John 12:37-50. Warnings about Unbelief
Years ago, a large statue of Christ was erected high in the Andes Mountains on the border between Argentina and Chile. Called “Christ of the Andes,” the statue symbolizes a pledge between the two countries that as long as the statue stands, there will be peace between Chile and Argentina. Shortly after the statue was erected, however, the Chileans began to protest that they had been slighted – the statue had its back turned to Chile. Just when tempers were at their highest in Chile, a Chilean newspaperman saved the day. An editorial, that not only satisfied the people but made them laugh, simply said, “The people of Argentina obviously need more watching over than do the people of Chile.” At least both countries recognised the importance of Jesus!
Lack of Faith
This could not be said of many of the Jews in Jesus day, in spite of all his teaching and miracles.
“Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.” John 12:37
This unbelief was wilful – they would not believe in him. This paragraph has much to help resolve the apparent conflict between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. This has crudely been called the Calvinist/Armenian controversy. Here it can be seen that both are true. We are responsible for our own salvation by the decision we make about Jesus, but God remains sovereign over the consequences of all the decisions. Here the Jews ‘would not believe’ but this rejection of their Messiah resulted in a situation where they ‘could not believe’. People have the option of accepting God’s message, his revelation to us in the word of God, but if they keep refusing him they will discover that a time comes when they cannot believe.
“. . . they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfil the word of Isaiah the prophet: ‘Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’ For this was the reason they could not believe.” John 12:38-39
Rejection of God will inevitably lead to his rejection of us. The Jews had the word of God readily available to them yet they had misunderstood its message that God looks at the heart and not outward appearances. John again quotes Isaiah,
“He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes or understand with their hearts, nor turn – and I would heal them.” John 12:40
A time does come when people will just not turn back to God, whatever the situation they find themselves in.
Private faith
A salesman for cable television came to our home when I was writing a talk and had a Bible, several commentaries and other books on the lounge table. Thinking that this might be a good argument he said,
“I see that you are religious. Do you know that if you subscribe you can see the God channels for free!”
Resisting the temptation to discuss the pros and cons of the God channels I replied,
“That’s interesting. Are you interested in Christian things yourself or aren’t you sure about these things.?”
He replied,
“I consider such things to be private and personal.”
It occurred to me that that was the end of that conversation but I replied,
“Yes, I can understand that but there is one problem with that way of thinking.”
“What’s that?” he replied.
“It probably means that you haven’t had the opportunity to discuss these things to make sure you have understood them correctly. Would you mind if I briefly explained to you what the Christian message is to make sure to have got it right?”
For the next hour we had a very profitable discussion on the gospel.
Having a private and personal faith that is not expressed does have the danger that it is not clearly understood. But there is another problem, a faith that is not expressed to others may not be a saving faith at all!
There are many Bible passages that emphasise this such as,
“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoeverdisowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32
What worse words can there ever be than to hear Jesus say about us at the final judgment, ‘I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23, Matthew 25:12, 2 Thessalonians 1:8)? We must learn to openly acknowledge our love for the Lord Jesus.
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and so are saved.” Romans 10:9-10
“No-one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” 1 John 2:23
“So do not be afraid of them . . . what I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. . . Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” Matthew 10:26-28
What is it that prevents us from being open about our allegiance to the Lord Jesus, it is usually our fear of man. John continues,
“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear of being put out of the synagogue.; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.” John 12:42
In other words their problem was a worldly outlook, it is the Lord and him alone we should fear. James, the brother of Jesus was later to write very forthrightly,
“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God. Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James 4:4
Even king David recognised that this is an ever present temptation that we will all face. He prayed,
“Oh Lord, by your hand save me from such men, from men of this world whose reward is in this life.” Psalm 17:14
Isaiah’s faith
John reminds us that Isaiah saw something of God’s glory and this had the effect on him that God always requires,
“Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.” John 12:41
John is again reminding his readers that to speak about Jesus is essential. He is clearly asking his readers to recall what Isaiah had said about Jesus.
“In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.” Isaiah 6:1
The seraphs that surrounded this throne said,
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:3
Isaiah felt his own sinfulness and his unworthiness to be present. But then the gospel is enacted before him.
“One of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’” Isaiah 6:6-7
What better news can there be but that our sin has been forgiven because of the sacrifice offered on our behalf. The Lord Jesus was to be Isaiah’s passover lamb. Yet forgiveness is only the beginning of the story. God calls people to himself for a purpose. Isaiah is reminded of this purpose,
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Isaiah 6:8
There is only one response when the Lord God, who has himself taken responsibility for our sin, calls us to his service,
“And I said, ‘Here am I, send me!’ He said, ‘Go and tell this people . . .”
The passage that John quoted from Isaiah is taken from one of the most famous extended prophecies that foresee what God’s Messiah would achieve. Isaiah lamented that too few would accept what God had done for them and this was precisely Jesus’ concern too. Belief is vital.
“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed.” Isaiah 53:1
“Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” John 12:38
Isaiah’s message goes on to say that the God who hates sin and rebellion would take on himself the penalty for our sin. He accurately describes what the Lord Jesus would come to do,
“Surely he took our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities: the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like lost sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6
Later in this section Isaiah describes how the Messiah will be killed although he had done no wrong, he died for our sins.
“For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. . . The LORD makes his life a guilt offering.” Isaiah 53:9-10
But giving his life as a sacrifice for sin would not be the end,
“ . . . he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul he will see the light of life and be satisfied.” Isaiah 53:10-11
Why will the Messiah have to go through such an ordeal? The same lesson is repeated, he will die to bear the sins of many,
“. . . my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.” Isaiah 53:11
What wonderful good news Isaiah wants everyone to understand. No wonder the Lord concluded about his Messiah,
“Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, . . . because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” Isaiah 53:12
Both the majesty of Jesus on his throne and his majestic death on that cross portray the glory of the Lord Jesus. Consequently not to accept God’s greatest gift to man is considered by God to be despicable to the highest degree, and if this continues will eventually become unforgivable.
The True Faith
Jesus had already done with speaking to the Jews.
“When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them” John 12:36
It would therefore appear that John 12:37-43 are a commentary by John summarising the overall reaction of the Jews and explaining how this is in accord with Old Testament prophecies.
However in verse 44 Jesus reappears. It would therefore seem that these verses are also a summary of what Jesus had been saying to everyone.
“Then Jesus cried out, ‘When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me he sees the one who sent me.” John 12:44-45
I well remember a schoolmaster telling us that Jesus never claimed to be God. He cannot have read the gospels. This verse alone makes it abundantly clear who Jesus claimed to be and he made no secret about this, he cried it out loudly. Jesus continued with his repeated theme that he is ‘the light of the world’ (John 8:12, 9:5),
“I have come into the world as a light, so that no-one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” John 12:46
He alone shows us the way to God, the way to live and it is he who reveals our sin to us. Belief in Jesus is precisely what God wants all people to grasp, but that is only the beginning, we have then to walk with him, obey him and leave the darkness of worldliness and sin for ever.
The Consequences of Not Accepting Jesus
Jesus is not interested in people just having a private theoretical faith. In this summary Jesus warns us that it is obedience to him and his words that are essential for salvation.
“As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them . . .” John 12:47
This is a repeated theme of Jesus,
“If you love me you will obey what I command.” John 14:15
“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching . . . He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” John 14:23-24
However Jesus, significantly, continues by saying that judgment is not what he came for,
“. . . I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world but to save it.” John 12:47
Jesus came to point all people to the only way of salvation. He warns us all about the consequence of rejecting him but his emphasis is always on how God longs to save us, his emphasis is on the grace of God, He wants us all to know that however far we have fallen, we can still start again with him. He will not only forgive us but will also give his Holy Spirit so that we have the power to live as he wants. This message of salvation is the the message about Jesus. It is not the purpose of the sun to cast shadows, but when the sun shines it is inevitable that shadows will be seen. Jesus is saying that we act as our own judges; what we decide now about him will be our judgment.
“There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him on the last day.” John 12:48
We are not told these warnings to leave us feeling sad. We are told sad things so that we will respond and find great joy, comfort and peace.
“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” John 15:11
The purpose that John wrote this book was that we might believe in Jesus because of all the evidence for him, both objective evidence and subjective evidence. When we believe we are given eternal life and with that comes great peace and joy. This new life is life to the full (John 10:10).
“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31
The Authority of Jesus’ Words
A choice has to be made, ‘Do I want to listen to what Jesus is saying?’ To help us in this decision Jesus wants us all to know that what he says are truly the words of God,
“For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. . . So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” John 12:49-50
He is emphasising that to reject what he says is to reject God himself. Yet at the centre of this Jesus again reminds us of the consequence of our making the right decision,
“I know that his command leads to eternal life.” John 12:50
What a glorious message we have been given, a message first to believe in Jesus, then to obey and that includes sharing the message with those around us.”
BVP
