12:37
“They still did not believe”. Now verse 42 makes it clear that some did believe, so we see again that we need to be careful about extrapolating from a general statement to a universal statement. What John means is that most did not believe. This was despite Jesus having performed many miracles and signs. There is a common idea, particularly in charismatic circles, that if only people saw miracles and healings they would believe. This is simply not true.
12:38-40
We then get the explanation of why people are so reluctant to believe. First we get a quote from Isaiah 53:1, showing that this lack of belief is actually a normal state of affairs. It requires revelation for someone to see the truth.
We then get further explanation, with a quote from Isaiah 6. The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts. Now to the Western mind this presents a problem, for we immediately think that this is unfair. How can we expect someone to believe if God has blinded them. We then often go on to “apologise” for God. However, to the Jewish mind there was no such problem. If you look a the Bible as a whole we see that it has not problem at all with this and many other things. So what are we to make of it? First man has sinned and rebelled against God, and this blinding is the consequence of that sin and rebellion. Then in Romans 10 we read that God has the right to harden whom He will harden, and to have mercy on whom He will have mercy.
God’s purpose is fulfilled when someone’s heart is hardened and also when someone’s eyes are opened. This does not take away from our responsibility and guilt, but it does mean that it is all part of God’s purpose.
No comments:
Post a Comment