John 12:44-50; The Condemned King gives His Final Plea to Unbelievers

Scripture Reading: John 5:18-24

Introduction and review: Last week we saw in our passage the final plea to the Jewish crowd from the Condemned King. We saw that Jesus had implored the Jews to follow the Light and to walk in the truth so that the darkness would not overtake them and seize them forever. Rejection had been their answer. Judgement awaits. God had been generous, benevolent, long suffering, kind, and patient with them. But patience runs out it is not everlasting. God had given them all the signs and fair warning in scripture.

Of course, their rejection had been planned for because nothing surprises God. One cannot help to notice that rejection and condemnation of Christ brought about His crucifixion and redemptive work of propitiation of their sins. They sent to to death on a criminal’s cross.

John records the reaction to this rejection of God’s Son. That they did not believe because they would not believe and in turn they could not believe. Even the “believing” had little to no faith. They were closet Christians at best and would not be compelled by their faith to act because they were afraid or otherwise they valued the praise of men over the praise of God.

This brings us to today’s passage. A summary of truth in the final public ministry of Jesus.

We will see 2 themes emerge to today’s unpacking of scripture. One of Faith and one of Judgement.

Let read John 12:44-50.

Verse 44 begins with a simple truth that He wants them to remember. He wants them to simply believe. Not a belief with no action. True, simple belief comes from having faith. IT is a trusting committed action. True faith is active and bold. IT witnesses to the truth.

The Jews had seen all the evidence needed to believe. Not empty belief without trust a changed life as proof. James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and tremble.” The demons know God is real and that Jesus is the Son, the Holy One of God. But they do not love Him or obey Him. They tremble because they know their fate and judgement is certain.

To believe in Jesus is believing in God. He is telling them that they don’t believe in God. They can’t! They have rejected His Son!

To know God you need faith not regimen. Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” If you choose not to believe in Jesus you can’t even know the Father.

He goes on in Verses 45-46 to remind them to “see” Jesus is to see God. John 1:18 “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

To see Jesus for who He is is to see the Father in His fullness. John 10:30 ““I and the Father are one.”” Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father. He came to earth wrapped in flesh to be what God had intended. To be the Savior, the Redeemer, the bridge to God, the doorway to salvation.

He came as Light. The only hope against the darkness of sin. Those who have rejected the Son, the Light, will only ever see darkness. It will lay hold of them for eternity. They walk a dark and dangerous road that only leads to destruction. Oh it may be wide and smooth but it leads to a pit of fire and eternal damnation.

Belief, faith in Jesus is turning to the Light. Rejecting the darkness by repenting of your sins. He moves you out of the darkness and into the Light. John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.””

He is the Light. The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 1:3 “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

It is His radiance that draws us. Belief in Jesus allows us to see the Light, to follow the light (hard if you can’t see it), we become as He is, light, for we will be children of light. John 12:36 ““While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them.”

2. Rejection of this can only lead to judgement as we see in verses 47-48.

This rejection can only bring one consequence. Judgement. His intention was not to judge the world but to be the salvation so that the world could avoid the judgement that was to come. John 3:17 ““For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

Though Christ judgement could be avoided because He could not stop it. The God of the universe would judge sin. He must for He is holy. Trusting in Jesus for salvation avoiding the coming doom.

Belief or having faith in Jesus means to have faith in the word of God. They had the word. They had the scriptures, the signs, and the witnesses in the word written unto them for them to have as proof of the existence of Jesus.

Jesus is the Word. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Belief in this truth would bring some very important actions. This belief would bring

deliverance from the kingdom of darkness. Escaping the fate of all men.

Redemption from the penalty of death. The wage that all men pay.

Enjoyment of new life. God’s intention for us!

Look at verse 49. Jesus tells them the truth about Himself. He is is following the Father’s commandments. God’s intentions. And we were on God’s list! He wants us to have new life in Him!

Jesus is pointing out to the unbeliever: if you can’t hear the words of Jesus (this requires a response) then you can’t hear God. The Holy Spirit makes this possible.

As Jesus does the will of the Father, and He is our great example, we should do so likewise! John 7:17 ““If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.”

Jesus is the light as we are called to be in the light and to be children of light. John 8:38 ““I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.””

Finally, Jesus speaks the intention of the Father in verse 50. His measure of judgement can be avoided if they embrace eternal life in Christ. Jesus has been instructed be the Father to speak the words of life. His words bring hope to us that are condemned without Him. We hear His words and respond for now we have heard (judgement now falls on us because have been told the truth) and we must choose to either believe or reject. Now we see the intention of John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

This is the close of Jesus’ public ministry and He now direct His efforts to the instruction of His disciples and the preparation for them of what is to come in the days ahead and the ministry for years ahead. This is where we will pick up next time.

Let me close with this, 1 John 3:23 “This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.”

Let’s pray