JOHN CHAPTER TWELVE

 

Mary Anoints Jesus

“On March 23, 1743, when ‘The Messiah’ was first performed in London, the king was present in the great audience. It is reported that all were so deeply moved by the “Hallelujah Chorus” that with the impressive words, ‘For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth,’ the whole audience, including the king sprang to its feet, and remained standing through the entire chorus. From that time to this it has always been the custom to stand during the chorus whenever it is performed. With spontaneous joy the soul stands to salute Him who ‘cometh in the name of the Lord.’ He is ‘King of kings, and Lord of lords” and to Him we pledge allegiance.’
—Today
This same feeling of praise and giving all the glory to Jesus must have been the motivation in Mary’s heart here as she expresses her devotion to the King of kings.

John 12:1-11 NAS:
 1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
2 So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.
3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said,
5 "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?"
6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.
7 Therefore Jesus said, "Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.
8 "For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me."
9 The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead.
10 But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also;
11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

John chapter 12 reports the end of Jesus’ public ministry. It details an account of Mary’s anointing of Jesus in preparation for His coming sacrifice, His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on Psalm Sunday, and the prediction of His death.

John opens this book by telling us that Jesus “came unto His own (world), and His own (people) received Him not” (John 1:11). In the first twelve chapters of John, John presents one proof after another providing undeniable evidence that Jesus is the Son of God. Every bit of this evidence was seen firsthand by the Jewish leaders, and in spite of this evidence they refused to accept Him for who He was.

John 12 begins six days before the Passover. Jesus left Ephraim and returned to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, and attended a dinner in His honor, which according to Mark took place at the home of Simon the Leper (Mark 14:1-11). Jesus’ good friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were all there. They all must have also been good friends of Simon. So we have here a get together among what we would have to assume was a collection of very close friends and followers of Jesus.

The pure nard was an expensive perfume, which would only be used on special occasions. The value of the perfume was a year’s wages (300 denarii), perhaps a lifetime of savings. This most generous gift offered to Jesus by Mary was a way for Mary to show how much Jesus was loved and how grateful they all were for His bringing Lazarus back to life. The comment, “The house was filled with the fragrance,” verifies that John was actually present at this event which makes it an eye witness account of what was and was about to take place.

Judas Iscariot took issue with Mary in such an extravagant waste of money, claiming that the money from the sale of the perfume could have been used to provide for the needs of the poor, which hardly expressed his true feelings. He was more interested in increasing the money in the treasury which was placed in his care and from which he could take money for his own personal expenditures. Judas could certainly be identified as a prototype of the modern day politician. Perhaps that is one of the reasons our country is suffering the way it is. Judas not only betrayed Christ when he agreed to turn Him over to the authorities for thirty pieces of silver, but had apparently been betraying Him over and over again by stealing money from the treasury. The great majority of so-called  public servants in this country steal from the public treasury every day. That is also a betrayal to the teachings of Jesus. Judas paid for his betrayal to Christ and those who trusted him with their resources. Our public servants who follow in the steps of Judas will also pay for their betrayal of our trust. It is too bad that people do not study their Bibles carefully so that they might understand the ultimate results of their disobedience to the will of God. 

It was Judas who started the criticism, and, sad to say, the other disciples picked up on it. They did not know that Judas was being controlled by Satan (John 12:4), and they admired him for his concern for the poor. After all, he was the treasurer; and especially at Passover season, he would want to share with those who were less fortunate (John 13:21–30). Until the very end, the disciples believed that Judas was a devoted follower of the Lord.

Mark 14:4-6 NAS:
4 But some were indignantly remarking to one another, "Why has this perfume been wasted?
5 "For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor." And they were scolding her.

But then Jesus said: "Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.
"For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me." 

“You will always have the poor among you” is not a statement concluding that there will always be poverty in the world and because of that reality we should do nothing about poverty. Instead, Jesus was saying that the causes of poverty are many and people will always have opportunities to help those who are less fortunate (Mark 14:7). But the opportunity to show the kind of love they all should be showing to Jesus while He was here on earth was limited, so extravagance was a proper way of showing that love.

9 The large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead.
10 But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also;
11 because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.

You can probably imagine after studying all that we have learned in John that Jesus had by this time become a very well-known figure. People from all over the country were going to come to see both the man who had brought Lazarus back from the dead as well as Lazarus himself. Because Lazarus had been brought back from the dead, many people had come to believe in Jesus. So the chief priests decided to kill both of them.

The account of Mary anointing Jesus is also found also in Matthew 26:6–13 and Mark 14:3–9. Do not confuse this account with the one given in Luke 7:36–50, where a former harlot also anointed Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee. Mary was a virtuous woman, and she anointed Jesus in the house of Simon the leper (Mark 14:3). The Luke 7 event took place in Galilee, while the account we are now considering occurred in Judea. The fact that there are two “Simons” involved should not surprise us, for Simon was a common name in that day.[fn]

When you combine all three of these accounts, you learn that Mary anointed both Jesus’ head and His feet. It was an act of pure love on her part, for she knew her Lord was about to endure suffering and death. Because she sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to Him speak, she knew what He was going to do.[fn]

Mary was showing her devotion to Jesus before it was too late. Her act of love and worship was public, spontaneous, sacrificial, lavish, personal, and unembarrassed. Jesus called it “a good work” (Matthew 26:10; Mark 14:6) and both commended her and defended her.[fn]

It would have required a year’s wages from a common laborer to purchase that ointment. Where do you think Mary got such an expensive perfume. Do you think she found it in the backyard, stole it from a rich neighbor, or received it as a gift? My guess would be that Mary purchased it, and perhaps she purchased it not for her own use, but perhaps she purchased it knowing that she wanted to honor Jesus at this dinner for Lazarus.[fn]

Like David, Mary would not give to the Lord that which cost her nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). Her beautiful act of worship brought a fragrance to the very house in which they were dining, and the blessing of her deed has spread around the world, "Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her" (Matthew 26:13). [fn]

When she came to the feet of Jesus, Mary took the place of a slave. When she undid her hair (something Jewish women did not do in public), she humbled herself and laid her glory at His feet (see 1 Corinthians 11:15). Of course, she was misunderstood and criticized; but that is what usually happens when somebody gives his or her best to Jesus.[fn]

Matthew 26:14 gives the impression that immediately after this rebuke, Judas went to the priests and bargained to deliver Jesus into their hands. But it is likely that the events recorded in Matthew 21–25 took place first. No doubt Jesus’ rebuke of Judas at Bethany played an important part in Judas’ decision to betray Jesus. Also, the fact that Jesus once again openly announced His death would motivate Judas to escape while the opportunity was there.[fn]

As mentioned we have no recorded words from Lazarus in the New Testament, but his miraculous life was an effective witness for Jesus Christ. (In contrast, John the Baptist did no miracles, yet his words brought people to Jesus. See John 10:40–42.) We today ought to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4) because we have been “raised from the dead” (Ephesians 2:1–10; Colossians 3:1ff). Actually, the Christian life ought to be a beautiful balance of worship, work, and witness.[fn]

But the fact that Lazarus was a walking miracle put him into a place of danger. The Jewish leaders wanted to kill him as well as Jesus! Our Lord was right when He called them children of the devil, for they were murderers indeed (John 8:42–44). They threw the healed blind man out of the synagogue rather than permit him to bear witness to Christ every Sabbath, and they tried to put Lazarus back into the tomb because he was leading people to faith in Christ. If you will not accept the evidence, you must try to get rid of it.[fn]

This quiet evening of fellowship—in spite of the cruel way the disciples treated Mary—must have brought special encouragement and strength to Jesus’ heart as He faced the demands of that last week before the Cross. We should examine our own hearts and homes to ask whether we are bringing joy to His heart by our worship, work, and witness.[fn]

 

The Triumphal Entry

“Pastor Vern Simms grew up in a rough Boston housing project called Columbia Point in a family of nine children. ‘Although I'd been a hardworking student, paying for college seemed impossible. But my mother's favorite expression was’ ‘Pray, and the Lord will make a way somehow.’ ‘I viewed that as good advice for other people. But when I decided to go to college and seminary because I believed the Lord had a call on my life, I had no other choice!’

“’I packed for college and even went to orientation, but still didn't have any money. I'd have to pack up my belongings and make the hundred-mile trip back home. But an heir to a corporate fortune heard about my plight and paid for my college and seminary education. After I graduated, I went to my benefactor's office to thank him for all he had done for me and asked him what I could do to pay him back.’

“‘Imagine my saying to a multimillionaire, What can I do to repay you?’ The man responded, ‘Help somebody.’ ‘I've spent the last 20 years in the ministry with that goal in mind. I've pastored in the drug-ridden, crime-infested inner city as well as well-manicured suburbs. And I've learned that the blessing of God is like a boomerang. As I've tried to help somebody, the Lord has blessed me.’”[fn]

We will clearly see what true servanthood is like as we move through this chapter, and how important it is to our being blessed by God. Look ahead a little bit to John 12:26:  "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.” That is Jesus promise and it is repeated several times in the Scripture. Let us begin now in verse 12 of John 12.

John 12:12-19 NAS:
12 On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord , even the King of Israel."
14 Jesus, finding a young donk.ey, sat on it; as it is written,
15 "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey's colt."
16 These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him.
17 So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.
18 For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign.
19 So the Pharisees said to one another, "You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him."

What a powerful one-two punch Jesus put together to draw attention to what would soon be His death on the Cross. Here was Jesus, the miracle worker, the One who had the power to raise the dead. And here walking with Him was the living proof of the miracle, Lazarus, the one who had been brought back to life. That Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowds. His entry fulfilled prophecy and gave evidence to the elders and priests that “the world has gone after Him.” It appeared that what the Jewish leaders had feared all along was actually now happening, the people were accepting Jesus’ message.

But Jesus’ hero’s welcome into Jerusalem that day was to be short-lived. You see He was just a curiosity for many because He had performed so many miracles, and the most recent, involving the raising of Lazarus, was the granddaddy of all miracles. The crowds wanted to get a look at the main celebrities in this ongoing saga. It had all the elements of a real action adventure, and you know how that attracts people today who like to watch programs filled with violence and evil, and that is just how the stage was set for Jesus final days. A Man who claimed to be sent directly by God was performing miracles all over the place. And the man who had been raised from the dead was with Him. The Jewish leaders had resolved that they would kill Jesus. Jesus and His followers were headed for Jerusalem for one of the biggest celebrations of the year, and the Jewish leaders were waiting for them.

You might wonder what Jesus had planned for the next few days. If He could work miracles, perhaps He would perform an even bigger miracle than raising the dead. Maybe He would declare Himself to be king and that would certainly be interesting if He had to take on the Roman army as well as the Jewish leaders. How could He possibly do that? The odds were overwhelmingly against Him. If you had the average mentality of those attending this feast, you probably would not want to miss a second of the action. So the people gathered to welcome this potential source of entertainment during the festival. Only a handful of people knew, however, what was actually about to happen.

The waving of palm branches was a sign of honor for a victorious person. The chant of Hosanna comes from Psalm 118:25–26. In fact let us look at verses 21-26 in order to get a feel for the praise theme of this Psalm which is clearly prophesying Jesus coming into Jerusalem on this very day,

21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
26Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.    (NRSV)

The title King of Israel in John 12:16 shows clearly the Messianic significance of the chant. In verses 14 and 15 John refers to Zechariah 9:9 where it was predicted (prophesied) that Jesus would enter into Jerusalem on a young donkey rather than on a war horse.[fn]

This was the only mass public demonstration of public support that Jesus allowed while He was ministering on earth. And His purpose for doing so was to fulfill the Old Testament prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 which reads:

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey (NAS).

Seeing these large crowds lining the road to receive Jesus only added to the mounting hatred for Him on the part of the Jewish religious leaders, and this would eventually lead to His crucifixion. Because of their paranoia it must have appeared to them that Jesus was planning to start a revolution and establish Himself as king over the whole nation.

Jesus riding into the city on a young donkey was a sign of peace. He did not ride a war horse or carry a sword or wear a crown. Nor did He ride in a wheeled vehicle, as did many kings. His manner of entry fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy which contrasted Jesus’ coming (Zechariah 9:9) with the coming of Alexander the Great (Zechariah 9:1-8).[fn]

The inhabitants of Jerusalem were identified as the Daughter of Zion (Zechariah 2:10; Isaiah 1:8) and the Daughter of Jerusalem who, representing the whole nation of Israel, were encouraged to welcome the coming King not with fear but with glad rejoicing. The announcement that your King is coming to you refers to the long-awaited King and Messiah.[fn] The phrase “with salvation” means that He will come as a Deliverer, as One to give salvation to others (Isaiah 62:11). His peaceful entrance, “mounted on a donkey,” was fulfilled when He presented Himself to Israel in the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:1-5). In the ancient Near East, if a king came in peace, he would ride on a donkey instead of on a war stallion. Christ rode on a colt, the foal (”son“) of a donkey. Like some other Old Testament prophecies this one (Zechariah 9:9-10) joins two events, separated by at least two thousand years. Within the short space of two verses—it describes both the future first and second comings of Christ, the first in verse 9 and the second in verse 10.[fn] In His First Coming Jesus rode on a donkey and presented Himself to the nation Israel, but they would not accept Him as their King. So His universal rule will be established when He comes again, which means that when He returns again He will rule over the entire universe forever.[fn]

Zechariah 9:10 NAS:
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.

In John chapter 12, Jesus is clearly and openly announcing to the people that He indeed is the King of Israel as Nathaniel declared Him to be in John 1:49, the promised Messiah. Many of the people would have seen this to mean that Jesus would seize power, throw out the Romans, and restore Israel to her glory days as a world power. What they did not realize was that Jesus was “forcing their hand” so that the Sanhedrin, the governing body of the Jews, would have to take action sometime during the feast. The Lamb of God had to give His life when the Passover lambs were being slain, which would represent Jesus‘ slaying as the same sacrifice for sin, but this time the sacrifice would be for all time rather than being temporary and having to be repeated again and again.[fn]

While the people were celebrating Jesus’ arrival and rejoicing in what might be their new found freedom from Rome, Jesus was not having quite as good a time. Luke gives us the following account in Luke 19:37-44 NAS:

37 When they reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.
38 “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”
39 But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”
40 He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”
41 But as they came closer to Jerusalem and Jesus saw the city ahead, he began to weep.
42 “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes.
43 Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side.
44 They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not accept your opportunity for salvation.”
T
The nation had blown its opportunity to accept the Messiah when He came. They were ignorant of their own Scriptures.

Once again John also mentions a case of a lack of understanding on the part of the disciples. It was only after Jesus’ resurrection, here referred to as the glorification of Jesus, that any of them understood.[fn] The disciples, though close to Jesus and participants in these events, did not understand them. They lacked the perspective of the Cross and the Resurrection (when He was glorified). They were unaware that Zechariah’s prophecy had been written about Jesus. Their faith was weak and they needed the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-14).[fn]

As a result of their rejection of Jesus the Jews would suffer the events described in verses 43 and 44 when Rome destroyed the city in A.D. 70. If these folks had true faith in Jesus as the Messiah, however, they would not have turned against Him so quickly demanding that Pilate crucify Him. There were some of course that did believe, but it would seem that the majority of the people hoped Jesus could be the One who would become king and free them from Roman oppression. But when they saw that was not going to happen they soon lost interest in supporting Him.


Jesus Predicts His Death

John 12:20-26 NAS:
20 Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;
21 these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."
22 Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus.
23 And Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
26 "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

The Greeks who expressed a desire to see Jesus were representatives of the world at large, beyond the control of the small group of legalistic Jewish leaders who made up the Sanhedrin. Now before proceeding, if you are not familiar with Bible wording, it will probably be helpful for you to be able to equate the use of the term “Greek” with “Gentile.” Both terms simply refer generally to anyone who is not a Jew. You may recall that Gentiles came to see Jesus when He was a young child (Matthew 2), and now Gentiles came to see Him just before His death.

It is significant that these Greeks appear at this time because they are representative of those Gentiles who will also be allowed to share in the gift of salvation by the sacrifice Christ is about to make. They must have believed in the God of Israel because they were on their way to worship Him at the Temple, and at this time Gentiles were restricted to worship in the court of the Gentiles. Even though they believed in the God of the Jews, they had not converted to Judaism. Soon, in Christ, the middle wall of partition would be broken down, and the Jews and Greeks would be looked upon as equals in the eyes of God.

Philip is a Greek name and so is Andrew. It seems only natural that they would be the contacts between the Greeks and Jesus. People just have a natural instinct to seek out their own when in a strange place.

When His disciples came to tell Jesus that some Gentiles were asking to see Him, He may not have spoken to the Greeks directly, but He announced that the time had come, which meant the time had come when everyone who believed in what He was about to do would have the opportunity for salvation and eternal life in Heaven.

The word, glorified, in John’s Gospel  begins with one’s death and includes resurrection. Jesus relates the growing process of a seed to what is about to take place at His death. Jesus spoke symbolically of his approaching death. Just as a grain of wheat must be planted and die to produce more wheat, Jesus must now die to give spiritual and eternal life to all who believe in Him. In the same manner His followers must die to their own lives to produce the fruit of God’s Kingdom. If they do so, they will be richly rewarded at a time determined by God.[fn] A person who seeks only the pleasures of the world, which are perishable, will one day parish along with those things. A person who seeks only to please God is preparing himself/herself for the riches of God’s eternal reward, which could also begin right here in this world and continue on into eternity. Serving Christ involves following Him, even to death. This will be rewarded by sharing a glorious eternity with Him, and will include special rewards from God.

This is the opportunity which is about to be opened to all mankind, both Jew and Greek (Gentile), upon Jesus’ death and resurrection [fn]

If you are anything like me, verse 24 of John 12 might confuse you. You might be able to understand it better if you were a botanist or a farmer or a backyard gardener. The only thing I know about growing things is that if I want something planted that will eventually grow, I have someone else do it. But once you understand the planting and growing process you begin to see the connection more clearly. I do not intend to stretch the meaning of this verse beyond its original intent but I do believe Jesus might be saying that there can be no glory without suffering, no meaningful life without death, and no victory without surrender.

In and of itself, a seed is useless; but when it is planted, it “dies” and becomes fruitful. When a seed “dies” it fulfills its purpose. If a seed could talk, it would no doubt complain about being put into the cold, dark earth. But the only way it can achieve its goal is by being planted.[fn]

God’s children are like seeds. They are small and insignificant, but they have life in them, God’s life in the Holy Spirit living inside every believer. However, that life can never be fulfilled unless we yield ourselves to God and permit Him to “plant us.” We must die to self so that we may live unto God (Romans 6; Galatians 2:20). The only way to have a fruitful life is to follow Jesus Christ in death, burial, and resurrection.[fn] We do this in spirit in this world. When we tell Jesus that we know we are sinners and that we are on our way to judgment and eternal Hell if someone does not save us; and we tell Him we believe that He died for us by His sacrificial death, then we cease to exist as the person we were. We in effect die to our sinful nature, our old sinful nature is buried, and we rise to newness of life in Jesus Christ by the presence of the Holy Spirit who now lives within us as our counselor and protector. We are no longer prisoners to the sinful nature of our old selves.

We have therefore died with Christ, were buried with Christ and have risen to a new nature with Christ. That is the one and only path to eternal life.

Now keep in mind that we will sin even after we are saved because we are still in our physical bodies. But after salvation we now have God’s power through the Holy Spirit to resist sin. It will be a lifelong battle to resist the temptations of the devil because he becomes furious when someone chooses to follow Jesus, and he may come after you with all kinds of temptations because he wants you back. But you can resist doing what he wants you to do if you only call upon God in your time of need.

In these words in John 12, Jesus challenges us today to surrender our lives to Him. I read about some Christians who visited a remote mission station to see how the ministry was going. As they watched the dedicated missionary team at work, they were impressed with their ministry, but admitted that they missed “civilization.”[fn]

“You certainly have buried yourself out here!” one of the visitors exclaimed. “We haven’t buried ourselves,” the missionary replied. “We were planted.”[fn]

If we are looking for comfortable lives, then we will protect our plans and desires, save our lives, and never be planted. But if we yield our lives and let God plant us, we will never be alone but will have the joy of being fruitful to the glory of God. “If any one [Jew or Greek] serves Me, he must follow Me” (John 12:26).[fn]

Many Gentiles were attracted to Judaism’s ideas because of its higher moral emphasis compared with paganism. It may be assumed that their quest to see Jesus was prompted by a desire to learn from Him rather than mere curiosity. Maybe John sees them as examples of the “world” going after Jesus.[fn]

 

Jesus Predicts His Death

We would like to begin this section with a wonderful little story told by Peter Marshall, one of my favorite preachers and a former chaplain of the United States Senate.

“In a home of which I know, a little boy, the only son, was ill with an incurable disease. Month after month the mother had tenderly nursed him, read to him, and played with him, hoping to keep him from the dreadful finality of the doctor's diagnosis—the little boy was sure to die. But as the weeks went on he gradually began to understand that he would never be like the other boys he saw playing outside his window. Small as he was, he began to understand the meaning of the term death, and he too knew he was to die.

“One day his mother had been reading to him the stirring tale of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table, of Lancelot and Elaine the lily maid of Astelot, and about that last glorious battle where so many fair knights met their death.

“She closed the book as her little son sat silent for an instant, deeply stirred. Then he asked the question weighing on his childish heart, ‘Mama, what is it like to die? Mama, does it hurt?’ Quick tears sprang to her eyes and she fled to the kitchen, supposedly to tend to something on the stove. She knew it was a question with deep significance. She knew it must be answered satisfactorily. So she leaned for an instant against the smooth surface and breathed a hurried prayer that the Lord would keep her from breaking down before the boy and that she would be able to tell him the answer; the Lord did tell her. Immediately she knew how to explain it to him.

“‘Kenneth,’ she said to her son, ‘do you remember when you were a tiny boy how you used to play so hard all day that when night came you were too tired even to undress and you'd tumble into your mother's bed and fall asleep. That was not your bed, it was not where you belonged. You would only stay there a little while. Much to your surprise you would wake up and find yourself in your own bed in your own room. You were there because someone had loved you and taken care of you. Your father had come with big strong arms and carried you away.’

"‘Kenneth, darling, death is just like that. We just wake up some morning to find ourselves in the other room. Our room where we belong, because the Lord Jesus loved us and died for us." The lad's shining face looking up into hers told her that the point had gone home and there would be no more fear, only love and trust in his little heart as he went to meet the Father in heaven. He never questioned again. Several weeks later he fell asleep just as she had said and Father's big, strong arms carried him to his own room.”
                                        Peter Marshall[fn]

This story sets the stage perfectly for the message in John chapter 12, beginning in verse 27. Jesus is about to suffer so that we might fall asleep one night and wake up where we belong.  Because of Jesus we can pass from this world to the next in the blink of an eye just as if falling asleep on the couch and waking up in Heaven. That is if we believe in His atoning death for our sin.

John 12:27-33 NAS:
27 "Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
28 "Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came out of heaven: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."
29 So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, "An angel has spoken to Him."
30 Jesus answered and said, "This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.
31 "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
32 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."
33 But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.

Verse 27 of John chapter 12 gives us a glimpse into the human side of Jesus. His soul is troubled and the thought crosses His mind to ask God to deliver Him from this horrible death. He knew the agony of what He would shortly be facing. But Jesus’ prayer here gives us a model for how to approach God during our tough times.

How often do we pray, “Father, deliver me; save me from this . . .?”—“This unemployment, this illness, this marital problem, this depression, the effects of that abuse, this trouble with my child, this addiction, these gas prices,” and we could go on and on. Fill in the request with your own personal challenge.  It is only natural for us to beg God for deliverance from the bad situations in our lives, and we should. When we recognize God as all-powerful and in control of everything it is right to come to Him with our requests for deliverance.

But let us look at the rest of the model Jesus gives us. His next phrase in verse 27 is “But for this purpose I came to this hour.”  The true child of God recognizes that there is a purpose for everything in his or her life. Not just for the “good” things but for everything.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 8:6, NIV
For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man's misery weighs heavily upon him.

But even so we can be assured, because of…

Psalm 31:15 ESV:
My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!

So whatever this problem or challenge is in your life, God has allowed it and He has the power to cause good to come out of it (Romans 8:28).

As human beings we want deliverance from the problem, but God’s plan and purpose may be something else. Now there are some things God definitely does want to deliver you from. His Word is clear on that. If you have a problem with honesty we know God wants to deliver you from that because He tells us in Colossians 3:9 “Do not lie to one another.”

If your problem is stealing, God says in Ephesians 4:28 ESV, “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” Now you may be feeling affronted that we mention stealing because you have not walked off with anyone’s property. But do you spend too much time socializing at work or using the Internet at work for personal reasons so that you are not giving your boss a full day’s work for your day’s pay? Or do you take office supplies home from your job? Then you are stealing. The rest of that verse tells us what to do instead of stealing: “do honest work with your own hands.”

If your problem is addiction to alcohol or drugs God says over and over, “do not get drunk”  (Ephesians 5:8; Luke 21:34; Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:19-21). God definitely wants to deliver you from that so you can be filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit instead. It is right to pray for God to deliver you from these things and a host of other sins.

If your problem is lust and pornography, God wants to deliver you from that also because He says  “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality” (1 Thessalonians 4:3 NAS. See also 1 Corinthians 6:13, 18; Job 31:1.)  So if your challenge is something that God calls sin in the Bible, then you can pray with assurance to be delivered from it. That is a prayer according to God’s will and one that He will answer. So where God gives a definite command, there is no doubt about whether or not He wants to deliver us.

However, in many other circumstances no right and wrong is involved. There are no specific statements in the Bible about them. In those situations God may be trying to develop qualities in us such as faith, love, strength, wisdom, patience, or other things. He may want to prepare us to give comfort or strength and hope to others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) as he told Peter, “I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:32, NAS). God’s purpose in our suffering and problems may be to prepare us to minister to others.

We acknowledge that there are many situations in our lives where there are no Scriptural directives because they are not a matter of right and wrong. So what then? Christ’s next words in John 12:28 tell us, “Father, glorify Thy Name. ”What God may really want to deliver us from is our attitude. If we have a bad attitude going through things, if we grumble and complain and feel sorry for ourselves, or blame everyone else, that does not glorify God.

God is glorified in many ways. Yes, He is glorified when He miraculously intervenes in a situation. But He is also glorified when He gives us grace to be gracious in difficulties. He is glorified when He gives us whatever it takes to come through victoriously. God is glorified when we, like Christ, say, “Thy will be done” (Matthew 26:42). God is glorified when we have a godly attitude instead of a human one. And how do we get that godly attitude? God is glorified when we allow Him to produce the fruits of the Spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

This chapter in John now reveals to us just where this entire Gospel has been leading, to the cross and a brutal crucifixion. Who would not want to explore whether there was any chance of avoiding such a fate? Jesus was about to be made sin, to take on the penalty for the sin of all the people of all time, in His death as we learn in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NAS, a passage we would recommend you read over carefully again and again on your own until you totally understand all that it reveals. Paul writes:

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Think about it; the Holy Christ, Jesus the Son of God, was made to be sin. Horrid, awful, black, disgusting sin. We cannot possibly begin to comprehend what Jesus must have felt at the moment all the sin of all time was laid on His shoulders. Just imagine what that must have been like for Him, One who had never sinned suddenly having all the sin in the world become part of Him.  We have enough trouble bearing the shame and guilt of our own sin. What must it be like to take on the sin of everyone else?

Why did He do it? He did it for you and for me; that we might be delivered from our sin and have the potential to live a holy life, a life dedicated to God.

But for Jesus this pause to agonize over what He must endure was only momentary, revealing His humanness. He knew what He had to do and that He would have to go through with it. So He submitted Himself to His Father with a willingness to get on with it for the glory of God. Jesus was determined to fulfill the purpose for which He had been born.

Now there were a couple of different reactions to this voice that came from Heaven. Some heard a noise like thunder. Others thought it might have been some kind of angelic voice. But Jesus knew that the voice was His Father’s and that it was primarily intended for the people so that they might be aware that God Himself was directly involved in what was about to take place. Then Jesus goes on to explain to them the meaning of what was happening. It is time for judgment. While Satan was probably delighting in His victory over Jesus and Jesus’ impending death, he was about to have the rug pulled out from under him by Jesus who would turn His own crucifixion into a means of stripping Satan of his power. And because of who Jesus is and how He died, there is going to be a magnetic effect created that will draw people to faith in Him.

Verse 27 and the first part of verse 28 is a prayer from Jesus to His Father. “Father, glorify your name” is a request from Jesus for God to glorify Himself by what He is about to have Jesus do on the cross. No sooner does Jesus get the words out of His mouth than He receives a reply from His Father in Heaven. In verse 29 God lovingly replies to His Son by assuring Him that He will not only glorify Himself by Jesus’ work on the cross but that He has also been glorified all through Jesus’ life by what He has done. God made His voice heard from Heaven on occasions not only when Jesus may have needed such visible encouragement, but also when He simultaneously wanted to remove any doubts from the people about who was directing and initiating this action.

God sent Jesus to die on the cross and now demonstrated His presence and involvement in Jesus’ crucifixion by audibly responding to Jesus’ prayer so that all could hear His voice.

If you recall, God also spoke to Jesus from Heaven at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, Matthew 3:16-17 NAS:

16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."

And God spoke to Jesus again from Heaven when Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the top of a high mountain, Matthew 17:1, 2, 5 NAS:

1 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!"

We can fully trust that God is always right there making His presence known for all those who go through suffering for His glory.

Now it sounds like many people in the crowd did not hear God’s voice clearly. They heard a sound but did not know the words that were spoken. Yet if the voice was for their sake and they could not understand it, what good was it? Well, we will tell you what good it was. The crowd heard Jesus pray and then they heard a sound from Heaven in response to that prayer. That should have convinced them that Jesus’ prayer had been heard by His Father and that God was responding in some way. Whatever it was that they heard was an indication from God that He was involved in what was about to happen.

Jesus then spoke to the crowd about the Cross. It was to be the time of judgment for the world and for Satan, the prince of the world. Jesus’ death by crucifixion might on the surface appear to be a victory for the evil world, but the truth of the matter is that it would really be a judgment on the world. The moment Jesus went to the cross, Satan received the knockout punch. His defeat would be complete on Easter morning when Jesus conquered sin and death by rising from the grave. On the cross, Jesus would defeat Satan and his world system. He would destroy the power of the ruler of this world (Satan), and would draw all men to Himself. In His death Jesus glorified God by bringing you and me into fellowship with Him.

Paul writes: “As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died (Galatians 6:14 NLT).”

Even though Satan is still allowed to go back and forth across the earth and even to stand before the throne of God, he is a defeated enemy and he knows it. Do you think that makes him angry? His situation is like that of a condemned prisoner who had escaped from his jail cell and knows it is just a matter of time before he gets caught and put back in prison. But while he is out he is going to cause as much damage to society as he possibly can. He will take as much of his rage out on society as he is able while he has time. But take heart, as we serve Christ we receive the power to overcome Satan as Luke tells us in Luke 10:17-19 TEV:

17 The seventy-two men came back in great joy. "Lord," they said, "even the demons obeyed us when we gave them a command in your name!" 18 Jesus answered them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Listen! I have given you authority, so that you can walk on snakes and scorpions and overcome all the power of the Enemy, and nothing will hurt you. 20 But don't be glad because the evil spirits obey you; rather be glad because your names are written in heaven."

As we serve the Lord, we overcome Satan (Luke 10:17–19). As we let God be glorified in our lives through our attitudes during difficult times, we overcome Satan. One day Satan will be tossed out of Heaven (Revelation 12:10), and eventually he will be judged and imprisoned forever (Revelation 20:10). So we see in verse 31 of John 12 that the world’s standards were shown to be worthless and the ruler of the world (Satan) was judged. John sums up these events pretty well in a later chapter.

John 16:5-11 NLT:
5 “But now I [Christ][fn] am going away to the One who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going.
6 Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you.
7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate [Holy Spirit][fn] won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.
9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.
10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more.
11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

People no longer have to be controlled by sin and death. Christ has provided the means to be reconciled with God and have all sins forgiven, past, present, and future, clearing the way to eternal life in Heaven for all who believe.

Colossians 1:13-14 NLT:
13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,
14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

 Hebrews 2:14-15 NLT:
14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.

In order for sin to be forgiven God requires a perfect sacrifice. That sacrifice had to be a flesh and blood human being that would die when sacrificed. Jesus was the only one who could provide the perfect sacrifice. Every other human being ever born is tainted by sin. When Jesus refers to His being lifted up from the earth in verses 32 and 33, He is not talking about His ascension when He rose up to Heaven, but to His crucifixion. Earlier in John 3:14 we read, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (NAS). And in John 8:28, John writes: “So Jesus said, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me’” (NAS).

It was normally the custom of the Jews to stone those that were guilty of crimes worthy of the death penalty death (Acts 7:58-60). We read earlier in John 12:32 that Jesus said He would draw all men to Himself at the cross. He did not mean everybody in the world will be given salvation but rather it means He will draw all kinds of people from every country and nationality, both Jews and Gentiles.[fn] And Jesus is not going to twist anyone’s arm to come to Him. All who come will come by their own choice because they want to.

Jesus was “lifted up” so that all mankind could see the way (John 12:32), hear and know the truth (John 8:28), and receive eternal life (John 3:14). All heaven recognizes these facts, as we see in Revelation 5:8-9 NAS:

8 When He [Jesus][fn] had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

Now let us resume in John 12:34-36 NAS:

34 The crowd then answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?"
35 So Jesus said to them, "For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.
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.

The crowd was confused. They believed from their Old Testament teaching that the Messiah was to be around forever. How is it possible that He would die? They were relying on Daniel 7:13-14 NAS:

13 "I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.
14 "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

They may have been wondering if Jesus was using the terms “Messiah” and “Son of Man” in a different way than the meanings they were familiar with. But Jesus answered them once again using the imagery of light and darkness. He tells them that the Son of Man is Light. The darkness represents a world without God in which evil has the power to control the people. If you are walking in the dark you are an unbeliever who stumbles through life without knowing what life is all about and where you are going.[fn] Back in John 3:19 Jesus said: "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” Then in 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."

Walking in the light means following the light. Jesus spoke of his followers becoming sons of light, but this can come only through trust in Jesus. Their opportunity to take advantage of this great opportunity for salvation was growing short. Jesus is the Light of the world but the day of His public ministry was almost over (John 12:23).[fn] 

Now that Christ is in Heaven, He has left us with the Bible and the Holy Spirit so that we may have light, and that as Christians we may be light to those around us who do not know Jesus.

Ephesians 5:6-10 NAS:
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them; 8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

Colossians 1:13-14 NAS:
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

After reminding them that He was the Light of the world, once again Jesus supernaturally vanished from among them.[fn]

You may recall that we have come across the phrase “lifted up” earlier in our study of John (John 3:14; 8:28). Simply it means crucifixion (John 12:33), but it also carries the idea of glorification. In Isaiah 52:13, written hundreds of years before Jesus‘ ministry, the prophet predicted how Jesus would die, and it is worth noting that when Isaiah wrote these words crucifixion was not even known as a form of capital punishment. No one had ever witnessed a crucifixion until it was introduced by the Romans when they took over Judah. So God had somehow made Isaiah aware that Jesus would be “lifted up.” Whether Isaiah knew what that meant is hard to tell. But God knew and He had Isaiah write it down so that all people both then and now could marvel over the fact that God controls the future from the present and can predict accurately what will take place in the future. He has a definite plan, and He will execute it to perfection.

Listen to what Isaiah wrote: “Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.” This is exactly what we find happening in John 12:32. Jesus was glorified by being crucified, and because of His sacrifice and love for us, we who believe in His death for our sins will be glorified as well.

We glorify Christ when we receive Him as Savior. We glorify Christ when we display His attitudes as we go through suffering and problems. Your pain may feel like crucifixion. Perhaps God is trying to “crucify” something in you so that you can live a life of praise and glory for Him. When we glorify Christ, He will one day glorify us.

How is God calling you to glorify Him today?

 

The People Could Not Believe
(Jewish national unbelief )
John 12: 37-50

In his book The Magician's Nephew, C. S. Lewis writes of the creation of fictitious Narnia through the song of Aslan (the lion who represents Jesus in the book). The Creation Song is clearly intended to reveal the majesty and glory of Aslan. It is a grand call to worship

But there was one (Uncle Andrew) who would not hear it. The consequences were staggering:

“When the great moment came and the Beasts spoke, he missed the whole point, for a rather interesting reason. When the Lion had first begun singing, long ago when it was still quite dark, he had realized that the noise was a song. And he had disliked the song very much. It made him think and feel things he did not want to think and feel. Then, when the sun rose and he saw that the singer was a lion (‘only a lion,’ as he said to himself) he tried his hardest to make himself believe that it wasn't singing and never had been singing—only roaring as any lion might in a zoo in our own world. Of course it can't really have been singing, he thought. I must have imagined it. I've been letting my nerves get out of order. Who ever heard of a lion singing? And the longer and more beautifully the Lion sang, the harder Uncle Andrew tried to make himself believe that he could hear nothing but roaring. Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. Uncle Andrew did. He soon did hear nothing but roaring in Aslan's song. Soon he couldn't have heard anything else even if he had wanted to. And when at last the Lion spoke and said, ‘Narnia awake,’ he didn't hear any words: he heard only a snarl. And when the beasts spoke in answer, he heard only barkings, growlings, bayings, and howlings.[fn]”

You may be wondering what the point is of this story. We believe you will find the answer as we study in John 12:37-50.

John 12:37-50 (NLT)
37 But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him.
38 This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: “Lord, who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?”
39 But the people couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said,
40 “The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts— so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and have me heal them.”
41 Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah’s glory.
42 Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. 43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.
44 Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me.
45 For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me.
46 I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.
47 I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it.
48 But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.
49 I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.
50 And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”

Before we begin dissecting this passage beginning with verse 37, we would like to review the two previous verses, John 12:35-36 NAS:

35 So Jesus said to them, "For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.
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.

These verses serve as a warning to the people not to let the opportunity for salvation pass by. Beginning in verse 37, John begins to advise us as to why the Jews would not accept the truth about Jesus’ identity.

In spite of all the irrefutable evidence that Jesus had presented they would not believe in Him. They stubbornly and foolishly refused to follow the Light.

Consequently verses 39 and 40 tell us:

“But the people couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said, “The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts— so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and have me heal them.”

The Jews’ national unbelief had been predicted by Isaiah the prophet. The clearest Old Testament passage concerning the suffering Servant is told in Isaiah 53:1-12 which begins by stating that Israel would not accept God’s message as taught by His Servant, Jesus. Listen to what God said to Isaiah in Isaiah 6:8-10 NLT:

8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”9 And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people,
‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’10 Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.”

That is the message God told Isaiah to give to the people of His time, which was almost 700 years before Christ was born. Then here in John 12:39 and 40 Jesus gives the people of His time the exact same message. Things certainly did not change much in 700 years, did they? And do you know what? If Jesus were to come back today, He would repeat the exact same message to the people of our time, almost 2,000 years later, and they would give the exact same response. What does that tell you about mankind?

Then if we go forward to Isaiah chapters 52 and 53 we see this incredible description of Jesus who would not come to earth for another 700 years. Let us take a look at what Isaiah predicted:

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 NLT
13 See, my servant (Jesus)[fn] will prosper; he will be highly exalted.
14 But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.
15 And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about.

1 Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?[fn]
2 My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.
3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
7 He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.
9 He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.
10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.
12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Please think about this carefully. In the passages we just read Isaiah detailed what the coming Messiah would be like, what would happen to Him, and what it would all mean. We believe God had Isaiah do this so that the people would know exactly what was going to happen at some time in the future and they could know that their salvation had come in the form of Jesus Christ. So the Jews, from the time of Isaiah to the time of Jesus’ birth , generation after generation had been given the opportunity to study their Bibles and thereby be able to recognize their Messiah when He came. Yet when He came, what did they do? They rejected both Him and His message from God again and again and again and finally they killed Him. How stupid human beings can be! They are willing to give up an eternity which holds rewards beyond their fondest dreams in order to have their own way. This kind of attitude adds a whole new dimension to insanity.

In his vision Isaiah saw “the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 6:1,3). John wrote that the glory Isaiah saw was Jesus (John 12:41). Do you know what that means? Jesus is God! And that is not the only place in Scripture that we are told this. We saw earlier in John 1:18 NLT: “No one has ever seen God. But the one and only Son is himself God and is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.”[fn] Many of Isaiah’s prophecies predicted the coming Messiah, Jesus.[fn] For example:

Isaiah 7:14 NLT:
All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means “God is with us”).

Earlier in John 5:46 Jesus had said that even Moses had written about Him.

Because they constantly rejected God’s revelation, God had punished the Jewish people with judicial blindness and hardened their hearts.[fn] People in Jesus’ day, like those in Isaiah’s day, refused to believe. They “would not believe” according to John 12:37; therefore verse 9 tells us they could not believe. We can find a number of passages in the Bible where God punishes those who repeatedly reject His truth over and over and over again.[fn]

John 12:40, which quotes Isaiah 6:10, states that God blinds the eyes and hardens the hearts of those who persist in rejecting Christ. This prophecy from Isaiah 6:10 is found seven times in the Bible.[fn] It is repeated many times because it is a serious warning to unbelievers who do not take very seriously the condition of their eternal souls.

Now these passages are troublesome to some people who ask, “Does God decide that some people will not hear and understand the message? Does God deliberately harden some hearts so they will not believe because they cannot?” Some theologians have indeed decided that is the case. They teach that God determined that some people will be saved and others will not. But that idea is not consistent with other things we read in the Bible, such as 2 Peter 3:9:

2 Peter 3:9 ESV
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Or John 3:16 NLT
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

That is why we believe these other passages are saying that some people hear and see, but do not believe, or perhaps more accurately refuse to believe. These people at some point have crossed a line where their hearts have become so hard it is now impossible for them to believe.

Proverbs 29:1 ESV
He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.

People harden their own hearts by constant rejection of God and Christ.

For instance, Bertrand Russell was a great scholar who was born in 1872 and died in 1970. He is remembered for being a philosopher and writer who dealt a lot with mathematical theory. Bertrand was born into a Christian home and had been taught the Bible and to believe in God. But he rejected his training and all the calls of the Gospel. In adulthood Russell became an outspoken atheist. Much of his writing seeks to undermine and ridicule faith in God. Someone has said that looking at a picture of him in his later years was a sad experience. The writer said that although Bertrand Russell’s face reflected courage, it was grim and showed no sign of joy or hope. His daughter, Katherine Tait, reportedly said of him, "Somewhere at the bottom of his heart, in the depths of his soul, there was an empty space that once had been filled by God, and he never found anything else to put in it." Such was the result of Bertrand Russell’s rejection of God and hardening of his own heart.[fn]

John tells us in verse 36, While you have the Light, believe in the Light (John 12:36 NLT).  And Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 55:6 NLT, “Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near”

Light as we have seen over and over again in the last few chapters represents salvation and righteousness as well as a number of other virtues. Darkness has been described in a variety of ways so far in John, and this would be a good time to remember what darkness represents.

John 1:5 (NAS):
5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Here we see peoples’ minds being blinded by Satan. They are not willing to see the truth.

John 3:18-21 NAS:
18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
20 "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
21 "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

John 12:42-43 NLT:
42 Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue.43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

There were undoubtedly a number of people who believed in Jesus. Some may have held high-ranking offices among the Jews. But because they were afraid of being excommunicated from their synagogue they were in fear of openly confessing their faith (verse 42). They were afraid of what people would think of them if they confessed faith in Jesus. They were more concerned with the praise of men than the praise of God.

People refuse to come to Christ for a number of reasons, some of them pretty stupid. Let us return to our opening illustration about Aslan and Uncle Andrew, regarding how Uncle Andrew did not hear Aslan’s song: “Soon he couldn’t have heard anything else even if he had wanted to.” Later in the book Aslan says of Uncle Andrew: “This world is bursting with life . .  because the song with which I called it into life still hangs in the air . . . But I cannot tell that to this old sinner, and I cannot comfort him either; he has made himself unable to hear my voice. If I spoke to him, he would hear only growlings and roarings.”[fn]

If people are not willing to come into the Light, God allows them to remain in darkness and Christ will remain distant from them. He will not force them into accepting Him. It is strictly their choice. And now the final blow.

John 12:44-46 NAS:
44 And Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 "He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.
46 "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.

This represents eternal darkness. To “remain” in darkness means to live in Hell forever. Better to fear God and go to Heaven than to fear men and go to Hell![fn]

Verse 45, “He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me,” is underscored in Colossians1:15 NLT:

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.

These verses make it clear that to believe in Jesus means to believe in God and vice versa. This does not mean by the way that people believe in two different Gods. When a person sees Jesus, they see the Father who sent Him to lead them out of Satan’s kingdom of darkness into God’s kingdom of love and light.[fn] Jesus is the visible manifestation of God, whom we cannot see.

In verses 42–50, John simply repeats what Jesus is saying and why so many people reject the Light. Some reject Jesus because they are afraid of what other people will say if they openly declare Jesus to be their Savior (verses 42–43). If we turn to Revelation 21:8, guess who is at the top of the list of those who are going to Hell? “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (KJV) The fearful unbelievers are the first to appear on the list.

The underlying issue here is the command of God the Father. To obey the Father means to be given eternal life. To reject the Father’s Word is to reject the same Word that Jesus has given them and the result is death and Hell. As was mentioned earlier, Moses also predicted the coming of Jesus who would speak for God. Moses said, “You must listen to Him” (Deuteronomy 18:15). In John 12:48, Jesus states that rejecting the Word of God leads to condemnation:[fn] "He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.”

Jesus said He came to save, not to judge. But rejection of God’s Word ultimately brings a hardening of sin and thus God’s judgment. In the words of Moses, “these instructions are not MT words—they are your life” (Deuteronomy 32:47 NLT).

This simply means that those who reject the Light, Jesus Christ, will be sent to Hell forever. This could well be their last chance. Jesus repeated again what He had been telling them for months. Jesus would not speak to the crowds again. Now we do not want to repeat the obvious more than necessary, but let us just summarize Jesus’ message in a few words:

1. “I have come to reveal the Father. When you look at Me and when you listen to Me, you are seeing and hearing the Father.”        
2. “If you believe in the Father, you will believe in Me. If you do not believe in Me, you do not believe in the Father.”
3. “Whoever believes in Me will no longer walk in darkness, but will have come into the light, and will be given salvation and eternal life.” 
4. “If you reject Me, you reject the promise of eternal life in Heaven from the Father and you will place yourself under eternal judgment in Hell forever.”

 

John 5:24 NAS:
24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Salvation comes through the Word and the very Bible that people reject today will be prima facie evidence that will be presented against them at their judgment. John teaches us that the Light will not shine forever. At some time during the Last Days the Light will hide Himself from the people of the earth and what a dark day that will be for those who are still alive at that time. If you are an unbeliever, we pray you will take a lesson from Proverbs.

Proverbs 1:20-33 NLT:
20 Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square.
21 She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in front of the city gate:
22 “How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge?
23 Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.
24 “I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention.
25 You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered.
26 So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you when disaster overtakes you—
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone, and anguish and distress overwhelm you.
28 “When they cry for help, I will not answer. Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.
29 For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the Lord.
30 They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them.
31 Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes.
32 For simpletons turn away from me—to death. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency. 33 But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.”

The repetition in John’s Gospel is there for a purpose. No one must miss the central issues of life and death which Jesus raised. These are issues that you and I face today just as surely as the people of Israel had to face them.[fn]

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, revealed the loving heart of God the Father, who was willing to take the form of a man and willingly lay down His life for His sheep.[fn]

Jesus, in the incident at Bethany, also showed us the full extent of God’s power. The eternal life Christ offers brings us a resurrection power that begins operating in the here and nowand continues into eternity (Philippians 3:10). God is able to bring life even to the dead areas in our personalities today.[fn]

Let us not be like Uncle Andrew who made himself unable to hear Aslan’s voice. Instead let each of us respond with faith to the voice of God. Unlike the men and women of Jesus’ day who held back, we need to hear in Jesus the voice of the Good Shepherd, and choose to follow Him.[fn]

Isaiah

John

Romans

1 Peter


© Ron Teed - Used by permission. All rights Reserved.