John 12:37-43 – Spiritual blindness and receptivity?

At the end of verse 36, we are told that Jesus went and hid Himself. It’s not an indication of Jesus’ fear but that His public ministry was coming to a close. He would go into a retreat to spend some private time with His disciples. John 13-17 were moments He spent with His disciples, preparing them for His soon departure from earth. Bear in mind that in John’s Gospel the miracles Jesus did are referred to as signs. In chapter 2, He turned water into wine; in chapter 4, He healed the nobleman’s son; chapter 5, He healed the crippled man; chapter 6, He provided bread in the desert; chapter 9, He healed the blind man; and chapter 11, He raised Lazarus from the dead. It is disturbing that despite all these signs there were many who refused to believe in Him. Put at the forefront of our minds that these signs were done to show that Jesus is the Son of God, so that believing in Him we would have eternal life through Him.

Before Jesus went into the private moment with His disciples, he told us in a few sentences the unbelief of the people. And this did not come as a surprise to Him. For all these had been foretold in the Old Testament, especially by the prophet Isaiah. In chapter 53 of Isaiah, the rejection of the Messiah was foretold. Then again in Isaiah 6, we are told that the heart of the people were hardened against God and were totally blinded even though they saw the signs performed by the Messiah. They would reject the restoration and healing He came to provide. So despite the numerous and impressive miracles, the Jews refused to believe in Him. This clearly shows the depravity of their hearts.  

The opening of Isaiah 53 says “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Here in the question asked, we see the Triune-God in action. The oral ministry of Christ is referred to here as “…our report.” The pronounce “our” signifies more than one. And our God is one in essence but three in subsistence.  The arm of the Lord here refers to the miracles of Christ which He performed through the power of God.  

The quotation from Isaiah 6 seems to show that it was God who had blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, to prevent them from seeing and accepting Him. God is far too merciful to do that. He was only responding to their stubborn rebelliousness, to their unbelief and the wicked and cruel treatment that they gave to His Son. Because they had stoutly refused the light, hence darkness would be their dreadful experience.

Verses 42-43 tell us that many of the rulers of the synagogues believed in Jesus. For fear of being put out of the assembly, they dared not acknowledge Him. They were seeking men’s approval rather than God’s. Like them, today the choice is ours to make too. Do we want men’s or God’s approval? Remember we can never have the good will of men who do not know God, and the good will of God at the same time. We have to choose with whom we will stand.

Let us not trifle with the overtures of God’s grace. Recalling the words of the Psalmist, Hebrews 3:7 warns, “Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts….” We must heed the voice of Isaiah 55:6, “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” The pertinent question is: will we?