The Unbelief of the People

Intro

There are many who cannot believe the salvation that God has revealed

State:

English Standard Version Chapter 12

37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 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?”

39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

40  “He has blinded their eyes

and hardened their heart,

lest they see with their eyes,

and understand with their heart, and turn,

and I would heal them.”

41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.

Here John quotes from two different sections of the book of Isaiah, both of which are being fulfilled right now through Jesus. The first is a quotation from a familiar section in chapter 52 and 53 concerning the suffering servant, and th second from the vision Isaiah had of God in chapter 6. We will deal with both of these and how they are being fulfilled in Jesus.

First, the quotation concerning the suffering servant

English Standard Version Chapter 12

Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,

and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

This is immediately following a chapter in which God reveals that salvation is coming for his oppressed people. This is in the midst of the revelation of a suffering servant who will come and bear the iniquities of the people, that they might receive salvation and be restored. This is where we get so many of those beautiful quotations that are especially recited around Christmas and Easter time — He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities.

What is so ironic about the section that John quotes though, is that so many people have ignored this promise. The people cannot understand, they cannot believe what God has promised to them.

In the suffering servant, God is revealing his “arm,” which is language often used in the Old Testament to describe the strength or power of God. This good news is concerning Gods power of salvation for his people, which will come through his suffering servant. Yet the people didn’t believe.

Here now the people of God are standing in the midst of the true suffering servant — the chosen one, thr prophecied one, the “arm of God,” the power of God to bring about the salvation of his people, and they cannot believe in him! The very same crowd that ushered him into Jerusalem with chouts of joy and praise are now turning on him and finding themselves unable to believe.

John then quotes from Isaiah 6, which occurs right after his famous vision of God’s throne room: Isaiah has come into the presence of the Lord and uttered those famous words — Woe is me! For I am lost. For I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell amidst a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.

Isaiah then has his mouth purified, and the Lord asks, whom shall I send to preach to this people? To which Isaiah responds, “send me, Lord!” He then receives his preaching assignment, which causes him to realize that he is going to be preaching to a people with hardened hearts who will not believe. Through his preaching, the people will only continue to grow duller, deafer, and more blind. The word of God enters their ears, but it hardens rather than softens.

This is the truth concerning God’s word: it never returns void, and always accopmlishes his purposes. In some, it will soften hearts and bring about repentance. In others, it will further harden and confirm them in their sin. In this case, many of the people are being confirmed in their sin.

how dreadful is their position! How horrible is their fate! Isaiah saw the glory of God, that inexpressible, majestic, terrible glory, and he spoke of such glory to a people who were confirmed in their sin; a people who would in fact die in their sin. He was proclaiming good news to the poor, but it became to them a sentence of judgement.

Apply:

As the word of God enters your heart, which effect is it having upon you? When you hear the message of God’s judgement upon sin, is your heart grieved to repentance, or does it grow proud in defense? When you hear the message of God’s power of salvation, the gospel of Jesus Christ, does your heart soar with gratitude, or become bitter with cynicism?

If you have found yourself bitter till now, please allow yourself a moment to consider the desperate condition of your situation, and how much hope has been offered you in the gospel of Jesus Christ!

If you already believe, when was the last time you considered how blessed your position in life is? Have you considered that left to yourself, your heart was opposed to God, and that it was only by his mere good pleasure that he has brought you to himself? Celebrate and rejoice that you are where you are, with your affections warm towards Jesus, for this was truly the work of God in your life.

Transition: Now we move to the second half of the text, where we consider a different kind of person: One who mentally assents to the truth concerning Jesus, but will not confess their faith.

There are many who refuse to confess belief because they love worldly things

State:

John 12:42–43 ESV

Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

What we see here is quite a different issue than the one we just discussed. Here we have people who have been observing Jesus, what he has said, what he has done, and all the evidence concerning his person up to this point. These people have come to the conclusion that Jesus is who he claims to be — that he is the Son of Man prophesied in the book of Daniel, that he is the Christ that Israel has been waiting for.

And yet, this is a people that refuse to confess their faith in this Jesus. Here we need to ask ourselves: why? And how? Why would someone take the time to observe Jesus, to mentally assent that what he says is the truth— in essence, that they have come to behold the single most important individual in history, the Christ, the savior of their nation and of the entire world — They know this to be true! — and yet they deny him with their mouths?! Why? How?

John makes it clear. Their issue isn’t one of knowledge, but of love. They know, but they don’t care, or not nearly enough. Their hearts are consumed by other things, by earthly things.

You see, they didn’t want to be lumped in with those other Christians and all the negative connotations it brought. People were losing their status, their respect, they were losing their religious practices, losing their place in the synagogue, and here these people couldn’t stand the thought of losing so much. So thought they rightly understood who Jesus was, and even believed in him to some degree, they denied him and chose their earthly loves over heaven.

So I ask, what good is this kind of belief? Does mental assent mean anything if it is not paired with confession? Is it enough to just “kepp your faith to yourself”? Will God understand that they believed on the inside, and ignore their denial of him on the outside?

The Scriptures lead us to recognize that their position is no better than the previous crowd who did not believe at all.

The Sciptures say,

English Standard Version Chapter 10

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

And also,

English Standard Version Chapter 10

So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

This kind of a public denial of Jesus for the sake of worldly comfort is the source of so many warnings in the book of Hebrews, warnings that make it clear that any who deny Jesus for worldly gain cannot expect to benefit from Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

No, these deniers of Jesus are in just as horrible a position as those who didn’t believe in him at all. Do you see what they’re doing? Do you see how tragic, how absolutely terrible their spot is? They have come to realize that Jesus really is the savior of the world, that he is the one whom God has provided to save them from eternal punishment in the fire that will never be quenched. They have looked upon the one that can either lift them to heaven or judge their souls forever — and they have chosen comfort in this life over eternal salvation! What a pity!

Apply: My friends, consider their foolishness and save yourself from the same fate. Perhaps there are some here who have come to believe that Jesus really is the savior of the world, but some fear has held you back from confessing your faith in public. My friend, do not exchange your soul for momentary comfort. If you have believed in your heart, then confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord! If you know him to be the one who has loved your soul, who can save you from the judgement that is due you for your sin, then proclaim it!

And don’t be content to merely make a single confession — make this your life’s anthem. For perhaps there are still some in the room who have made it public that they are a Christian in some way, and yet continue to downplay their allegiance to Christ in their everyday lives. Perhaps you like to keep your Christian life separate from your work life, or your social life, or your family life. My friend, to you I beg that you lay aside your shame concerning the gospel. As the Apostle Paul once said, so also join him in saying,

English Standard Version Chapter 1

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Friends, consider that those who we learn about today in John are long since dead and even now are experiencing the judgement that is due to them for their sins. For they died in their sins, and the day of mercy has passed them by; now they live in the unending day of judgement.

But consider the blessed position you find yourself in, that God has spared you to this moment and has prolonged your day of mercy! Consider that your next moment is not promised, but while their is still breath in your lungs you have been given an opportunity to turn to God, to confess faith in him with that very same breath, and to be healed by him! For he has promised, all those who turn to him in faith will certainly be saved and healed.

Perhaps you’re confessing that faith already and walking in it — brother, praise God with new praises today. Continue in that faith as long as its called “today,” never forgetting what you’ve been saved from and what you’ve been saved into. Continue to make your savior’s glory the theme of your life, proclaiming his light into the dark places of our world.

May God be praised for the salvation he has wrought through his mighty arm, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Lords Supper

This feast has been passed down through generations from Jesus himself to spiritually nurture his people. As we come to the table, we are reminded of the price that Jesus paid to save us from sin and make us his people. As we partake, we not only acknowledge and confess that Jesus is our savior, but we are also spiritually nourished here as God’s beloved people.

If you do in fact confess faith in Jesus Christ, if you’ve marked that confession with baptism, and if you’re a member of a gospel preaching church, then Jesus bids you come and feast and be strengthened. If that isn’t you, then please refrain for now.

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 

The night he was betrayed Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “this is my body which is for you, take and eat”

In the same way after supper he took the cup and having given thanks he gave it to his disciples saying, “this. Up is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for the forgiveness of sins. Drink it, all of you.”

Numbers 6:24–26 (ESV): 

The Lord bless you and keep you; 

25  the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 

26  the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.