Gospel of John, Ch.12, Pt.2

Gospel according to John, Chapter 12:  Read &/or listen from the Bible.

Part 2:
5/ Jesus Predicts His death on the Cross    – Jn 12:27-36
6/ The Unbelief of the Jews                                – Jn 12:37-43
7/ Judgment by Jesus’ Word                             – Jn 12:44-50

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

5/ Jesus Predicts His death on the Cross    – Jn 12:27-36

27 “Now My soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? Instead, for this reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.”

Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

30 Jesus answered, “This voice came not for My sake, but for your sakes. 31 Now judgment is upon this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to Myself.” 33 He said this to signify by what kind of death He would die.

34 The crowd answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. Why do You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

35 Then Jesus said to them, “Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light.” Jesus said these things, and departed and hid Himself from them.

Jesus Himself explains what hour He has been referring to previously. The hour for which He had come out of eternity, and toward which His whole life had been oriented.  He was heading toward the cross (lifted up from the earth) & to the hour He would die to pay for our sins. As the grain of wheat He mentioned in vs. 23-24 He also was to be buried in the earth. But same as that grain of wheat after it die it would produce life. He would die, but he would be resurrected & give life in abundance. And this is what was really important to Him!

6/ The Unbelief of the Jews                                – Jn 12:37-43

37 Though He had done so many signs before them, yet they did not believe in Him. 38 This fulfilled the word spoken by Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

39 Therefore they could not believe. For Isaiah said again:

40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
lest they should see with their eyes and perceive with their hearts and turn,
and I would heal them.”

41 Isaiah said this when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

42 Yet many of the rulers also believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they be put out of the synagogue. 43 For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Isaiah is one of my favorite books of the Old Testament. The word fulfilled (vs.38) is found in chapter 53 of Isaiah. And Isaiah chapter 6 is quoted in vs. 40.

You might wonder about phrase we have just read: “He blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts.” And that’s true, but these words must be considered in context. These Jews already knew the Old Testament & about what prophet Isaiah had said, they knew about the MANY signs Jesus did, that Jesus had presented Himself to them as the Messiah and as their King. They had heard the gospel and rejected it. They first rejected Jesus, and then, He rejected them! And since they first hardened their hearts & didn’t accept Him, then the day came when it was no longer possible for them to accept Him.

In other words, because those people constantly rejected God’s revelation, He pronounced judgment and punished them by letting them to stay with their spiritual blindness & hardened hearts. They have “grown hardened” over years of rebellion, their hearts or conscience becomes dull or hardened because of continual & unrepentant sin in their lives (1 Tim.4:2, Acts 28:24-27, Matt. 19:8, Rom.2:5, Heb 3:13). God simply gives them over to their sin & lets them continue down their already chosen hardened path. (Rom 1:20-26 , Rom 2:4-6 , Eph. 4:18-20).

To see more regarding this subject, please go to “Does God Hardens Hearts?”

Vs. 42-43 It is important for a follower of Jesus to confess Him before others: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven“. Mat. 10:32. ->Rev.3:5 “ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ” Rom. 10:10 & this will be a testimony of your love for Him.

7/ Judgment by Jesus’ Word                             – Jn 12:44-50

44 Jesus cried out, “He who believes in Me believes not only in Me, but in Him who sent Me. 45 He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not remain in darkness.

47 “If anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him. The word I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on My own authority, but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 I know that His command is eternal life. Therefore what I say, I say as the Father tells me.”

Jesus says one more time that He is the ‘Light of the World“. Other occasions He said it: “Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.”(Jn. 8:12). He also mentioned while healing a blind man from birth, Jn.9: 5 “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

When there’s darkness all around us, light gives us direction so we don’t fall & we follow the right path.  Light helps us to see clearly, it gives us revelation. Jesus will open the eyes of anyone who is willing to admit that they need Him, the Light of the World.

The words that He spoke will judge the world on the last day.

Next, Gospel of John, Chapter 13, Pt.1