John 5:41

I receive not glory from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in yourselves.

Here the Lord dealt with the reason for this clash with the leaders. First, he disposed of the reason which they would probably have given, and which Jesus knew to be in their hearts. If asked to explain the conflict, they might have responded in the manner suggested by Hendriksen:

He is irked because we criticized him for breaking the sabbath and for implying that he is equal to God; if we had only praised him for what he did to the man in the pool, he would have been satisfied.[12]

To their evil thoughts, Jesus replied that he would not even receive as valid the praise of any unbeliever. He revealed that he was not the slightest concerned with getting glory from men. The trouble was not the wounded vanity of Jesus but the lack of the love of God in the hearts of wicked men.

Ye have not the love of God in yourselves ... This lack of the love of God in their hearts was the inherent cause of their rejection of Jesus. It was the same thing that caused many af them not to confess him, even though they believed on him (John 12:42); and even after they were absolutely certain that he was the long-awaited Messiah, they would not obey him: because "They loved the glory that is of men more than the glory that is of God."