They Still Did Not Believe

Lesson #201

With this lesson we will start the next section of chapter 12, defined by John 12:36 – 43, which considers the unbelief of the people. Tension has been growing between the Jewish authorities and Jesus and so he decides to go undercover for a while. “When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them” (John 12:36 ESV). Here is where the public ministry of Jesus comes to an end. People who have been following him will not see him again until he appears as a criminal in the hands of the officers of the Sanhedrin, on his way to the Praetorium. In the verses to follow, John presents his own reflections on why his own people would not receive him.

“Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him” (John 12:37 ESV). How the people responded then is not much different today; there is evidence of who Jesus is, but people let it pass by. At the time of Jesus, the people heard him speak and saw him perform miracles. Today we see and hear reports of God doing great things among Christians as well as unbelievers and we see how surrender to Jesus results in changed lives. The purpose of miracles is to establish faith in Jesus Christ and provide abundant proof of the deity of Jesus and his Messiahship, but people in their hardness of heart are not moved and continue to walk in spiritual darkness.

“so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”” (John 12:38 ESV). The quote in verse 38 is from Isaiah 53:1, which is a chapter devoted to prophecy of the Messiah. Isaiah suggests, that there would only be a few that would believe the report made in the ministry of the Gospel, concerning the Messiah. Even though the testimony of Jesus was true and was confirmed by miracles, and mighty deeds, the people simply would not believe and accept his powerful and special grace to them.

“and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” can have several meanings: It may refer to the Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation; It may refer to the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who is the power of God, by whom he made the heavens and the earth, and upholds them, and by whom he has redeemed and saved his people; or It may refer to the Holy Spirit by whom these miracles were done. No matter which meaning is correct, the people were not willing to submit to the evidence and believe.

Maybe there is a reason for this unbelief that we will discover in our next lesson.

Prayer

Father, as I think about the unbelief of the people covered in this lesson, my thinking is prompted with thoughts from 2 Corinthians 4:3 – 4: “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (ESV). The gospel that Jesus is proclaiming is seen as foolishness by those who are perishing; those who were not chosen by you before the foundation of the world. Those unchosen ones are left in darkness, under the power of the god of this world, to blind their minds, and to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel. By your sovereign will you select those you will adopt as your children and they will hear and believe. Your selection is not random and will not leave out anyone truly desiring salvation; it is perfect according to your sovereign will. Thank you for salvation; so rich and free.