John 7:18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.
I remember when I learned that no one in a desperate situation can be trusted. That was also when I learned not to ask people “can you do such and such?” because the guy I was asking would think, “my child hasn’t eaten in 4 days and this guy is going to pay me to do this, so I can figure it out.” Desperation brings out some of the worst things in people. I remember seeing women at the Shoe Carnival push and shove other women, over 40 even-I’m not talking about rowdy teens! over a 6 pack of socks! (if that can be referred to as desperation. I guess they felt like they were, nonetheless.)
I think of that same thing as I read about Jesus talking about people seeking their own glory. Here I am on the weekend before a big election and the news is nothing but people seeking their own glory. And what crazy foolishness God lets people get into when they are focused on their own glory! What silly things we do when we try to get people to like us! And the more diverse the people, the crazier our antics!
The fact that Jesus was not seeking His own glory but the glory of God must have been so absolutely foreign to the Pharisees. To imagine them doing something that would make someone else look good, at their expense, seems impossible. Jesus taught the truth without any care of his reputation or standing with other people. He was free from the bondage of acceptance-shopping, so He could treat everyone equally, rich or poor, powerful or weak, intellectual or simple.
I know I’ve written about this before, but Jesus didn’t need other people to tell Him who He was. He knew who He was, and He knew what God thought of Him, and that was all that He needed. That’s how we know that God does not show favoritism, because Jesus showed us what a person is like that needs no approval, and does not judge people on their outward appearance, or what they are tricked into thinking of our outward appearance.