Jesus encountered an impediment to faith. The barrier was not new. It possessed ancient roots. Worse yet, it remains a common human dynamic today.
As Jesus engaged the crowds and religious authorities, his message collided against resistance in spite of the evidence his works provided. Jesus identified the heart of the problem: "How can you believe, if you accept praise from one another and don’t seek the praise that comes from the only God?" (John 5:43).
The crowds and religious authorities were trapped in a self-blinding group dynamic. They trusted their group as having grasped truth. The group dynamic involved self-affirming reaffirmations from one another. The bottom line for them – Jesus’ message should be rejected.
Jeremiah had encountered the same group dynamic problem centuries earlier. Religious leaders were sharing and listening to each other’s messages: "How long will they go on plotting to make my people forget who I am through the dreams they tell one another?" (Jeremiah 23:27);Â "So I, the LORD, affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who steal messages from one another that they claim are from me" (Jeremiah 23:30).
What can help someone escape from a self-affirming group dynamic? Jesus points the way. There was the need to "seek the praise that comes from the only God" (John 5:43).
Here’s the balance we need to walk. On the one hand we ought to have confidence in what we understand and which perhaps a group is affirming. However, at the same time we need to remain humble to the possibility that the group is wrong. How can we safely navigate this danger?
To escape the powerful gravity and security of an affirming group requires valuing something higher than the group’s praise. We must place greater value on receiving God’s praise!
Jesus’ encounter with a crowd and some religious authorities years ago reminds us about an essential lesson for today. Jesus would encourage us to value God’s word and God’s praise more highly than the acceptance and praise others might offer us.
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