John 12:40, commentary and pictures

Though He had done many miracles before them, including raising Lazarus and the Father's voice from heaven, they did not believe and therefore could not believe, that they should not see nor understand nor turn to be healed. It fulfilled what Isaiah spoke more than a thousand years before when he saw Christ's glory in vision, the Shekinah glory of the Lord of the temple, foretelling in foreknowledge what would happen without determining their choice. God did not arbitrarily blind eyes or harden hearts, but men blind and harden themselves by free will when light given in Christ's words and warnings is refused and not acted upon. That blindness deepens gradually through persistent resistance to the Light, as minds impressed by the Spirit set themselves against believing from pride, prejudice, envy, love of praise and love of darkness, until they cannot discern spiritual things, while Satan darkens understanding and stirs hatred even to plotting His death. The same condition threatens all who profess truth yet are satisfied with their own understanding and refuse reproof, for neglected light grows dim and received truth loses its meaning, leaving them closed to turning to God for salvation.

Setting and Meaning

These are clear and plain words spoken by Christ on one occasion just before His betrayal, death and crucifixion. At that time the Jewish leaders would not receive Jesus as the Messiah while Greeks came seeking Him, and their response foreshadowed the gospel reaching all nations after Christ's death. Though He had done many miracles before them proving His divine mission, they did not believe and therefore could not believe. The evidence included the raising of Lazarus from the dead and the Father's testimony from heaven, yet set against Him, seeking controversy and already plotting to put Him to death, they refused to be convinced. Their blinded eyes and hardened heart meant they should not see with their eyes nor understand with their heart and be converted and healed, for Christ presented truths which if received would have purified the soul, but they rejected the truth and in place of light came darkness, so that those who cling to falsehood and error must as the result be surrounded by darkness.

This fulfills what Isaiah spoke when he saw Christ's glory in prophetic vision and spoke of Him. The one whose glory Isaiah saw is Christ Himself, the Lord of the temple. The glory is the Shekinah, the visible pavilion of Jehovah once seen in the holy of holies over the mercy seat, where 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. It is the same glory that filled the temple in Isaiah's vision and that would depart when Christ left the temple. Spoken more than a thousand years earlier, the prophecy foretold in foreknowledge what would happen but did not determine character or choices.

Israel's rejection left the nation separated from God. Its natural branches were broken off and God's presence was withdrawn from the temple. With that withdrawal the temple's ceremonies lost their meaning and its services became a mockery.

Cause of Hardening

God did not arbitrarily blind eyes or harden hearts or make men resist truth. Men blind their own eyes and harden their own hearts, and by transgression and resistance to the work of Christ, which is to soften hard hearts, their hardness grows. Isaiah's words spoken more than a thousand years earlier foretold in foreknowledge what would come, but did not fix character or choice, for men act by free will, either under God's molding or under Satan's rule.

The blinding and hardening is done by light given and then refused. God gave light and evidence in Christ's words and in messages of warning, caution and reproof, and those who turned away and would not receive, cherish and act upon it brought blindness, hardness and darkness upon themselves and came under sentence of death. If the light had been received and cherished their hearts would not have been hardened. Having failed to believe and act upon present light they are not inspired with faith, and would not believe if greater light were shed upon their pathway.

Blindness and hardness develop gradually through persistent refusal and repeated resistance to Christ, the Light of the world. Those who resist close their minds, disregard light through Scripture, messengers and the Holy Spirit, become unable to discern spiritual things or respond to the Spirit, and forge the fetters of their own darkness. Each later revelation is less clearly discerned, darkness deepens, the light passes from them, received light grows dim and error takes its place. Every refusal to receive the light of life makes the heart harder and more unimpressible and brings darkness, even upon those who profess to know truth yet are not sanctified through it, who are satisfied with their own religious understanding, refuse a true showing of their spiritual condition, and hear with unsanctified ears and interpret with unsanctified minds and hearts until they lose the real meaning of presented truth.

Those who heard Christ and saw His miracles were convinced of His divinity and impressed by the Spirit to recognize Him as Messiah, yet hardened their hearts and set themselves against believing, so that nothing could break through the darkness. They would not come to the light lest their deeds should be reproved, but chose darkness rather than light and chose to stand under satanic influences rather than see and be convinced and be converted and healed. Pride, prejudice, preconceived ideas and envy over His mighty works moved them, and love of human praise and fear of losing status kept even believing rulers from standing openly with Him and cost them strength through fellowship with God. They deliberately called the Holy Spirit's work Satan's, sought controversy, sought His life, and each revelation of His divine character increased their hatred.

Satan worked to blind them and darken their understanding to keep them from recognizing, receiving and turning to Jesus as Savior for healing. He prepared their minds by degrees to be imbued with his spirit against God's work, stirring the chief of the people and rulers to take Jesus' life, while keeping many magistrates and elders who believed from acknowledging Him because they feared the reproach of the people more than they feared God. Their resistance persisted after the resurrection in paying the Roman guard to spread a false account, despite witnesses who rose with Him and His appearances to disciples and to more than five hundred people.

Warning for Today

Blindness of eyes and hardness of heart are brought on by the course people themselves follow, for every refusal to receive the light of life makes the heart harder and more unimpressible and brings darkness upon the soul. This applies to those who profess to know the truth yet are not sanctified through it, who are satisfied with their own religious understanding and refuse a true showing of their spiritual condition. They hear with unsanctified ears and interpret with unsanctified minds and hearts, so they lose the real meaning of the truth presented to them, while war and falsehood are in their hearts even as they profess belief.

Those who thus blind their own eyes find no response to the words of Christ within themselves, and in the books of heaven they are counted as of the world. Their hearts may at times be troubled, but not enough to lead them to repent and change their actions, because the world holds their affections and its customs are more agreeable to them than obedience to Christ. The same spiritual blindness from persistent unbelief is seen in that the Jews did not believe despite Christ's powerful words and miracles, and medical missionary workers who continually associate with unbelievers are in danger of developing that same unbelief and distorted spiritual understanding. Neglect on the part of those responsible to repress evil also brings such blindness. Those who refuse the light given to them become blind and closed to truth so that they do not turn to God and receive salvation, resisting the light and distracting others from solemn truth by dwelling on minor flaws.

Christ was rejected because, though He wrought many miracles giving evidence of the divinity of His mission, His teachings did not harmonize with preconceived ideas nor exalt self-exalting human agencies, Satan having prepared minds by degrees to become imbued with his spirit against God's work. So it will be for those united with Christ in doing the work He has given them and in bearing the last message of mercy to the world. Satan is not dead or palsied but learned and full of scientific scheming, and his last exploits will be carried out with greater power than ever by every ingenious device and every possible method to make of no effect the work supervised by Christ. His aim is to lead men to live a lie, so that the truth shall not through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit prepare a people to stand firm as a rock to principle.