John 12:49-50

     Again, Jesus is making the connection between Himself and God the Father. Jesus is wanting us to look up beyond what we see physically and to see the connection that He has with the Father.

     In the Lord’s Supper we see something similar. We want to “lift up our hearts” and see more than just bread and juice. We want to see the things represented by the elements, to see the Lord Jesus Christ seated in His heavenly throne. Jesus has come with the authority of God. He has also come with a commandment of God. He has come to bring eternal life to sinners.

     It is so easy for us to keep our head down, to never lift up our hearts and our minds to see Jesus for who He is as our savior and Lord. Know who Jesus is and who has sent Him!

Consider: John 10:28-30

John 12:47-48

     Many people misinterpret the words of Jesus in these verses. They see what they want to see. They pick out that Jesus did not come to judge the world. There are many who will misinterpret these words to think that there is no judgment coming on the last day. There was a book written a few years ago that spoke against the doctrine of hell. This is why it is so important to believe the Bible and not trust the imaginations of your own reasoning.

     Jesus is speaking about the purpose of His coming. His first advent was not to judge, but to save. He is clear even here that there will be a judgement on the last day. Those who reject His words will be judged by those words.

     Humans delay making provisions. We are bad at saving for the future. We procrastinate and we ignore problems. You cannot do this with the coming judgement. If you have heard the words of Christ, then you need to believe them. They will be either your salvation or your judge on the great last day.

Consider: Deuteronomy 18:18

John 12:46

     Darkness in the Bible is often used as a metaphor for sin and fallen nature. Adam and Eve had moral and spiritual light before the Fall. When sin entered the world the connection with God was lost. They were now enslaved to their fallen nature. They were lost in the darkness of their sinfulness. The reason Jesus came into the world was to take away this darkness caused by sin. He came into the world to be a light.

     Jesus has been compared to a lighthouse. The lighthouse shines in the darkness  showing the way home. Jesus has come that we will no longer be in the darkness. That we might be set free from our slavery to sin.

     Are you still walking in darkness? Are you still enslaved to your sinful nature? Do you understand that Jesus came to set you free from your sin? Jesus has come to be a light to show us the way to God and salvation. Be in the light!

Consider: 1 John 1:5-10

John 12:44-45

     Jesus cries out in testimony to Himself. He is responding to the unbelief of the people in the face of his great signs and miracles. Jesus is not just here on His own authority or mission. We see this in His statement. Those who believe in Jesus believe in the one who sent Him. In vs. 45, the idea of seeing is connected to the seeing of the miracles and signs. Jesus has not come by Himself or using His own power for His own glory. He has come to glorify His Father.

     Do you see Jesus as more than just another great man? Do you see Him as more than just a great teacher? He is God and He was sent by God. He came to bring glory to God by bringing salvation to man.

     Our faith is not just in a man. It is not just in some guy who healed and fed people. Our faith is in the all powerful God of creation and redemption. It is in His Son whom He sent to take on human nature and save us. Know your God!

Consider: 1 Peter 1:20-21

Saturday, November 5, 2016 - John 12:42-43

It is with great hope that we see there are some who see and believe in Jesus. Their eyes have been opened to the truth of who Jesus is. However, they would not confess it because they feared the Pharisees. We see another theme added here to our discussion. It is not simply that they are blind. They have a heart problem. They love the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

This is a serious issue. Who are we going to fear? This issue was a temporal one. They feared being put out of the synagogue by the Pharisees. This would mean a great loss to those in authority who were unwilling to lose their earthly power and glory for the sake of Jesus.

What are we to make of this? Are we not still in this danger today, fearing man and the loss of worldly things more than God and the loss of  eternal things? It does not seem correct that people would think this way, but they do.

Consider: Proverbs 29:25

John 12:36-41

We see that the unbelief is not to be a surprise. It was foretold by the prophet Isaiah. It is going to take God opening their eyes for them to see the truth of the scriptures, the truth of what is right before them in Jesus Christ. John writes that He had done so many signs before them they still would not believe.

Do you ever miss something right in front of you? I often will be looking for something or someone only to have it pointed out that it is right in front of me. This is the problem for the people. They have been looking for the Messiah to come and save them, and now the messiah is right in front of them. He is teaching and doing signs of great power that could only come from the Lord, but they still do not see Him.

We must still be careful to look for the true Messiah and not the one the world wants. There are those who will take Jesus and turn Him into a god of their own design and desire. They make Him in the image of man to justify their own wants and sin. Pray that the Lord will show you the true Christ and that you may believe in Him!

Consider: Romans 10:16-21

John 12:34-36

The people still cannot understand what Jesus is talking about here. They are genuinely confused about the nature of the Christ and what He was coming to do for the world. Jesus speaks of the light being here just a little longer. They are told to walk in the light and believe in the light.

Why do people not get it? This is a problem that we still see today. Jesus is presented even more clearly in the gospel. We are living in the post-resurrection age, so that we know how the story ends. We are at a better advantage than those who are speaking to Jesus in our verses today, yet people still do not understand when presented with the facts of the Bible.

It takes more than just facts for men and women to believe. As we will see,  their hearts have to be moved and changed so that they can believe the truth that is just before them. It is easy to say if we could just see God, or hear God, or have a sign from God. These folks are standing with Jesus, hearing the voice of God, knowing He brought Lazarus back to life. Yet, they do not believe.

Consider: John 3:1-8