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.
Jesus came as one not interested in human praise to a world that was utterly fixated on it and intoxicated by it. The Judeans were not so different from people in our own day, even ourselves.
We, like people in the time of Christ, are willing to welcome those who come in their own name, those who seem to stand in a relationship of dependence with no one. These apparently strong and self-made heroes assure us that we too need depend on no one and can rely on ourselves entirely. Hence our praise of such hero figures is really our own egos expressing their aspirations and desires.
As we come to imagine others as inherently honorable or praiseworthy we become willing also to buy into the system that places much value on their opinions. In fact, if we think about it, we will probably find that we do care quite a lot about what the crowds think about the issues of concern in our day. Certainly we select the groups that seem the smartest and best from whom to seek validation. Then when we find we are in agreement with them we ourselves feel validated for trusting the right people. Even if we are in fact trusting those who have correct insight and vast intelligence we usually still do so still at least partially for the sake of assuaging our own egos and boosting our own self-esteem.
What if Jesus came to us in our day and there was no crowd to whom we could look, no experts who could testify on his behalf? It is not enough in the case of Jesus to do our own research. The Judeans tried that, but the posture of their hearts prevented them from finding the truth.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life.
Rather than succeeding as those who figure things out for ourselves, we must open ourselves to the witnesses of whom Jesus himself spoke.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
We are to look closely at what Jesus himself said and did, for in him was the fullness of the revelation of the Father. Like Peter, we need a revelation that could not come from flesh and blood (see Matthew 16:17). This is not a posture of pride wherein we take credit for finding the answers. It is rather one of humble receptivity before the authority of the one who is Truth itself. We find him in the Scriptures and in Tradition, but not as lifeless letters on a page that we can control, and for which we can ultimately claim the credit. We find him there alive and active, ready to challenge us, yes, but also and especially to reveal his heart to us. Hear in this statement the desire, the genuine longing of Jesus that we would in fact come to him for life:
But you do not want to come to me to have life.
Jesus is utterly disruptive to the worldly system of mutual affirmation by which the world regulates the value and importance of people and ideas. He is calling us to open our hearts to influence from above, from the Father, who is the source of value and the one who alone can tell us what truly matters.
Given that our world is so utterly preoccupied with status and honor and not open much at all to God's wisdom, given that we ourselves are often a part of the problem and not the solution, let us learn to be like Moses and plead for ourselves, our nation, and for the world.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
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