“But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you” (John 5:42).
What was at the heart of the controversy between Jesus and the Jews? The Jews probably thought Jesus was offended because they did not praise Him for healing the man at the pool. But this was not the root of the problem. Jesus did not seek the praise of man, which He states in verse 41: “I do not receive honor from men” (even though God does command us to give Him honor and praise). The problem was lack of love: “But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.” If the Pharisees had really loved God, if His Spirit had been dwelling in their hearts, if they had truly known Him, they would have recognized the divine majesty of Jesus, the Son of God.
The Pharisees, who studied the law so thoroughly, would have known that the essence of the law is to love God with all your heart, soul, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. But this love was foreign to them, and so they were blinded to the truth.
“Lack of love always has a blinding effect,” Hendriksen writes. “It was not lack of evidence but lack of love which caused these men to reject the Christ.”
We would be amazed at how our knowledge of Christ would grow if only we loved Him more. All of us can testify to this relation between love and knowledge. The more we love someone, the more likely we are to see their good points, those traits that others are blinded to because they really do not love them.
This is John’s point in 1 John 4:8, “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” To love God is to know Him and to know Him is to love Him. If we truly love God, we will know His Son because His Son has come in His Name.
As Jesus said, the Pharisees did not really love God, so they did not know Him when He came in the flesh. People today also reject Jesus Christ, not because they do not have enough evidence, but because they do not love God. Therefore, do not be drawn into endless arguments with unbelievers, thinking you can convince them of the truth about Christ. Instead, confront them as Jesus did, and tell them that their unbelief is not based on lack of proof but lack of love for God.
How necessary is love in the Christian life? Can you honestly say, based on these passages, that you love Christ? Spend some serious time in prayer today, asking God to give you more love for Him so that you might know Him, obey Him, and love others.
