A Right Approach
A Sermon on John 5:41
Originally preached June 8, 1958
Scripture
41I receive not honour from men.
Sermon Description
Jesus does not want the praise of people. He makes this very statement in John 5:41 where he states, “I do not receive glory from people.” What are we to make of this statement of Jesus? In this sermon on John 5:41 titled “A Right Approach,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones carefully answers this question. This statement, set in the context of John 5 where Jesus had performed a powerful miracle, made powerful claims about His identity and proclaimed a powerful truth to confront the Jews’ unbelief. Now, in verse 41, Dr. Lloyd-Jones unpacks this statement of Jesus’s teaching: the Jews took the wrong approach to Jesus. The Jews only offered honor to a well-known teacher or political leader in an earthly sense. Jesus does not want this type honor from people as this is the wrong approach. Jesus desires the honor, worship, and praise that is compelled by His true identity as the Son of God, sent from the Father, fully God and fully divine. How can anyone give Him this praise? How can anyone take the right approach to worshiping Jesus? In this sermon on John 5:41, Dr. Lloyd-Jones answers these questions, teaching the right approach to honor the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon focuses on John 5:41 where Jesus says "I receive not honour from men."
- Jesus was confronting the Jews who refused to believe in Him despite seeing His miracles.
- Jesus was reading their minds and knew they saw Him as just another man seeking followers and honor.
- Jesus rejects this view and says He does not seek honor from men. This is a stupendous claim that only He can make.
- Men generally crave honor and praise from others. But Jesus does not need it because of who He is - the Son of God.
- Jesus had glory with the Father before the world began. He gave that up to come into the world.
- Jesus humbled himself by taking on human form and dying on the cross. He does not need honor from men.
- The Jews were blind to who Jesus really was. They saw him as just a man. This is tragic and damning.
- We must recognize who Jesus really is - the Son of God and savior. Just praising him as a good man or teacher is not enough.
- Jesus came to do the work the Father gave him - to die for our sins and reconcile us to God. He wants us to see this.
- Jesus does not want our praise but our worship, adoration and surrender. He wants us to say "my Lord and my God."
- We must not praise Jesus wrongly or we will be rejected like those who reject Him outright.
Sermon Q&A
Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Jesus Christ's Statement "I Receive Not Honor from Men"
What did Jesus mean when He said "I receive not honor from men"?
According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, when Jesus said "I receive not honor from men," He was addressing a fundamental misunderstanding the Jews had about Him. They viewed Jesus as merely a man seeking followers and admiration, like other teachers of their day. Jesus was reading their minds and revealing their error - He wasn't seeking human praise or validation because He didn't need it. This statement reveals Christ's divine nature, as He already possessed eternal glory with the Father before coming to earth.
Why did the Jews fail to recognize Jesus as the Messiah?
The Jews failed to recognize Jesus as their Messiah because they saw Him merely as "the carpenter" or an upstart teacher. Lloyd-Jones describes this as "the essence of the tragedy of the Jews as a nation." They were "looking forward to the coming of their Messiah, to the coming of their deliverer. And yet when he appeared amongst them, they didn't recognize him." Their blindness prevented them from seeing that Jesus had "made himself of no reputation" by taking human form, which was proof that He wasn't seeking earthly glory.
How does Lloyd-Jones contrast Jesus with ordinary humans regarding the desire for honor?
Lloyd-Jones explains that ordinary humans crave honor and praise: "The whole trouble with all of us in sin is that we are craving for honor. We want praise, we yearn for praise, we long for praise, we live for praise. It's true of the whole of mankind." In stark contrast, Jesus could truthfully say "I receive not honor from men" because He already possessed the glory of God from eternity past and had voluntarily laid it aside. This sets Him completely apart from all other humans.
What types of praise does Jesus reject according to the sermon?
According to Lloyd-Jones, Jesus rejects: - Praise that views Him merely as a great man - Praise that admires Him only as a religious teacher - Praise that celebrates Him as an ethical teacher - Praise that sees Him primarily as a social or political leader - Sentimental praise that doesn't recognize His true mission - Sympathetic praise that misunderstands His purpose
He cites several biblical examples where Jesus refused to be honored in these limited ways.
What kind of response does Jesus actually desire from people?
Lloyd-Jones explains that Jesus doesn't want our praise, applause, admiration, or sympathy. Instead, He desires: - Recognition of who He truly is as the Son of God - Understanding of why He came - to reveal the Father and save sinners - Acknowledgment of His sacrificial work on the cross - Total surrender, worship, and adoration
As Lloyd-Jones puts it: "He wants not praise, he wants worship. He wants not eulogy but adoration." He wants us to say with Thomas, "My Lord and my God."
Why is praising Jesus in the wrong way dangerous?
According to Lloyd-Jones, praising Jesus in the wrong way is "as bad as a total rejection of him" because it fails to recognize who He truly is and why He came. Many people admire Jesus as a great teacher or moral example while missing His divine nature and saving mission. This kind of praise actually blinds people to their need for salvation and Christ's true purpose. As Lloyd-Jones warns: "Don't imagine that because you praise him, you're all right. No, to praise him wrongly is as bad as to reject him outright."
What does Lloyd-Jones identify as the main theme of this passage?
The main theme is the vital importance of having the correct view of Jesus Christ. Lloyd-Jones states: "This whole chapter, as we've been seeing, holds us face to face with the most vital and fundamental question that can ever engage our attention, and that is, as to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ." He emphasizes that our salvation depends on recognizing who Christ truly is - not merely a great man but God incarnate who came to save sinners.
The Book of John
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.