John 5:44: How Does Looking to Men Block Genuine Faith?
- Edward D. Andrews
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
The Text in Its Immediate Setting
Jesus’ words in John 5 land in the middle of a direct confrontation with religious leaders who claimed to honor God while refusing the Son He sent. The issue was not a lack of information; it was a moral and spiritual refusal rooted in a craving for human recognition. Jesus exposes the core obstruction with surgical clarity: “How can you believe, when you accept glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44). The question is not rhetorical fluff; it is a divine diagnosis. When a person’s inner compass is calibrated to human applause, saving faith is not merely weakened; it is blocked, because faith requires submission to God’s verdict, not man’s approval (John 12:42-43).
What “Glory From Men” Actually Means
In John 5:44, “glory” is not simply compliments or ordinary respect. It is the public honor, status, and social security that come from being approved by the right people. These leaders lived inside a religious ecosystem where reputation functioned like currency. Jesus identifies a direct contradiction: they wanted recognition from one another, but they refused to seek the honor that comes from God alone. That refusal is not neutral; it is hostility to God’s authority because it rejects His chosen Messiah (John 5:23). Scripture consistently teaches that the fear of man becomes a trap, because it replaces God’s evaluation with the crowd’s evaluation (Proverbs 29:25). The heart cannot enthrone two judges. Either God’s Word stands as final, or man’s opinion becomes the controlling standard (Galatians 1:10).
Why This Destroys Faith at the Root
Faith is not a vague religious feeling. Biblical faith is taking God at His Word and bowing to His testimony about His Son (John 3:33-36). In John 5, Jesus has already laid out multiple witnesses: John the Baptist, His own works, the Father’s testimony, and the Scriptures themselves (John 5:31-39). Yet the leaders rejected that witness because accepting Jesus carried a cost: it would dismantle their social standing and expose their spiritual bankruptcy. Human glory is addictive because it offers immediate reward; God’s glory is sought by obedience and humility, and it confronts pride. Jesus’ statement, “How can you believe,” is not a compliment to their complexity; it is a declaration that their chosen idol makes faith impossible while it remains enthroned.
The Cure: Seeking God’s Approval Through Obedient Humility
The remedy is not self-esteem tricks or public rebranding. The remedy is repentance that reorders the heart to seek God’s approval above all. Jesus ties true honor to doing the Father’s will and honoring the Son (John 5:23-24). The apostolic teaching echoes this: the servant of Christ cannot be governed by man-pleasing, because Christ’s lordship demands total allegiance (Colossians 3:23-24). A Christian learns to accept the cost of obedience, including misunderstanding and rejection, because God’s judgment is final and His reward is secure (2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Peter 4:14). This is not isolation from people; it is liberation from needing people as saviors. When God’s glory becomes the aim, the believer can love people without being enslaved to their praise (John 12:26).
A Direct Warning for Religious Environments
John 5:44 is a warning aimed first at religious people. It is possible to be immersed in Scripture, active in religious debate, and still be ruled by peer approval. Jesus later says some believed in Him but would not confess Him “for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue,” and the Spirit gives the final explanation: “for they loved the glory that comes from men more than the glory that comes from God” (John 12:42-43). This is the same spiritual disease as John 5:44, just later in the Gospel. True discipleship embraces public allegiance to Christ because Christ is worth more than social safety (Matthew 10:32-39). Any Christianity that is carefully curated to avoid man’s disapproval is already compromised, because it denies the Lordship of the One it claims to follow.
About the author
EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored over 220+ books. In addition, Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).
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