John 12:34–50
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I thought this was similar to how people’s unbelief persists, as described in today’s passage. Many people are ‘Not interested’ in Jesus’ message about his death and resurrection. However, as time passes, they get another opportunity to hear the gospel again. But each time, they click ‘Not interested.’ If this is repeated, their unbelief becomes deeper and more hardened.
Today’s passage shows the last part of Jesus’ public ministry in John’s gospel.
After today’s passage, Jesus spends time in private ministry with His
disciples and begins the Passion on the cross.
Through Jesus’ final words to the crowd before He took up the cross, I pray that we may learn how to maintain our faith in Jesus and how to prepare for the last day.
Let’s pray
Look at verse 37.
“Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they
still would not believe in him.”
Jesus has performed many signs so far. He changed water into wine,
healed an official’s son, and healed a disabled man at a pool. He also fed
5,000 people from five loaves and two fish. He healed a man born blind. He even
raised Lazarus from the dead.
However, despite many signs Jesus had performed, they still would not
believe in Jesus.
It means they chose not to believe in Jesus. It was not that the signs
performed were not enough, but it was that the people were intentionally
rebellious for Jesus’ teaching.
People’s rejection of Jesus was already prophesied in the Old
Testament.
Verse 38 cites Isaiah 53:1
“Lord, who has believed
our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
In verse 40, the author John quoted Isaiah 6:10 for the reason they
could not believe.
“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”
First, the fact that people’s rejection of Jesus was prophesied validates
that Jesus is the promised Messiah. John’s use of Isaiah’s prophecies reframes
the unbelief as a necessary and predicted part of the Messiah’s mission,
confirming Jesus as the Christ and the suffering servant described by Isaiah.
The rejection is not a sign of failure but of prophecy coming to pass.
Second, we can see a shift from “would not believe” to “could not believe”
from verse 37 to 39.
The first one indicates people’s conscious choice not to believe even
with numerous signs that Jesus is the promised Messiah. It means: they could have believed, but they chose not
to.
In verse 39, now they could not
believe because God blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts. After
persistent, willful unbelief, they reach a point of spiritual hardening. Now,
they are no longer merely unwilling, they are unable—their hearts are closed,
and God allows their hardness to solidify. Because they would not believe, they
eventually could not believe.
The same pattern appears elsewhere in the Bible.
In Exodus 8:15, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, hardened his heart despite
God’s continuous disasters.
Exodus 8:15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his
heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.
Exodus 8:32 But this time also Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not
let the people go.
Pharaoh’s repeated rejection of God’s warning led to God hardening
Pharaoh’s heart.
Exodus 10:27 But the
Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go.
This same pattern appears in the book of Romans as well.
Romans 1:21–24: For although they knew God, they neither glorified him
as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their
foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became
fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like
a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts
to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
All of these examples show that repeated rejection leads to spiritual
insensitivity, which can eventually become spiritual inability to respond to
God’s words.
This warning is not only for the unbelieving Jews at Jesus’ time but
also for lukewarm or passive Christians today.
Revelation 3:14–16 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These
are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s
creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were
either one or the other! So, because you
are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
What do lukewarm Christians look like? They go to church, sing praises,
hear sermons, and prays, yet they stay unchanged. God’s words do not have an
effect in their lives. Why? Because they still love the world.
Earlier Jesus said that
John 12:25 “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who
hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
1 John 2:15–17 says
1 John 2:15–17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If
anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in
the world—the lust of the flesh, the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from
the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
If people love the world, they do not love God. There is no middle
ground.
Everything that this world gives, except for what comes from God,
ultimately falls into one of three categories: the lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, or the pride of life. Because of the things we consciously or
unconsciously see, sinful cravings arise in our hearts. The pride of life
includes being puffed up with pride because of one’s possessions, such as
money, social status, power, recognition from others, and so on. These desires
exist in everyone. Regardless of how much or how little we have, we have a
desire to boast about what we possess and to be recognized for it. We
constantly compare ourselves to others and want to be acknowledged as better
than them.
Has there been a time recently when your life was free from the lust of
the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life?
1 John 2:17b “...The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives
forever.”
Doing the will of God is the opposite of all that is involved in loving
the world. It includes believing in Jesus and loving others.
What does it mean to believe
in Jesus?
Philippians 2:6,7 states:
“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God
something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by
taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
Jesus, though He is God, came to this earth in the flesh. On this
earth, He became a friend to the poor and the sick, and in a world where loving
myself is natural, He laid down His life on the cross for our sins.
To believe in Jesus means to believe that He conquered the powers of
sin and death through his death on the cross for my sins and resurrection from
the dead. This act of sacrifice and resurrection is the foundation of our
faith, as it restores our relationship with God and grants us eternal life.
When we take the gospel of Jesus and what He has done for us lightly
and for granted, we see that our faith becomes lukewarm. Just as the Jews in
the passage shifted from “would not believe” to “could not believe,” if we
continue to live a lukewarm Christian life, there may come a time when God
leaves us as we are, and we become completely numb spiritually.
Look at verses 42 and 43.
12:42–43 “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; for they loved human praise more than
praise from God.”
Being put out of the synagogue in Jesus’ time was a
severe social and religious punishment—much more than just losing a place of
worship. It meant complete exclusion from the religious, social, and economic
life of the Jewish community. The synagogue was the heart of Jewish identity
and public life, so to be expelled was to be publicly shamed, cut off from
family and friends, and treated as spiritually unclean. For many, this meant
losing their reputation, livelihood, and sense of belonging. This is why so
many, even among the rulers, believed in Jesus secretly but remained silent,
fearing rejection from people more than separation from God.
We do not currently live in a society where we are
persecuted or isolated because we believe in Jesus. However, Jesus clearly said
that as the last days approach, there will come a time when believers will be
persecuted.
Matthew 24:9–13 “Then you will be handed over to be
persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of
me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate
each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will
be saved.”
In verses 47 and 48, Jesus also speaks about the
judgement at the last day.
“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. 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.
We must clearly remember that there will be judgment
on the last day. Jesus’ first coming was not to judge the world, but to save the
world. Jesus perfectly fulfilled the work of salvation on the cross by obeying
God’s word 100%. Now, until Jesus comes again, those who do not accept this
gospel will face judgment on the last day.
Look at verses 35 and 36.
Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the
light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before
darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are
going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become
children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself
from them.
Primarily, “Walk while you have the light, before
darkness overtakes you,” refers to Jesus’ physical presence before His death on
the cross. These words can also mean the time from now until Jesus’ second
coming. In an individual’s life, it means your entire lifetime. It means to
accept Jesus before you die. The gospel will not be available forever. As we
learned earlier, if someone knows Jesus but deliberately chooses not to believe,
eventually God will leave them as they are. He will allow their hearts to
become hardened, and in the end, they will be in a state where they can never
believe in Jesus and will face judgment.
Ecclesiastes 11:9 “You who are young, be happy while
you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all
these things God will bring you into judgment.”
The choice is ours. God loves everyone and desires
to save all people. However, God is also a righteous judge. If we focus only on
the love, comfort, and peace that Jesus gives and do not actively repent of our
sins, we will have to face the consequences on the last day.
I was born into a Christian family and went to
church from a young age, listening to God’s word, but I did not have a personal
relationship with Jesus. At that time, my faith life was merely habitual. In
2018, during my PhD studies in graduate school, I studied John chapter 3 and
wrote reflections. Through this, the Holy Spirit led me to confess the sins I
had been hiding and to realize that I was a sinner. I came to believe that
Jesus’ death on the cross was for me. After that, by God’s grace, I began to
live as a shepherd, studying the Bible with campus students and leading them to
Jesus. God also led me to continue living as a messenger of the gospel after
coming to the United States.
However, I realized and repented that I still love
the world. Sometimes, I find myself enjoying the desires of the flesh and
wanting to live well and comfortably in this world. I still want to be
recognized through my work and career, and sometimes I judge or look down on
others by my own standards. Even recently, at my lab, after helping a
colleague, I found myself wondering why that person didn’t express more
gratitude to me, and for a while, I even regretted helping them. But when I
reflected on the situation, I couldn’t help but acknowledge how selfish and
sinful I am. Even though Jesus’ salvation alone is enough reason for gratitude,
I kept seeking satisfaction in other things of this world.
God continually helps me realize my repeated sins
and shortcomings, and leads me to confess that without Jesus’ salvation, I
cannot live a godly life for even a moment. Jesus, who came as the light, has
driven out the darkness of my soul caused by sin. Jesus alone is enough. Lord,
I pray that whenever I am tempted by sin, I may actively cling to you and do
your work. Just as Jesus surrendered Himself to the point of death, I pray that
I may also surrender my life for Jesus.
In conclusion, today’s passage shows the end of
Jesus’ public ministry. Just as in Jesus’ time, many people today still do not
believe in Him. Many still love the world more. There are also many who believe
in Jesus only as someone who solves their problems and pray to Him for that
reason. However, Jesus clearly warned about the judgment on the last day. I
urge all of us to take the coming judgment seriously. If we repeatedly love the
world and remain in lukewarm faith, we will gradually fall into a spiritually
numb state where we can no longer believe in Jesus. I earnestly pray that all
of us may daily repent of our sins, live in obedience to Jesus’ words, and
prepare for the last days. Let’s read verse 36 together.