The Gospel According to John

Biblical Research Monthly
May, 1957
Dr. David L. Cooper
(Installment Twenty-eight)

THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF FAITH AND UNBELIEF

In the present study we come to the consideration of the epilogue to the section John 5:1-12:50. In the discussion of these chapters we have seen the limited growth of faith on the part of the disciples, and the amazing development of unbelief on the part of the Jews as a people toward Jesus and His message. This section divides naturally into two parts: I. the causes of Jewish unbelief (John 12:36b-43); II. The consequences of faith and unbelief (John 12:44-50).

According to verse 36b Jesus delivered His message, departed, then hid Himself because he saw the threatening storm brewing. He was not afraid, but it was the part of wisdom for Him to retire from the scene without having a clash with His opponents—the Jerusalem authorities. His hour had not yet come.

The Causes of Jewish Unbelief

Satan, the prince of this world, blinds the minds of those who do not believe so that they cannot see, comprehend, and understand the truth. This fact is true, not only of Gentiles, but of Jews likewise. Concerning Jewish unbelief, John tells us that, "though he [Jesus] had done so many signs before them, yet they believed not on him …" (v. 37). Though Jesus performed many types of miracles that had a definite signification before the people, the Jews as a group did not believe. There are none so blind as those who will not see. A person, on the other hand, must will to do the will of God if he is to see the teachings of Christ and understand that they are of God (John 7:17).

John, continuing the same thought, declared that the people could not see because Isaiah the prophet had foretold that they would not believe. It is very important that we notice this language minutely. According to John they did not believe "that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake …" This language does not imply that the Jews did not believe because God's decree had made it impossible for them to believe. On the other hand, Isaiah the prophet was carried forward by the Spirit of God and in vision looked into the depths of the hearts of the people of the generation of Jesus' day and revealed their spiritual condition; namely, that they would not believe because they had no spiritual hungering and thirsting for righteousness or for God. He therefore foretold this condition which was fulfilled to the very letter. Isaiah foretold the voluntary, determined unbelief of the Jews of the first century in these words:

"Who hath believed our message?
And to whom hath the arm of Jehovah been revealed?"

This quotation is the first verse of Isaiah, chapter 53. Though the thought is put in the form of two rhetorical questions, this prediction is a prophecy that the Jews would not believe—at least the majority would not. The arm of the Lord mentioned here is none other than the Messiah of Israel who is thus called by Isaiah on several occasions.

In this connection may I digress for a moment and say that Isaiah 53:1-9 is the verbal confession that penitent Israel will make at the end of the Tribulation, acknowledging the national sin of Israel—the rejection of the Messiah when He came the first time. When the convicted nation makes the confession that is foretold in these verses, the Messiah will return and solve the Jewish problem—and all the problems of the nations of the world.

In verse 39 of John, chapter 12, the Apostle continues by saying:

"For this cause they could not believe for that Isaiah said again,
40 He hath blinded their eyes, and he hardened their heart:
Lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart,
And should turn, And I should heal them."

Again, let me call attention to the fact that God did not decree and determine that any man should disbelieve or should believe. The liberty to believe or not to believe is a moral quality. To exercise the will and to make definite choices is the prized possession of free moral agents. Remember that Isaiah, in chapter 6, saw by the Spirit of God the condition of the people living in the first century when the Messiah would appear and foretold their reaction to Him and to His ministry.

If a student will study carefully Isaiah, chapter 6, the passage from which this quotation is taken, he will see that God blinded the eyes of the unbelieving Jews by having the truth preached to them continually. The preaching of the Word is like the sun which hardens the clay but melts the wax. The truth of God, when preached and when falling upon honest hearts, convinces people and moves them to accept the Saviour. On the other hand, the gospel, when preached and when falling upon the hearts of men who do not want the truth, hardens their hearts, blinds their eyes, and stops their ears.

The vision which Isaiah saw, and which is recorded in Isaiah, chapter 6, is a vision of the glorified Son of God as He will reign upon this earth during His thousand years of righteous rule. Such was the vision of Isaiah which John mentioned in verse 41. "These things said Isaiah, because he saw his glory; and he spake of him." We know that Isaiah, according to this verse, saw Christ in His glory, reigning upon the earth when the glory of God shall encircle the earth as the waters cover the sea.

Notwithstanding the fact that Jesus had performed many signs and wonders which were sufficient and ample to convince all truthseekers, the bulk of the nation did not believe that He was the promised Messiah. According to verse 42, however, we see that "Nevertheless even of the rulers many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: 43 for they loved the glory that is of men more than the glory that is of God." These rulers had greater advantages than the masses, in that they were ministering in spiritual matters constantly and had access to and time for study of the Scriptures. Many of them, therefore, having these advantages, believed that Jesus of Nazareth was and is the long-promised Messiah, but they did not accept Him. The reason for their not accepting Him was that they were afraid of being excommunicated from the synagogue, thus losing their positions as leaders of the nation. They were moral cowards. They saw and understood what the truth was and knew the consequences of rejecting it. Nevertheless they preferred the favor of men rather than the favor and the grace of God. What is the applause of man, anyway? It is vanity and vexation of spirit. It is like a soap bubble that looks beautiful, reflecting various colors of the rainbow. Suddenly it bursts, vanishing instantly. Such is the glory and praise of men. May God give us true, loyal hearts that want to do His will above everything, and may He help us not to court the favor and the good pleasure of men. While we do not wish to offend anyone, we want to be faithful and true to God and engage in His service during life's short day. God is looking on. He sees down into the depths of the hearts of all men and will deal with each one accordingly.

Consequences of Faith and of Unbelief

In verses 44 and 45 Jesus spoke this: "And Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. 45 And he that beholdeth me beholdeth him that sent me." If a person believes on Jesus Christ, he will not believe on Him alone, but will see that He was God in human form and is associated with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. If one believes on Jesus in reality, he believes on God the Father. One who beholds with his spiritual vision, Jesus, will also see God. This is what the Lord Jesus said to Philip: "He that hath seen me has seen the Father…." (John 14:9). Had God the Father laid aside the glory that He had in all eternity with the other persons of the Holy Trinity and had entered the world by miraculous conception and virgin birth, as Jesus did, He would have reacted toward all situations exactly as Jesus did and would have expressed the same thoughts that Jesus set forth. Thus He said that he who had seen Him [Jesus] had seen God the Father. Such is the import of verse 45.

At the Feast of the Tabernacles, as we learn in John, chapter 7 and 8, Jesus declared that He was the light of the world. In verse 46 of the passage which we are studying, Jesus declared that: "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me may not abide in the darkness." Christ is the eternal light. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 3 All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (John 1:1,3,4). Light of a physical, material nature and all spiritual light come from Him. It is in Him that we live, move and have our continual being. It is from him that we have all comprehension and understanding, both materially and spiritually. The closer we walk with him, the brighter the light will be for us. Anybody can come to Him and walk in the light. He who comes to Jesus, declared the Saviour, shall not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

In verses 47 and 48 Jesus spoke about those who hear but do not receive: "And if any man hear my sayings, and keep them not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my sayings, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day." Jesus Christ left heaven and came to the world in order that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. It is possible that every mortal may have light and life, for Jesus declared that He came not to judge the world but to save the world. This statement shows that all may hear, accept, and believe—and be saved for time and eternity. The ones who hear the sayings of Jesus and reject them have that which will judge them in the last day—the Word, the message of the Gospel will judge them in the day of judgement. (Matt. 10:15). The judgement is that of the Great White Throne, mentioned in Revelation 20:11-15. This judgement of the last day occurs after the thousand-year reign of our Lord.

In verse 49 Jesus declares that He did not speak from Himself personally—that is, that He did not conceive certain ideas and propagate them. On the other hand, He saw the glory of God and enjoyed the closest fellowship with the Father, before he entered the world by miraculous conception and virgin birth and became the God-man. All during His personal ministry, as we see from Isaiah, chapter 50, Jesus was in closest touch and fellowship with the Father. He enjoyed this communion in prayer. God showed Him what He should say and do and how to react to every situation that might arise before Him. Hence Jesus declares, "the Father that sent me, he hath given me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak." Thus the message and the instructions that Jesus gave were not those of Himself only. He, as the God-man, received constantly messages from God and acted accordingly.

This epilogue or summary of this first section—consisting of chapters 5 through 12—closes with His statement: "And I know that his commandment is life eternal: the things therefore which I speak, even as the Father hath said unto me, so I speak." Moses foretold that the Messiah would speak the very words that God would put in His mouth and warned the people not to disobey Him or reject His message. Whenever one rejects the message of the Lord Jesus, he does so to his eternal ruin and condemnation.