John 12:37-50 Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous 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 deadened 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.
Skip ahead past the entry to Jerusalem so we can unpack it on Palm Sunday April 1 - but keep in mind that event occurred just before the scripture for today's lesson.
Ripley's Believe it or Not - some stuff is so weird - so bizarre - you have to believe it.
These miraculous signs of Jesus - turning water to wine, healing, loaves and fishes, sight to blind, raising the dead, WOW - some still can't believe? Why?
Are they incredibly stupid? Predestined to hell? Rebellious, prideful people refusing healing, help and salvation?
Own free will - stewardship over our decisions.
Not all Believe - Because we have a choice
Big debate over how it all comes down - here's the skinny:
Armenian Calvinism
Free will Total depravity
Conditional Election Unconditional Election
Christ died for all Christ died for the Elect
You can resist HS/ grace HS / Grace irresistible
Fall from Grace Eternally secure
Some will never be believers
Knowing & believing are 2 different things
Knowing is a product of learning,
knowing can be proven it is a science, a formula -
Believing is a product of trusting,
Believing is surrendering, it is an art - a dance.
Believing is always a frontier - Lord I believe, help my unbelief
Knowing is never a frontier
Believing never can be proven without becoming knowing.
Knowing is what religion is made up of, rules, dogma, doctrines.
42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
Believing is what Christianity is made up of. Trust, relationship - abandon to one who can protect.
Knowing refuses to abandon.
Knowing people say that seeing is believing - yet after all these miraculous signs...
Christians trust that believing is seeing. - the man who believes in me - when he looks at me sees God!
The Pharisees were "this close" to believing, But eyes on other people, rather than on God
Some no doubt protested that the trial was unfair, but not at the risk of their good name, Fear of being banned from the only church in town, where you already had praise and respect times have changed, so if you get tossed from one church today you can go to another, or even start your own
44 Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 When he looks at me, he sees 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 "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say."
I'm not making this stuff up!
Men who came out of the closet of faith after the crucifixion included Nicodemus Joseph of Arimithea Jesus' brothers
Do we exert peer pressure - of course. Peer pressure by culture, toss you out of church unless you subscribe to ...
If you believe in His light, you cannot remain in darkness. One foot in and one foot out. Like hiding behind the closet door (pastor's room)
Package deal, if you believe in Jesus you believe in God
Even those who don't obey, I'm not judging them - came here to save them, but they will be judged by Jesus' words.
Jesus leaves and hides, cannot trust this crowd.
I used to think that I could convince anyone to follow Christ if I had enough time. But even Jesus couldn't do that.
What does Jesus tell us to do with unbelief?
Wipe the dust from your shoes
Don't cast pearls before swine
God hardened the heart of Pharaoh
Prepare yourself for unbelievers - people with hardened hearts. Love them but let them go.
God knowing about their rebellious nature is not shocked by their rebellious acts,
Why - pharaoh saw the glory of God manifest, then loved his own sin and pride so deeply as to rebel
What results from blind and deaf people
Dividing lines we draw up - and kill one another over
If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
What constitutes as evidence? Believing the right stuff? NO -
Next Step
We want to believe the unbelievable, to imagine the unimaginable, to search out the unsearchable, then when the unsearchable God searches us out by His only Son Jesus, and asks us to believe the unbelievable - that He has dealt decisively with the sin problem, so that we may receive the unimaginable - glory and grace through His name.
What's so hard about believing in Jesus?
How many times do I need to tell you
How many ways can I spell it out to you
Let the HS inform you, convict you of one thing - right now, then forsake it. Publicly,
