Honor and Glory

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

HONOR AND GLORY

John 8:48-59

48 The Jews answered him, "Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?" 49 "I am not possessed by a demon," said Jesus, "but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."  52 At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?" 54 Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."  57 "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!" 58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"  59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

NIV

As the late Paul Harvey used to say, “Page two, now the rest of the story”. We finish this confrontation between the Jews and Jesus with their finally insulting him with the greatest of insults, calling him a Samaritan and demon-possessed. It was thought the Samaritans were heretics and schismatic. Heretics, because they believed Mount Gerizim is the Holy mountain, not Jerusalem. Jacobs well is very near this mountain, if not on its slopes and where Jesus had that conversation with the Samaritan woman. The Samaritans were despised by the Jews for several reasons, this being one and another because after the division of Israel into the Northern two tribes and the Southern 10 tribes, the Northern Judea soon did not travel to Jerusalem but built two high places of worship and after their fall to Syria, they began to intermarry, thus being considered by the Jews as half-breeds. Calling Jesus a half-breed, a heretic was the worst thing they could say against him. Then to say he was demon-possessed, or out of his mind, making stupid and ridiculous claims, speaking nonsense. Jesus refutes their name-calling, and tells them all that he does and says brings honor to his Father, but they dishonor him. He tells them he is not seeking any glory for himself. The only one who does seek glory is the Father and He is the Judge. Let’s stop here for a moment and consider how we live. Does our life bring glory to God? Do we live seeking any glory for ourselves? Do we like having a title? Do we enjoy being honored by others? Do we seek to make a name for ourselves? Do people think us intelligent? Do they think we are spiritual? Do we want them to? When we are given a compliment, how do we respond? If we are insulted, how do we respond? In what practical ways can we live in order to have our lives honor God? Many questions to ponder on, and perhaps we should ponder long and hard. This is not about how many good deeds we do, or what restrictions we put on ourselves, for those in and of themselves may only result in bringing honor to ourselves among each other, showing how “Good” a Christian we are. No, there is far more to living in that manner, in order for our lives to give all the glory to God. One thing is for certain, every time we are acknowledged for something, we have to respond with giving all the honor to God. The rest is just a test of our lives, all that we say, all we do, all we are, is to bring glory to God and it is not just hoping someone will notice, but it is declaring it, professing that we seek no glory at all, but all the glory and honor belong to God.