicate that their will acts from a free judgment, and not to imply that there is any doubt on the part of God.

13. Then, when He says, But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? He gives a sign of this opposition. He does this by comparing two things and then denying of the lesser what is denied of the greater. First, there is a comparison between Moses and Christ. Although Christ, absolutely speaking, is greater than Moses, Moses was greater in reputation among the Jews. Thus He says: if you do not believe Moses, you will not believe me either.

    Second, He compares the way in which they presented their teaching. Moses gave his precepts in written form, so they can be studied for a long time and are not easily forgotten. Hence, they impose a stronger obligation to believe. But Christ presented His teachings in spoken words. Thus He says, But if you do not believe his writings, which you have preserved in your books, how will you believe my words?