With Dale Ratzlaff
John 12:36-50
But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?” For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM.” These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him. Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
In these verses, we see Jesus’ final ministry to the crowds as well as to the Jewish nation. The fact that John states that “Jesus cried out and said,” indicates this discourse was more than a conversation with His disciples. Before we deal with the difficulty of the Old Testament quotation at the beginning of this section, it is important to realize that in this context Jesus was still promising salvation to his listeners.
I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
With this in mind, we go back to the beginning of this section. John states,
But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.
Previously in his Gospel, John has recorded six signs:
- Turning water into wine (Jn. 2:1-11).
- Healing the noble man’s son (Jn. 4:46-54).
- The Sabbath healing of the man at the pool Bethesda (Jn. 5:1-18).
- Feeding the 5000 (Jn. 6:5-14).
- The Sabbath healing of the man born blind (Jn. 9:1-44).
- The raising of Lazarus from the dead (Jn. 11:1-51).
We would expect seven signs. The last sign, the crowing evidence that Jesus was the Messiah and Savior, was the resurrection of Jesus. At the time of this discourse, that sign was still a few days in the future.
Despite all the evidence given to the Jewish people, it appears that the majority, especially of the leaders, rejected their Messiah.
This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?” For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM.”
One cannot read this without recognizing that the rejection of Christ by the Jewish people was caused by God who blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts so that they would not be converted.
Once again, we face the mystery of the relationship between the sovereignty of God and human responsibility. As we noted in previous lessons, both are true. Problems arise when we focus only on one. I am going to quote or summarize three scholars whose comments I found helpful.
But when John quotes “He hath blinded their eyes…he does not mean that the blinding takes place without the will or against the will of these people. So with the hardening of their heart. These men chose evil. It was their own deliberate choice, their own fault. Make no mistake about that. Throughout his Gospel John has insisted upon the seriousness of the decision forced on the Jews by the presence of Jesus, on their responsibility, and on their guilt. He is not now removing all that. What he is not saying is that the hand of God is in the consequences of their choice.…God’s purposes are not frustrated by the opposition of evil men ( Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, p. 604,605).
The assumption that God may judicially harden men and women frequently surfaces in the New Testament…If a superficial reading finds this harsh, manipulative, even robotic, four things must constantly be born in mind: (1) God’s sovereignty in these matters is never pitted against human responsibility…(2) God’s judicial hardening is not presented as the capricious manipulation of an arbitrary potentate cursing morally neutral or even morally pure beings, but as a holy condemnation of a guilty people who are condemned to do and be what they themselves have chosen. (3) God’s sovereignty in these matters can also be a cause for hope, for if he is not sovereign in these areas there is little point in petitioning him for help, while if he is sovereign the anguished pleas of the prophet (Isa. 63:15-19)—and of believers throughout the history of the church—make sense; (4) God’s sovereign hardening of the people in Isaiah’s day, his commissioning of Isaiah to apparently fruitless ministry, is a stage in God’s ‘strange work’…that brings God’s ultimate redemptive purpose to pass (D.A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, p. 448, 449).
The question raised is: What caused the unbelief of the Jews? The answer is: God…[however] It would be contrary to the entire Scriptures to assume an arbitrary, deterministic will of God, commanding the prophet to declare the unbelief of the Jews and then, in order to make good the prediction, himself to cause this unbelief in the hearts of the people condemned. The observation is correct that any decree of reprobation is completely shut out by Jesus’ own last call to the pilgrim crowd in the Temple, “Believe on the light, that you may be sons of light.”…The answer to the problem is that in Isaiah’s and in John’s words we do not have the antecedent but the subsequent will of God. This is not a blinding and hardening decreed in advance by an absolute will, forcing damnation upon men; but a judicial and punitive decree upon those who obduracy God infallibly foresees ( R.C.H. Lenski, Commentary on the New Testament, John, p. 888,889).
After John quotes Isaiah regarding the unbelief of the Jews from God’s perspective, he immediately gives the reasons for their rejection of Christ from their own choice.
Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
We are not told the number of the rulers who “believed in Him” or when their belief was confirmed to be saving faith. Later in John’s Gospel, we find that at least two did.
After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. (Jn. 19:38-40)
Here we see that two of the Jewish leaders were true disciples even though they were somewhat secretive in their belief. Two things must be considered here. First, it is very dangerous not to decide for Christ because we love the approval of men before God. This is always wrong. Second, there are times and circumstances when it is right to be secretive in one’s beliefs. Throughout church history, we have examples of people worshiping in secret to save their lives. Some years ago, and perhaps even today, in China and other communist countries, believers met in secret home churches and the gospel flourished. God sees our heart and treats us with grace when we go through life-threatening times and places.
And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.
Here is the final call to salvation for the Jewish people. Jesus lays out the key elements included in saving belief, saving trust.
- Belief in Christ includes the belief that Jesus is the Son of God and includes belief in God the Father.
- Jesus has come to bring saving light (truth) to the world.
- Everyone who believes will not remain in darkness (error).
- Jesus did not come to bring judgment; He came to “seek and save the lost” but by His coming and giving us words of truth, we judge ourselves in relationship to His truth.
- Our relationship with Jesus’ words will determine the outcome of our judgment.
- There is no separation in the work, will, love, or truth between God the Son and God the Father.
- It is the desire of both God the Father and God the Son to give us eternal life.
Application
- We should never pit God’s sovereignty against human responsibility. Both are true. Our duty is to obey the truth of God’s word.
- We are all influenced—some more and some less—by the approval of others. If the approval of others conflicts with God’s approval of us, the only safe course is to obey God regardless of what others think. Peter made this very clear.
But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
- There may be times when we have to keep our faith to ourselves. May God give us the wisdom to know when or when not to do this.
- We may never know when God’s last call to salvation may come to us. Life is tentative at best. Let us rejoice in the day God has given us and let us always choose to follow God’s truth as best as we know it.
Prayer
Father, I don’t understand how you work all things together for our good and yet give us the freedom of choice to make bad decisions. Help me to serve you with integrity regardless of what others think or say. I believe you desire all men and women to receive eternal life. Use my life and influence to that end.
In Jesus name.
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