John 12:38, commentary and pictures

After Jesus had done many miracles before the people, with the raising of Lazarus as the crowning evidence of His mission, they still did not believe on Him, and in that rejection the question of Isaiah about who has believed the report and to whom the arm of the Lord has been revealed was fulfilled. The report is the message about Jesus, and the arm of the Lord is the Lord's power revealed through Him, for the arm is Christ Himself. Isaiah spoke this of Christ when in prophetic vision he saw His glory as Lord upon a throne high and lifted up, with His train filling the temple and the seraphim crying that the earth is full of His glory. Their unbelief was willful in the face of great light and conviction, rooted in pride, envy, love of human praise more than God's approval, and refusal to have their deeds reproved, and by every refusal of light their hearts were hardened and their eyes blinded until they could not see and be healed. The prophecy only declared what God foresaw and did not force their choice, and the same unbelief meets those today who have great light yet refuse to be sanctified by it and to act upon it.

Context and Fulfillment

The saying was spoken just before the crucifixion and is clear and plain. Though Jesus had done so many miracles before the Jews, they believed not on Him. The raising of Lazarus from the dead was the crowning evidence of His mission as the Son of God. Even the testimony of the Father's voice to Jesus did not move them to believe. At that same time Greeks were coming seeking Him, yet the priests and Pharisees rejected Him. A plot to put Jesus to death was already formed. After speaking these things Jesus departed and hid Himself from them.

Their rejection by the priests and Pharisees and by the Jewish nation fulfilled Isaiah's question, who has believed the report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed. Many who witnessed His miracles and were convinced of His divinity still did not believe Him. So His work appeared to have ended in defeat. The prophecy described what God had foreseen. It did not force their character or choices. God tested them, and they freely chose whether to believe His Son or heed false charges.

The report is the message about Jesus. The arm of the Lord is the Lord's power revealed through Him. The arm is Christ Himself, the Lord of the temple. His glory departing the temple is the Shekinah, the visible pavilion of Jehovah once seen in the holy of holies over the mercy seat. There the high priest entered only once a year on the day of atonement with the blood of the slain victim typical of Christ's blood shed for the sins of the world.

Isaiah spoke this of Christ when he saw His glory in prophetic vision. He saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up with His train filling the temple. Seraphim covered face and feet and flew and cried, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts, with the earth full of His glory. The posts of the door moved and the house was filled with smoke. Israel's rejection meant the nation had separated itself from God and its natural branches were broken off. The withdrawal of God's presence from the temple left its ceremonies and services henceforth meaningless.

Causes of Unbelief

Their unbelief was willful and powerful, even after many miracles done before them, with the raising of Lazarus as the crowning evidence of the mission as Son of God. Many were convinced of divinity and felt the Spirit urging them to acknowledge Him, yet they did not believe. Their hearts were set against believing and encompassed by darkness that nothing would affect or lighten. They refused the light lest their deeds should be reproved, choosing darkness rather than light and standing under satanic influences rather than seeing and being convinced. They turned away from the precious light permitted to shine upon them in messages of warning, caution, and reproof, failing to believe and act upon light already given. Hearing with unsanctified ears and interpreting with unsanctified minds, they lost the real meaning of the truth presented.

Pride led them to resist the truth and misrepresent the work, with prejudice and envy over the mighty works leading them to seek death. Love of human praise more than God's approval and fear of losing standing kept some who were convinced from openly confessing Christ. Attachment to worldly grandeur also kept them from receiving Him as Messiah, along with love of human praise and prejudice. Others rejected the evidence because the teachings did not harmonize with their preconceived ideas nor exalt self-exalting human agencies. God did not blind them; as they disregarded successive rays of light their spiritual perception grew dull and their hearts hardened. Every refusal to receive the light of life hardened the heart, blinded the eyes, and brought darkness.

Light refused left them unable to see with the eyes nor understand with the heart and be converted and healed. Greater light shed upon their pathway would not make them believe, because the arm of the Lord is not revealed to those who will not believe and act upon light already given and they are not inspired with faith. As Isaiah had said, He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, therefore they could not believe, lest they should see with eyes and understand with heart and be converted and be healed. Some were convinced but would not confess because they feared losing standing and valued human praise, while others hardened their hearts against conviction and closed their eyes. Their unbelief was expressed in word and deed and accompanied by spiritual blindness that powerful voice, words, and works did not move, even after testimony from the Father's voice and many signs shown.

Warning for Today

John 12:38 is fulfilled again in those who have great light and witness many evidences yet do not believe. It applies especially to those who profess to know the truth but are not sanctified through it, who are satisfied with their own religious understanding and refuse to accept the true representation of their spiritual condition. They turn away from the precious light permitted to shine upon them in messages of warning, caution, and reproof, and they fail to believe and act upon the light already given. Hearing with unsanctified ears and interpreting with unsanctified minds, they lose the real meaning of the truth presented.

Their inability to believe comes from their own course, for every refusal to receive the light of life hardens the heart, blinds the eyes, and brings darkness, lest they should see and understand and be converted and be healed. To them the arm of the Lord is not revealed and they are not inspired with faith, and greater light shed upon their pathway would not make them believe. Christ's truths would have purified them if received, but rejection of truth left them in darkness. Though so many miracles were done before them yet they believed not, fulfilling Isaiah's word about unbelief and the hidden arm of the Lord.

They had light and evidence but refused the light lest their deeds should be reproved, choosing darkness rather than light and choosing to stand under satanic influences rather than see and be convinced. Light refused blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts so they could not see with their eyes nor understand with their heart and be converted and healed, and after speaking Jesus departed and hid Himself from them. Sentence of death is passed on all who have had light and refused it as the Jews did. Although the miracles wrought gave the world evidence of the divinity of His mission, they would not receive that evidence because His teachings did not harmonize with their preconceived ideas or exalt self-exalting human agencies.

The same unbelief is met today and will continue to be met in bearing the last message of mercy to the world. Satan, who is not dead or palsied, by degrees prepares minds to become imbued with his spirit to work in his manner against those bearing responsibilities in God's work for these last days. He uses every ingenious device and every possible method to lead men to live a lie, so that the truth shall not stand as designed to stand to prepare through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit a people standing firm as a rock to principle. His last exploits are carried out with more power than ever before in full scientific scheming to make of no effect the work supervised by the One who came to the Isle of Patmos to educate John with instruction to be given to the churches.