NOT EVERYONE BELIEVES
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Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, your words offer life; they give me everything I need for redemption and transformation, for confidence and hope, for peace and joy. Thank you!
Read JOHN 12:37–50
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Belief and Unbelief Among the Jews
37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:
“Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:
40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved human praise more than praise from God.
44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
Reflect
What does believing in Jesus mean to you today?Let’s start by exploring verses 44–50. Jesus speaks passionately (v. 44) as he takes his listeners through key themes: the relationship between the Father and the Son; light and darkness; judgment and eternal life. How are we responding to Jesus’ words?
In the intense clarity of verse 45, what is Jesus saying about the nature of his relationship with the Father, and how does this connect to verse 41? The familiar themes of light (v. 46; see v. 23) and glory (v. 41) help us see that believing in Jesus means symbolically coming out of darkness—the darkness of not believing in God or realizing that Jesus is a light to show us who God is.
In verses 37–43, John demonstrates that even having seen signs, not everyone will believe in Jesus (vv. 38, 40). Others believe but don’t want anyone else to know (vv. 42, 43). Jesus knows that not everyone will keep his words (v. 47) and that some will reject him (v. 48): negative responses (v. 42) aren’t confirmation that what Jesus says about himself is untrue. There will be judgment on the last day (v. 48), but his purpose for being in the world is to speak what the Father commands (v. 49), to bring light (v. 46), and to save (v. 47).
Apply
Maybe, like me, you are left mulling over the tricky question of why God hardens people’s hearts. Take some time to process this question in the light of today’s reading.
Closing prayer
Holy Spirit, I may not always understand everything I read in the Bible, but thank you that I know you instruct me in everything I need to follow Jesus and make him known to others.
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