Sermon Tone Analysis

We begin our time together tonight at the end of a chapter in Jesus ministry.

We’re only half-way through the book of John, but here in John chapter 12, the author is drawing to a close the first major section of the book: Jesus’s public ministry in the midst of the Jewish people.

From here on out, John is going to take us in Jesus’s footsteps to the path that leads to His death on the cross, giving us an intimate look at the conversations that Jesus had with His disciples.

I’m really excited for the next few months, because we are going to get to be a fly on the wall, listening to the things that Jesus wanted His disciples to know before they were going to have to watch Him die on the cross.

But for now we’re in the final scene of the first act.

Jesus has revealed Himself as the Messiah to God’s people, the Jews.

aaaaaand it hasn’t really gone that well.

In and 37 we see Jesus hiding himself from the crowd one last time, and John’s assessment of how Jesus had been received:

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While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.

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

Kind of a disappointing conclusion to the preaching career of God Himself.

And once again, as John has done constantly throughout His book, we’re humming along, listening to the story, and we’re surprised by how things go.

We’ve all heard some pretty good speakers preach or teach at various points in our lives, and been impacted by their message.

Don’t you think that the GOD of THE UNIVERSE would be able to be more impactful than those guys?

Isn’t it weird that Israel was told to wait for a savior, to wait for a savior, and then when He shows up he’s not only mostly ignored, he’s then put to death?

I’m so glad you asked.

Remember, John’s gospel isn’t just a story book that bumps along from event to event.

It’s a carefully crafted work of art, skillfully arranged to accomplish the author’s specific goal.

He told us what it was in :

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Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

The gospel of John is written to show conclusively that this Jesus guy from Nazareth, WAS in fact the promised Messiah, so that the readers might find eternal life by believing in Jesus.

So here we are at the end of Jesus’s ministry, and even though Jesus has done unbelievable miracles in front of thousands and thousands of people, some of these miracles being things that had never been done before (like giving sight to a blind man), for the most part, people don’t believe him.

And In fact, less than a week later, many of them are going to be calling for His crucifixion--death on a cross.

And John doesn’t try to gloss over this part.

To distract us from Jesus’s lack of success as a motivational speaker.

He doesn’t hide it or minimize it.

He highlights it.

He basically says “and Jesus did so many miracles, nobody could avoid believing, except they pretty much all did.”

John knows it’s only natural for us as His readers to be wondering this.

So He tells us why, starting up again in verse 37.

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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.

Whoah, Whoah.

Whoah.

If you’re not a little freaked out by this--You might not be paying attention.

So John, what you’re telling me is the reason nobody saw who Jesus was was because God had blinded them to seeing who Jesus was?

What is going on here?

Why would God do such a thing?

See right here we need some cultural context.

Because if John is saying that Jesus appeared to some people, saying “hey, believe in me, it’s the only way.

But oh, by the way, I’m making you unable to believe in me.”

That’s a really scary passage of scripture.

Right?

Are we awake yet?

See that’s not what John is saying.

It’s almost the opposite.

Because Jesus didn’t just appear among some people.

He came to His people.

The Israelites.

God’s people.

John was already preparing us for this moment in chapter 1, verse 11 when He said

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“[Jesus] came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”

See Jesus didn’t come to a people who had no context for who He was.

He came in the midst of the nation that had been in special relationship with God for over two thousand years.

God had come to Abraham, their patriarch, and said I’ll make you a great nations.

He had renewed that covenant with Abraham’s son Isaac, a miracle-baby born to a couple who were 100 and 90 years old respectively.

He had saved them from famine by bringing them to Egypt.

Four hundred years later, he brought them out through miraculous means and destroyed the world’s most powerful army in the process.

He took them to Mount Sinai to make a special covenant with them saying “Hey, Honor me, walk with me, and I will protect you and make you great.

But as a part of this relationship, I’m also going to discipline you if you do wrong.

And Israel spent the next two thousand years blatantly violating their relationship with God.

Oh they kept doing the sacrifices God told them to do, but they violated their relationship with Him in pretty much every possible way.

By the time of the Prophet Isaiah, you would hardly know that the Israelites ever had a special covenant with God.

Here’s how God describes the spiritual situation of Israel in Isaiah’s time.

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But this is the one to whom I will look:

he who is humble and contrite in spirit

and trembles at my word.

3 “He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man;

he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck;

he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig’s blood;

he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.

These four things that God describes as detestable horrible things?

All sacrifices commanded by the Mosaic Law.

So why is doing the things God told them to do now detestable to God? Look at the end of verse 3:

These have chosen their own ways,

and their soul delights in their abominations;

4 I also will choose harsh treatment for them

and bring their fears upon them,

because when I called, no one answered,

when I spoke, they did not listen;

but they did what was evil in my eyes

and chose that in which I did not delight.”

Is it starting to make more sense?

This isn’t God randomly deciding to turn off the ears of some well meaning people who sometimes mess up.

This is God bringing just punishment on a hard-hearted people who have rejected him time and time again.