John 12:37-43
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Will we ever learn?
Recap
Recap
Last week I started off by telling you that we would experience some overlap with this week and the passage that we will be covering.
We ended last week with verse number 37 with the unfortunate reality that though Jesus had performed many signs in the presence of these people, they “were not believing in him.”
How on earth could this be the case?
Imagine being present for the resurrection of Lazarus.
Imagine seeing Lazarus walking around after having been dead for 4 days.
Imagine eating some of the food that Jesus had created, seeing His miracles first hand, watching the lame walk. And still walking away.
If we are honest, we may be even asking the question: How could this be?
I’m sure John, the writer of this book, as a Jew was blown away by the rejection of the Jews.
After all, his whole purpose for writing was to show the signs so that people would believe and have life in the name of Christ.
But Life only comes through belief and trusting in Christ.
In verse 37 we are told where the problem lies.
But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.
Verse 37 lets us know that the problem is not with Jesus or a lack of proof of who he was.
The ministry of Jesus was enough. In fact in John 5
The problem is with their unbelief.
It is their rejection of who He is that bring upon the judgment of God even further.
Back in , we discussed the multiple witness that have testified to Jesus’s being the Messiah.
John the Baptist- the last OT prophet.
His works- Every sign validates who He claims to be.
His Father- The Father Himself has spoke AUDIBLY. Jesus even says this is for them and not for him.
And the Scriptures they claim to believe.
4 testimonies ignored. 4.
In fact Jesus has already told them:
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.
What a dangerous game to play.
But some of you in here may be doing the same thing.
You have heard the Scriptures. You may come every single Sunday and you sit there on the pew and you listen to sermon after sermon after sermon of the Word of God being unfolded right before your eyes and ears , and in your rebellion and in your rejection, you stand up and you walk out of those doors having rejected every word you heard.
“I’ll come when I’m ready.” “I know I need to do better.” “I know I need to get back in church.”
Those are confessions of those who in their hearts have rejected Christ.
Those are confessions of people who think they they are go. Those mindsets reveal something. They reveal the pride rooted deep in our heart where we believe God is sitting there wringing His hands, saying “Oh Why?!?!?? Won’t you accept me?!?!”
Jesus is the Lord of the universe and he doesn’t have to put up with your rejection.
Hear me out.
God is not required to extend His hand of salvation to you continuously when time and time again you tread upon His grace and mercy in allowing you to even hear His message.
God is not required to allow you to live until your next opportunity to hear the Gospel.
This rejection comes in many forms.
Some reject because they don’t know. They reject out of ignorance.
Maybe a first time hearing the Gospel.
Searching for something.
Searching it out
Some reject knowing, and they hate what they know.
they know who Jesus is and who he claimed to be.
Some have been raised in the church.
Then they leave.
Thats a dangerous place to be as well.
Some reject because they have measured the cost.
They know and reject.
They have seen His signs. They have experienced unmistakable testimonies to His deity and to who He is, and they have rejected Him.
The final two we have mentioned are what we see present in this passage.
According to verse 37, some of these Jews know and reject.
They are either aware of Jesus and just refuse to follow Him and submit to His leadership.
In verse 38, John explains to us that we should have expected this. This was prophesied about in Isaiah chapter 6.
Look at what
Look here in verse 38.
They are indifferent. They just don’t care.
This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
The first question: Who has believed our report?
They have seen His signs. They have experienced unmistakable testimonies to His deity and to who He is, and they have rejected Him.
This indicates the small amount of people who are genuine believers.
but wait a minute… What about the large crowd? the crowd that just welcomed Him as king?
These people were not believers.
In fact we have seen this time and time again.
As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.
In fact they not only had walked away from following Him. They had taken up arms against him.
The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.
At the end of chapter 11, they have taken up counsel against him.
The reality and root of all of this is unbelief.
They don’t follow him, because they do not believe.
They hate him, because they do not believe.
Every action toward Jesus is inspired by the unbelief. Even their religion. They continue to practice their religion because they do not believe.
And here we see where the problem lies with a majority of people within the church today.
Religious Unbelief.
Is your life characterized by belief or unbelief.
Understand something.
Our obedience or disobedience is a direct correlation of our belief.
Do you really believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven?
Then why aren’t we evangelizing.
Why do we sit back and watch people we love continue in sin and fail to go to them and tell them that they need to forsake their sin and turn to Christ.
Do you really believe that Hell is an eternal place that:
“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Then why are we not begging those people to be reconciled to God.
Hear me out church: Please understand what I am saying this morning.
If we are
The first question here is to highlight the point that very few people actually believe.
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
The answer to the first question is: not many.
Listen to the next question.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 12
AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?”
Answer: these people who have rejected Him.
The arm has been extended.
God’s grace and His message of salvation has been given. In the case here, God Himself is in their midst and they have rejected Him.
Before, we get upset with them, lets consider our own unbelief.
There are people who sit in here Sunday after Sunday hearing sermon after sermon, and they have rejected God.
Maybe they say things like:
“God knows my heart.”
“I ain’t ready to settle own quite yet.”
“I’ll do that later.”
“I’m gonna sow my wild oats for a little while.”
All of those statements have one thing in common.
ALL OF THEM ARE REJECTIONS OF CHRIST AND ABSOLUTELY EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE EXCUSES WILL LEAD TO AN ETERNITY OF HELL APART FROM REPENTANCE AND FATIH.
You say, “I can do it later” as if you have the God of the universe of a leash. I’ll say the sinners prayer right before I die and Ill be good.
hear me out, I’m not ruling out the possibility of a death bed conversion, but you need to unerstand something.
If someone is converted to Christ on their death bed, then it is because of the gracious purpose of God and not because “You decide” it time.
Who is God in that mindset?
That mindset views God as an insurance policy for hell and nothing else and sadly what has happened in a lot(maybe even most ) of “Christians” today is that they honestly believe that God will save them from hell even though they have lived every day of their lives celebrating Hell’s pleasure.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 12
“LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?”
Answer: not many of those to whom the message was given.
Whats gonna happen to these people? They are gonna get another chance right? God will save them at the end right? They will have an opportunity to say a sinners prayer and be good right?
Wrong. in the case of these people, the very opposite happens. As a result of their unbelief and their rejection, God hardened their hearts even further.
Look in verse 40
“He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.”
In other words, he gave them over to their own desires. You want it that way. Have it.
God withholds His gracious Spirit of illumination to the Words of God.
Church hear me out: Your rejection of Christ has consequences. God is not on a leash. Your constant rejection of him could very well lead to him pulling His gracious hand away from your life and letting you go, hardening your heart, blinding your eyes.
That’s tough right.
But look at what verse 41 says:
These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.
Isaiah, an actual believer encounters Christ and His glory and is driven to obedience.
according to John is Isaiah’s vision of Christ’s kingdom.
What we get from that here is that Jesus has the authority to save and to judge.
In the case of the Jews, they are experiencing the same judgment the nation in is experiencing. Left, Hardened, and blinded by their own unbelief.
A Second group
A Second group
Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
This group counts the cost of following Christ and fearfully refuse to confess Him as Lord.
Two things:
They rightly consider Jesus worthy of belief.
Its obvious who he is and that he is worthy.
They stop short of genuine belief because of a fear of others and a love for their own position.
They realize that believing in Christ would incite the anger of the Jewish leader who hate Jesus and they are afraid that they will meet the same opposition that Jesus did.
This is common today as well.
I want to come to church, but my husband doesn’t, so I don’t.
I want to come to church, but my wife doesn’t, so I don’t.
I know I need to believe, but what will my friends think.
Hear me out church:
It would be better for you to go to heaven being loved and adored only by God alone than to go to hell being loved and adored by all people.
What matters?
They loved the approval of man rather than the approval of God.
Will we ever learn?
Will we ever learn?
Sinners in the hand of an angry God.
He is longsuffering but he is not forever suffering.
He is gracious and merciful but he is also just.
“Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering.”
“The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood.”
Repent and believe the Gospel today.