John 12:37-43

John 12:37-43

But having done so many of His signs before them, they did not believe into Him in order that the word of Isaiah the prophet that he said should be fulfilled.  “Lord, who believed our message?  And to whom has the arm of the Lord been uncovered?”  Because of this they were not powerful enough to believe.  For again Isaiah said, “He has made their eyes blind and He hardened their hearts in order that by the eyes they should not see and should understand by the hearts and should turn to acceptance – and I will heal them.”  Isaiah said these things because he saw His glory and spoke regarding Him.  Nevertheless, indeed even out of the rulers many believed into Him but for the sake of the Pharisees they were not confessing in order that they should not become expelled out of their synagogue.  For they loved the glory of man more than the glory of God.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The first quote from Isaiah exposes the heart of the follower of God.  It comes originally from Isaiah 53:1-2.  Isaiah asks God who has actually listened to him and heard God’s voice.  It is a very common thought.  It is hard working through our own struggles and coming to a place of greater faithfulness to God.  But when we make the leap, we naturally want others to leap with us.  Most of the time, most of the people don’t make that leap.  We get frustrated.  We turn and ask God, “Why am I doing this if nobody is listening?”  The question is normal and even good!  But we must remember how long it took us to grow into the new level of faithfulness.  We must learn that people may not move with us, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t moving towards that.  It doesn’t mean that they won’t move after they have also had enough time to process as well.  Of course, it doesn’t mean that they will, either.  We just need to remember to not get caught up in the results and instead get caught up in our obedience to God.

Where do you get frustrated in faith?  Where do you get impatient?  Has God ever made good on His promises to you but on His own timeframe?

Second Thought:

The second quote from Isaiah is far more disturbing.  It originally comes from Isaiah 6:9-10.  It is a popular quote in the New Testament.  It occurs as a quote or a paraphrase here as well as in Matthew 13:14–15, Mark 4:12, Luke 8:10, Acts 28:27, Romans 11:8, and 2 Corinthians 3:14.  At first glance it appears that Isaiah is claiming that God made it impossible for these people to believe.  The quote makes it sound as though God hardened their hearts and forced their eyes to be blind.  The troubling part of that thought is if God forced it upon them, how could they ever be condemned in judgment by God for that action, right?  However, if we go back to the original context in Isaiah we can see the picture more clearly.  God isn’t making these people blind, deaf, and dumb.  Rather, God is saying that He will use these people in spite of their deafness, blindness, and dumbness.  God can work through His opposition.  We see it here as John comes to a close.  Those people who refused to listen and confess Christ would eventually condemn Him to death.  That blindness would lead to Jesus’ death.  Jesus death would lead to the salvation for all who believe.  God’s awesome power comes whether He has to work with us or in spite of us.  That’s the point of this passage.

When can God work with you?  When does God have to work in spite of you?  What is the difference within you between these two positions?

Third Thought:

What a sad verse to end this reading.  They loved the glory of man more than the glory of God.  Some things never do change!  How many times do we live our life for our own sake, seeking our own desires, and pursuing our own purposes?  Sure, we might not care about how much “praise” we get, but how often are our choices in this life self-serving?  We like the satisfaction of living for our own purpose, for the glorification of our own agendas, and for our own satisfaction.  In Jesus’ ministry, that came between people and their willingness to believe in Him.  It is no different today.  We don’t truly live our life according to God’s ways for fear of what people will think and how people will treat us.  We don’t truly live according to God’s ways because of what it might mean for our own standard of living.

What are you living for?  What fear do you have that prevents you from living even more boldly for Christ?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 12:44-50