Bible Strands
John 5:41
I do not accept glory from men,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, directly responding to their refusal to come to him for life and his diagnosis that they lack God’s love. He speaks this line during a confrontational discourse about his divine authority and their spiritual rejection of him.
The words — The declaration hinges on λαμβάνω (lambanō, "I take" or "I accept") combined with οὐ (ou, "not") and δόξαν (doxan, "glory"). Paired with παρὰ (para, "from") and ἀνθρώπων (anthrōpōn, "men"), the literal syntax reads, "I do not take glory from men."
The thread — This rejection of human approval runs parallel to John 5:34, where Jesus notes he does not accept human testimony, and appears in John 7:18 and John 8:50, where he contrasts seeking his own glory with seeking the glory of the One who sent him.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to examine whether they pursue validation from people or from God alone. It asks readers to stop treating human approval as a substitute for divine acceptance and to direct their pursuit of worth solely toward the One who grants true life.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
I receive not honour from men.
Cross-references
- John 7:18 He who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory, but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is a man of truth; in Him there is no falsehood.
- John 8:50 I do not seek My own glory. There is One who seeks it, and He is the Judge.
- John 5:34 Even though I do not accept human testimony, I say these things so that you may be saved.
- John 5:44 How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
- 1 Thessalonians 2:6 Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.
- John 8:54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. The One who glorifies Me is My Father, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’
- John 6:15 Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.
- 1 Peter 2:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:
- 2 Peter 1:17 For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”