Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,
Therefore they could not believe because in their final rejection of Jesus as Messiah just before His crucifixion, even after many miracles before them including the raising of Lazarus and the Father's audible testimony, their unbelief fulfilled what Isaiah said again about eyes blinded and hearts hardened so they would not see nor understand nor turn and be healed. The glory Isaiah saw when he saw the Lord high and lifted up with the seraphim worshiping was Christ's own glory, the Shekinah glory of the Lord of the temple that would depart when Christ left it. Their inability was not God arbitrarily blinding them or withholding light, for the prophecy foretold in foreknowledge what they would freely choose without determining their character or removing their free will. They could not believe because they had first refused the light given in His miracles, words and the Spirit's conviction, setting their hearts against Him in pride, prejudice, ambition, desire for human praise and fear of losing position, until every refusal darkened their minds, dulled perception and hardened their hearts under satanic blindness. The same end comes on all who have had light and evidence but refuse it and cling to falsehood, including those who profess truth while unsanctified by it, who are left surrounded by darkness under sentence of death.
Context and Prophecy Fulfilled
John 12:39 belongs to the account of the Jewish leaders' and the nation's rejection of Jesus as the Messiah just before His crucifixion. That rejection marked a final separation, when Israel as a nation had turned from God and the natural branches of the olive tree were broken off. As Jesus left the temple God's presence withdrew from it, so its ceremonies and services became meaningless. At the same time the coming of the Greeks who desired to see Jesus pointed to the nations that would be drawn to salvation through His approaching death.
Their unbelief persisted though He had done many miracles before them, and they did not believe on Him. Among those miracles was the raising of Lazarus, witnessed yet met with hearts set against Him. There had also been the Father's audible testimony that Jesus was His Son, with Christ's powerful voice heard, yet hardness of heart and closed eyes remained. Even this final testimony did not soften them, and their spiritual blindness and perverted understanding continued.
Their inability to believe fulfilled what Isaiah said again, that eyes were blinded and heart was hardened. By that blinding and hardening they would not see with their eyes nor understand with their heart nor turn and be converted and healed. This condition followed rejection of truths that would have purified them, so that darkness came in place of light. Clinging to falsehood and error left them surrounded by darkness, with chosen unbelief leaving them in darkness.
The glory Isaiah saw when he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, with His train filling the temple and the seraphim worshiping, was Christ's glory, and Isaiah spoke of Christ. Christ Himself was the Lord of the temple, and that glory was 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 great day of atonement with the blood of the slain victim, typical of the blood of the Son of God shed for the sins of the world. That glory would depart when Christ should leave the temple.
Why They Could Not Believe
The inability to believe was not caused by God arbitrarily blinding eyes or withholding light, for He sends light to correct and guide, and Isaiah's prophecy given more than a thousand years earlier only foretold in foreknowledge what would happen without determining character or removing free will. People fulfill prophecy through their own choices according to a character shaped either by God or by Satan, and God tested them to see whether they would believe in His Son or heed false charges meant to block divine light. Their blindness and hardness came not from God but from their own refusal to receive and cherish light, their determination not to be convinced, and their choice of darkness rather than light and of satanic influence rather than seeing and being converted and healed.
They could not believe because they had first refused the light and evidence given in Christ's miracles, words, teaching, and the Spirit's impression that He was the Messiah. Though they had seen many miracles, including the raising of Lazarus, and had been convinced of the divinity of His mission, they rejected truths that would have purified them and chose falsehood and error rather than conversion and healing. When His teachings did not harmonize with preconceived ideas and did not exalt self-exalting human agencies, they refused that evidence and clung to darkness in place of light.
That refusal was a settled, chosen course of setting the heart against Him, being satisfied with their own religious understanding, refusing a true representation of their spiritual condition, and turning away from light already given in messages of warning, caution and reproof. Determined not to be convinced, they would not believe even if greater light were shed on their path, for failure to believe and act on light received makes further faith impossible. Their inability therefore came from the course they themselves followed, and blinded eyes and hardened hearts were the result of refusing to believe and obey what had already been permitted to shine.
Pride, prejudice, ambition, desire for human praise and worldly grandeur, and clinging to preconceived ideas kept them from confessing Christ even when convinced of His divinity. Fear of losing position and status, fear of admitting error, and unwillingness to condemn their earlier rejection led them to resist the truth, misrepresent His works, and try to keep others from hearing Him. Their hardness came through transgression as they pursued ambition until love and fear of God departed, and their resistance grew as His divine character was revealed.
Every refusal brought darkness, dimmed the light received, and dulled spiritual perception so further light was less clearly seen. They came to hear with unsanctified ears and interpret with unsanctified minds and hearts until the real meaning was lost. By rejecting the Spirit's drawing they blinded their own eyes, hardened their own hearts, chose deception, and placed themselves under satanic influence and blindness lest they should see and understand and be converted and healed.
Warning for Later Believers
John 12:39 shows that the Jews reached a point where they could not believe because they had refused the light and evidence given in the miracles and words of Christ. Their blindness of eyes and hardness of heart did not come from God withholding light but from their own refusal to receive and cherish it, their determination not to be convinced, their choice of darkness rather than light, and their choice to stand under satanic influence rather than see and be converted and healed. The same end comes on all who have had light and evidence but refuse it, who make light of the Holy Spirit, deny His leading and call His working delusion, and who will not come to the light lest their deeds be reproved, and upon them sentence of death is passed. Although they had seen many miracles, they rejected truths that would have purified them, and darkness came in place of light, for clinging to falsehood and error leaves people surrounded by darkness with blinded eyes and hardened hearts that will not see and understand and turn and be healed.
The verse applies to those who are satisfied with their own religious understanding and refuse the true representation of their spiritual condition, so that by the course they themselves followed they cannot believe. It applies to those who profess to know the truth while they are not sanctified through the truth and while strife and falsehood are in their hearts. Every refusal to receive the light of life brings darkness upon them and makes their hearts harder and more unimpressible, until they hear with unsanctified ears and interpret with unsanctified minds and hearts and lose the real meaning of the truths presented. They blind their own eyes and harden their own hearts, lest they should see with their eyes and understand with their heart and be converted and be healed. The same spiritual blindness and perverted understanding that marked the Jews despite Christ's powerful voice and miracles meets workers through continual association with unbelievers, and meets those whose neglect of duty allows evil to remain.
Many could not believe in Christ even after seeing His miracles, because those miracles gave evidence of the divinity of His mission and the Jews refused that evidence when His teachings did not harmonize with their preconceived ideas and did not exalt self-exalting human agencies. The same inability to believe meets those united with Christ in doing His given work, as Satan, who is not dead or palsied, by degrees prepares minds to become imbued with his spirit to work against those bearing responsibilities in God's work for the last days. He will carry out his last exploits with greater power and scientific scheming to make of no effect the work supervised by Christ. That unbelief continues while the last message of mercy is borne to the world, with every ingenious device and possible method used to lead men to live a lie so that truth will not stand as God designed it to stand to prepare a people through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit to stand firm as a rock to principle.
Therefore they could not believe because in their final rejection of Jesus as Messiah just before His crucifixion, even after many miracles before them including the raising of Lazarus and the Father's audible testimony, their unbelief fulfilled what Isaiah said again about eyes blinded and hearts hardened so they would not see nor understand nor turn and be healed. The glory Isaiah saw when he saw the Lord high and lifted up with the seraphim worshiping was Christ's own glory, the Shekinah glory of the Lord of the temple that would depart when Christ left it. Their inability was not God arbitrarily blinding them or withholding light, for the prophecy foretold in foreknowledge what they would freely choose without determining their character or removing their free will. They could not believe because they had first refused the light given in His miracles, words and the Spirit's conviction, setting their hearts against Him in pride, prejudice, ambition, desire for human praise and fear of losing position, until every refusal darkened their minds, dulled perception and hardened their hearts under satanic blindness. The same end comes on all who have had light and evidence but refuse it and cling to falsehood, including those who profess truth while unsanctified by it, who are left surrounded by darkness under sentence of death.
Context and Prophecy Fulfilled
John 12:39 belongs to the account of the Jewish leaders' and the nation's rejection of Jesus as the Messiah just before His crucifixion. That rejection marked a final separation, when Israel as a nation had turned from God and the natural branches of the olive tree were broken off. As Jesus left the temple God's presence withdrew from it, so its ceremonies and services became meaningless. At the same time the coming of the Greeks who desired to see Jesus pointed to the nations that would be drawn to salvation through His approaching death.
Their unbelief persisted though He had done many miracles before them, and they did not believe on Him. Among those miracles was the raising of Lazarus, witnessed yet met with hearts set against Him. There had also been the Father's audible testimony that Jesus was His Son, with Christ's powerful voice heard, yet hardness of heart and closed eyes remained. Even this final testimony did not soften them, and their spiritual blindness and perverted understanding continued.
Their inability to believe fulfilled what Isaiah said again, that eyes were blinded and heart was hardened. By that blinding and hardening they would not see with their eyes nor understand with their heart nor turn and be converted and healed. This condition followed rejection of truths that would have purified them, so that darkness came in place of light. Clinging to falsehood and error left them surrounded by darkness, with chosen unbelief leaving them in darkness.
The glory Isaiah saw when he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, with His train filling the temple and the seraphim worshiping, was Christ's glory, and Isaiah spoke of Christ. Christ Himself was the Lord of the temple, and that glory was 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 great day of atonement with the blood of the slain victim, typical of the blood of the Son of God shed for the sins of the world. That glory would depart when Christ should leave the temple.
Why They Could Not Believe
The inability to believe was not caused by God arbitrarily blinding eyes or withholding light, for He sends light to correct and guide, and Isaiah's prophecy given more than a thousand years earlier only foretold in foreknowledge what would happen without determining character or removing free will. People fulfill prophecy through their own choices according to a character shaped either by God or by Satan, and God tested them to see whether they would believe in His Son or heed false charges meant to block divine light. Their blindness and hardness came not from God but from their own refusal to receive and cherish light, their determination not to be convinced, and their choice of darkness rather than light and of satanic influence rather than seeing and being converted and healed.
They could not believe because they had first refused the light and evidence given in Christ's miracles, words, teaching, and the Spirit's impression that He was the Messiah. Though they had seen many miracles, including the raising of Lazarus, and had been convinced of the divinity of His mission, they rejected truths that would have purified them and chose falsehood and error rather than conversion and healing. When His teachings did not harmonize with preconceived ideas and did not exalt self-exalting human agencies, they refused that evidence and clung to darkness in place of light.
That refusal was a settled, chosen course of setting the heart against Him, being satisfied with their own religious understanding, refusing a true representation of their spiritual condition, and turning away from light already given in messages of warning, caution and reproof. Determined not to be convinced, they would not believe even if greater light were shed on their path, for failure to believe and act on light received makes further faith impossible. Their inability therefore came from the course they themselves followed, and blinded eyes and hardened hearts were the result of refusing to believe and obey what had already been permitted to shine.
Pride, prejudice, ambition, desire for human praise and worldly grandeur, and clinging to preconceived ideas kept them from confessing Christ even when convinced of His divinity. Fear of losing position and status, fear of admitting error, and unwillingness to condemn their earlier rejection led them to resist the truth, misrepresent His works, and try to keep others from hearing Him. Their hardness came through transgression as they pursued ambition until love and fear of God departed, and their resistance grew as His divine character was revealed.
Every refusal brought darkness, dimmed the light received, and dulled spiritual perception so further light was less clearly seen. They came to hear with unsanctified ears and interpret with unsanctified minds and hearts until the real meaning was lost. By rejecting the Spirit's drawing they blinded their own eyes, hardened their own hearts, chose deception, and placed themselves under satanic influence and blindness lest they should see and understand and be converted and healed.
Warning for Later Believers
John 12:39 shows that the Jews reached a point where they could not believe because they had refused the light and evidence given in the miracles and words of Christ. Their blindness of eyes and hardness of heart did not come from God withholding light but from their own refusal to receive and cherish it, their determination not to be convinced, their choice of darkness rather than light, and their choice to stand under satanic influence rather than see and be converted and healed. The same end comes on all who have had light and evidence but refuse it, who make light of the Holy Spirit, deny His leading and call His working delusion, and who will not come to the light lest their deeds be reproved, and upon them sentence of death is passed. Although they had seen many miracles, they rejected truths that would have purified them, and darkness came in place of light, for clinging to falsehood and error leaves people surrounded by darkness with blinded eyes and hardened hearts that will not see and understand and turn and be healed.
The verse applies to those who are satisfied with their own religious understanding and refuse the true representation of their spiritual condition, so that by the course they themselves followed they cannot believe. It applies to those who profess to know the truth while they are not sanctified through the truth and while strife and falsehood are in their hearts. Every refusal to receive the light of life brings darkness upon them and makes their hearts harder and more unimpressible, until they hear with unsanctified ears and interpret with unsanctified minds and hearts and lose the real meaning of the truths presented. They blind their own eyes and harden their own hearts, lest they should see with their eyes and understand with their heart and be converted and be healed. The same spiritual blindness and perverted understanding that marked the Jews despite Christ's powerful voice and miracles meets workers through continual association with unbelievers, and meets those whose neglect of duty allows evil to remain.
Many could not believe in Christ even after seeing His miracles, because those miracles gave evidence of the divinity of His mission and the Jews refused that evidence when His teachings did not harmonize with their preconceived ideas and did not exalt self-exalting human agencies. The same inability to believe meets those united with Christ in doing His given work, as Satan, who is not dead or palsied, by degrees prepares minds to become imbued with his spirit to work against those bearing responsibilities in God's work for the last days. He will carry out his last exploits with greater power and scientific scheming to make of no effect the work supervised by Christ. That unbelief continues while the last message of mercy is borne to the world, with every ingenious device and possible method used to lead men to live a lie so that truth will not stand as God designed it to stand to prepare a people through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit to stand firm as a rock to principle.