I do not accept human praise; 42 moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. 46 For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?
Jesus, speaking to the religious leaders, said that even though crowds are coming to him, he does not desire human praise or approval. As he explained to the Jews, he is obedient to God’s will and his mission and purpose are not contingent upon the praise or approval of humans. While the religious leaders possess knowledge of the scriptures and hold esteemed positions, their refusal to accept the Son reveals a shortcoming in their faith and a lack of genuine love for God in their hearts. Their actions indicate a lack of humble devotion to God's will above all else. They reject Jesus but they readily accept the words of deceivers who come in their own name and under their own authority. They put their trust in humans rather than placing their trust in Jesus who is the revelation of God’s glory and who was sent by the Father (Jn. 12:43). They can’t believe in Jesus because they seek praise and approval from each other instead of seeking approval from God. They revere Moses and set their hopes in him, but it is Moses who will accuse them before God because if they truly believed Moses, they would have obeyed God’s commandments and understood that the writings of Moses pointed to the coming of the Son of Man (Jn. 1:45). Since they do not believe what Moses wrote in the Torah, they will not believe what he tells them.
Almighty God, we believe but help our unbelief so that through Jesus we can come to a deeper knowledge of your kingdom and be better able to do your will. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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