Addiction is a terrible thing. However, if we are honest with ourselves, most of us are addicted to what I call, 2nd hand glory. This thought came out of a quiet time on the last passage in John 5. Jesus affirms the trustworthiness of John the Baptist (v. 32) and then condemns the faithlessness of the Jewish crowd (v. 40). These two events are NOT unrelated. Quite the opposite. I believe that our Lord is communicating something that is intended to have a powerful effect on us. Something that can only be seen through the side-by-side comparison of John and the Jewish crowd. Here it is; The pursuit of 2nd-hand glory will kill faith.
What I mean by 2nd-hand glory is this; there is a feeling you get from knowing somebody important. There is an unashamed zeal and a confidence in being around somebody famous. Why else would celebrities walk around with giant followings? Why else would a musician have 1,000 followers on twitter, updating fans on the trivial and ironically normal things done throughout their day? Easy. Famous people attract followers. I feel guilty of this myself. My cousin just married a professional football player. Not only is he in the NFL, but he's popular! I've seen him many times on Sportscenter. To me, this is exhilarating! I wanted to buy his jersey and tell the world who my newest cousin was! That is, until I met him. Upon meeting him, I no longer had a desire to brag about him. Why? Is it because he's an ego-maniac? No. Quite the opposite. I no longer had a desire to brag about him because I realized that he was humble. Therefore, I was caught in the awkward tension of boasting in someone who doesn't boast in himself. However as we see through the life of Jesus, humility is the true path to greatness.
This may be Jesus' point in saying, "[John] was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light" (v. 35) Upon hearing this, the next question should be, "Why only rejoice for a while?" Jesus explains by saying, "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." (v 43) Or in other words, If Jesus came as an ego-loving celebrity, he would have far more followers than he does today. However, great people are not measured by how big a following they have, rather, they are measured by the love of God within them (v. 42). The fact that Jesus came as a humble king makes it hard to receive 2nd-hand glory from him. Why? Because it makes you feel uncomfortable. The reason the Jews only rejoiced in the limelight of John for a while is the same reason why I only rejoiced in the limelight of my NFL-playing cousin for a while. It was uncomfortable boasting in a humble servant. "I am not the Christ....I am not Elijah...I am not the Prophet...[Rather] I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord" (John 1:20-23) With rumors like "messiah" "elijah" and "prophet" circulating around John, we can easily see why people would want to rejoice in his fame. However, John did not rejoice in his fame. On the contrary, he said, "[Jesus] must increase but I must decrease" (Jn 3:30) This seems unusual. It is impossible to receive 2nd-hand glory from one who does not seek glory from people. Humble people love God more than they love their reputation.
I think this ushers in verse 41 very well. Jesus says, "I do not receive glory from people." Therefore, what is true about John is also true about Jesus. He is a humble servant who has the love of God within him. And there is no 2nd-hand glory to be attained through serving a humble servant, rather, there is only humble admiration. As children of God, we ought not seek glory from other people. We have no ground for boasting in ourselves because we follow one who does not boast in himself. As if that were not enough motivation, Jesus' shocking words in verse 44 should ring in our ears, "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" The love of 2nd-hand glory is detrimental to your faith. I pray that your faith would grow strong as you give glory to our humble king.
"He who calls you is faithful, he will surely do it."
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