37 Even though he had performed all these miracles in their presence, they did not believe in him, 38 so that what the prophet Isaiah had said might come true:
Lord, who believed the message we told?
To whom did the Lord reveal his power?
39 And so they were not able to believe, because Isaiah also said,
40 God has blinded their eyes
and closed their minds,
so that their eyes would not see,
and their minds would not understand,
and they would not turn to me, says God,
for me to heal them.
41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
42 Even then, many Jewish authorities believed in Jesus; but because of the Pharisees they did not talk about it openly, so as not to be expelled from the synagogue. 43 They loved human approval rather than the approval of God.
44 Jesus said in a loud voice,
Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in him who sent me. 45 Whoever sees me sees also him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. 47 If people hear my message and do not obey it, I will not judge them. I came, not to judge the world, but to save it. 48 Those who reject me and do not accept my message have one who will judge them. The words I have spoken will be their judge on the last day! 49 This is true, because I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has commanded me what I must say and speak. 50 And I know that his command brings eternal life. What I say, then, is what the Father has told me to say.
Read John 12:37-50 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
In our passage for this journal entry, we read a side-note that John includes in his gospel about the reaction Jesus had on those who He was teaching and preaching to. The big idea I want to draw our attention to comes from something that Jesus says in verse 40: “God has blinded their eyes and closed their minds . . .”
What is even more startling about this is the reason Jesus gives in the very next verse: “Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.”
Isaiah prophesied that God will blind their eyes and close their minds because he saw Jesus’ glory.
This passage then makes me believe that God’s glory, shining through Jesus, could be similar in a way to a magnet: attracting some people and repelling others. The same glory shining down could, similar to the sun, harden “clay-like” hearts that are unreceptive, or soften “butter-like” hearts that are receptive: same sun (i.e. same glory); opposite results.
While God’s glory, shining through Jesus, is the same glory that shines towards everyone, perhaps the focus and choices in our lives plays a role in whether we are attracted to God, or repelled away from Him. It seems as though there is no real middle ground: Either Jesus is the Son of God and the person He claimed to be, or He is the greatest imposter who ever lived. Lots of culture would lean towards the idea of Jesus being a “good teacher”, but this belief is based in complete ignorance from people who want to not irritate either side. Read Jesus’ teaching, and you’ll be forced to pick from either “Son of God” or “potentially sincere, but solidly delusional, counter-cultural teacher”.
But in either case, our big idea remains: God’s glory, which shone through Jesus, polarizes people. Some people will be attracted, and others will be repelled.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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