Jesus’ teaching and His miracles were generating a dedicated group of followers. He was simultaneously facing increased hostility from the religious leaders. The opposition against Jesus reached a climax as the religious leaders sought to rid themselves of this iconoclastic Rabbi:

For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. (John 5:18)

Jesus presented to the Jewish leaders the evidence for His messiahship. He told them of the witness of John the Baptist who testified of Himself as the one of whom Isaiah prophesied.  There was also the witness of Jesus’ miracles:

But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. (John 5:36)

Jesus referred to the witness of the Father:

And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. (John 5:37)

Finally, Jesus pointed out the witness of the Scriptures:

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; (John 5:39)

Despite all of these convincing proofs, the people refused to believe. Jesus revealed the reason:

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?  (John 5:44)

Could this be a reason why we fail to apprehend God’s great promises – are we seeking glory form one another rather than God? Paul was just as forceful as he castigated the Galatians:

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

This is a bold statement, as Paul revealed that if he was concerned about pleasing men that wouldn’t be a bond-servant of Christ! Lest you think that Paul’s condemnation of people pleasers was confined to his polemic to the Galatians, he also warned the Thessalonians:

but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. (1 Thessalonians 2:4)

We must not succumb to the trap of trying to be popular rather than faithful. Those whom we seek to please can become our master. If God is pleased with us, then we can stop worrying about who isn’t. Our ambition is to please an audience of one:

Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. (2 Corinthians 5:9)