Transcript

Did Jesus Fail?

John 12:36-50
Sunday, September 21, 2003
Pastor Randy Smith

---

As we conclude the twelfth chapter this morning, we are also finishing a major section in the book of John. Christ's public ministry has officially concluded. The second half of verse 36 reads, "These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them." The remaining few chapters (13-17), the second half of this book (which chronologically speaking, amounts to a few days) witness Christ instructing His disciples as He prepares for His "hour" and the departure from this world (Jn. 13:1).

In many ways, it's over. The Light about which we have read so often had withdrawn. The One who came to generate belief (Jn. 1:7) by enlightening every man (Jn. 1:9) had departed. "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn. 1:29) was no longer interacting with the crowd, performing miracles and pleading for people to believe in Him (Jn. 12:46). The Messiah who had come to bring salvation hid Himself from the public eye.

By way of evaluation (as we contemplate chapters 1-12), His ministry appears to be a failure to the human eye (see Jn. 1:10-11; 3:19; 8:44-45; 10:26-27; 12:43). Almost all the religious leaders rejected him. The majority of the people, including His own family disbelieved. Most of His followers departed. Even His core disciples were fickle whereby one would deny Him (Jn. 13:36-38) and another betray Him (Jn. 13:21-30). Pragmatically speaking, Jesus was unsuccessful.

And since He appears to have made such little impact, we need to ask the question: Did Jesus depart from the public eye in defeat? Was the ministry of the Messiah a failure? Some answer must be given for such a large scale of unbelief. I believe this was John's concern as He finished discussing the public ministry of Christ in chapter 12.

In a moment we'll see John's perspective on this dilemma, but for now I would like to show you how the Apostle Paul dealt with the same concern. After the Resurrection, evangelizing the Jews was difficult because so few of the Jews believed in Jesus before the Resurrection. In other words, if Jesus was the Messiah who had come to His own people, why did so few of His own people follow Him? Where was the outpouring of Jewish converts? Did the plan of God to save the world through Christ fail? Paul answers with an emphatic "no!"

1. GOD'S GRACIOUS CHOICE - ROMANS 9

Turn if you would please to the book of Romans, chapter 9. I'd like to read this chapter, interjecting a few of my own remarks, beginning in verse 6.

"But it is not as though the word of God has failed" (Rom. 9:6a).

Why Paul? Why has it not failed? Why have so few of the Jews believed?

"For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel" (Rom. 9:6b).

In other words, there are two Israel's. Paul is about to explain that there is an Israel of the flesh and an Israel of the promise.

"Nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but: 'THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED.' That is, it is not the children of the flesh (all of Abraham's children, every Jew) who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants" (Rom. 9:7-8).

In other words, God has a remnant, the true Israel, children of the promise who will come to faith in Christ

"For this is the word of promise: 'AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON'" (Rom. 9:9).

Abraham as you know had two children, Isaac and Ishmael, but God according to His sovereign grace chose to bring salvation through the line of Isaac. Since someone might argue that the rejection of Ishmael was due to his Egyptian mother (Hagar), Paul continues.

"And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, 'THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.' Just as it is written, 'JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED'" (Rom. 9:10-13).

Here there was no difference between the two. They were twins! But God chose to bring salvation through the younger twin before either of the two were born or had done anything good or bad. Paul wants us to see that salvation depends on a sovereign, independent God who makes the call. Now the natural response to such a doctrine is, "That's not fair!" Paul anticipates this objection.

"What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, 'I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.' So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, 'FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.' So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires" (Rom. 9:14-18).

In other words, is God wrong because He has not saved every rebel who hates Him? Paul continues to press his argument as he anticipates another objection.

"You will say to me then, 'Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?' On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, 'Why did you make me like this,' will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory" (Rom. 9:19-23).

Since God is our Creator, our Potter, He has the divine right to do with His creation as He pleases. Keeping with Paul's illustration, can you imagine a clay vessel hollering back at its maker as to why it was made an ashtray and not a beautiful vase? The same applies to us when we hold God accountable to our own bar of justice. Who are we to stand in judgment of the Almighty God? When you consider that every human being has spurned His grace and willfully rebelled against Him, all of us deserve Hell. God is not obligated or obliged to save any of us, but the fact that He chooses to save some demonstrates His infinite love and mercy. And if these truths come as a surprise to you, your thinking is unbiblical. Your view of man is too high and your view of God is too low.

So I return to Paul's question. Did the plan of God fail (Rom. 9:6)? Did God reject His people (Rom. 11:2)? According to Romans 9, the answer is no. The answer is found in God's divine initiative. The remnant that God has called will come to faith. The rest will be hardened. And though the saved are only a small fraction of the majority, the plan of God is being orchestrated to perfection.

2. GOD'S GRACIOUS CHOICE - JOHN 12

Well, as we turn our attention back to the gospel of John, we'll see that this Apostle at the close of Christ's public ministry also deals with the widespread rejection of the gospel in a way similar to Paul. John will support his defense by quoting two Old Testament texts drawn from Isaiah. But first he states the dilemma that we have already considered. Verse 37, "But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him."

You'll remember that the miracles recorded in John were not intended to be an end to themselves. They were intended to point beyond the spectacular to highlight a specific aspect of Christ's ministry. This is why John most commonly refers to them as "signs." Therefore, verse 37 is basically saying, despite all the signs that Jesus performed which shed light on the profound nature of His ministry, the majority failed to exercise faith in Him. Again we ask the question, "Why?" Why did so many reject their Messiah despite His signs and compelling instruction? Did Jesus fail?

In responding to that question, John first takes us to a quotation from the Old Testament. John says the unbelief mentioned in verse 37 "was (verse 38; c.f. Rom 10:16) to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: 'LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?'"

This verse is from Isaiah 53:1 (LXX). Keep your finger in John and turn to Isaiah 53. Verse 1 (of Isaiah 53) is sandwiched between two profound discourses that describe God's Suffering (Servant) Messiah by way of prophecy.

We have recently seen in our study of John that the Jews did not expect their Messiah to suffer and die (Jn. 12:34). They only envisioned a political hero who would crush the Romans and restore Israel to its former place of dominance. Yet they were mistaken. In addition to His triumphs, the Scriptures also predicted the sufferings of the Messiah. As I read verses 2-12, judge for yourself if this prophecy, written 700 years before the first coming of Jesus, defines His ministry (c.f. Ac. 8:32-35) of suffering.

Beginning in verse 2: "For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors" (Isa. 53:2-12).

We must also consider what comes before 53:1, as 52:13-15 is also significant. "Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were astonished at you, My people, so His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men. Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; for what had not been told them they will see, and what they had not heard they will understand."

As in chapter 53, once again we see the suffering of God's Servant. Verse 14 speaks of "His appearance (being) marred more than any man." But in these verses we also read of His exaltation. Verse 15 says, "Kings will fall silent in His presence, astonished and awe-struck." Verse 13 speaks of the Servant's prosperity and exaltation saying He will be "high and lifted up," a theme we have seen more than once in our study of John (3:14; 8:28; 12:32).

However, when we combine the Messiah's suffering and His subsequent exaltation, we can understand how natural man cannot accept these things. We can understand how a triumphant and suffering Messiah is foolishness and unworthy of belief (1 Cor. 1:18-31). We can understand why the Jews only wanted to accept half of their Messiah. We can understand why the Lord will say just two chapters later, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa. 55:8-9). We can understand why Isaiah said in 53:1, "Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"

Now we fast-forward 700 years to the Gospel of John. John observes the widespread unbelief of the Jews, especially when they hear Jesus speak of His sufferings (Jn. 12:34). In verse 37 he says, "But though He had performed so many signs before them, yetthey were not believing in Him." Again, we ask the question, "Why?" Despite the signs and teaching, why did so few (especially among His own people) believe in Jesus? Did Jesus fail? John responds in verse 38 by quoting Isaiah 53:1. "This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: 'LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED (verse 37) OUR REPORT (the teaching)? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED (the signs-verse 37)?'"

John emphatically denies the failure of Christ and attributes the massive unbelief to the fulfillment of prophesy. William Hendrickson put it like this. "In order that the divine moral order, as decreed from eternity and as described by the prophets, might be fulfilled, the Jewish multitudes, through their own fault, failed to accept Christ by genuine faith (and thereby fulfilled the prophecy)." Think of it this way. Israel's rejection was not the failure of God's plan, but rather the means whereby God's plan was carried out. When the Jews delivered Jesus to the cross, God brought salvation to the world (Ac. 2:23). When the Jews failed to accept a suffering Messiah on their own accord, God's foreordained prophetic plan was fulfilled.

In verse 39 John says, "For this reason they could not believe." One because Scripture must be fulfilled (as we already saw in verse 38 - c.f. Jn. 12:38; 13:18; 15:25; 17:12; 18:9, 32: 19:24, 28, 36) and two because of a judicial hardening of their hearts (as we will now see in verse 40). In verse 40, John once again quotes Isaiah. "HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM."

Turn if you would this time to Isaiah 6. This chapter deals with the prophet's commission. In verse 1 Isaiah "saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple." In verse 3 the Seraphim in the presence of God chanted their unending praise. "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." As the threshold trembled and the temple was filling with smoke, Isaiah recognized his sinfulness in comparison to the holiness of God and cried out in verse 5, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." After Isaiah was given the profound cleansing, he heard the voice of the Lord in verse 8 call for a prophetic voice. "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Isaiah replied, "Here am I. Send me!" God immediately responded in verses 9 and 10 the same text quoted in John 12 with the barrier Isaiah that would be facing. "He said, 'Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on listening, but do not perceive; keep on looking, but do not understand.' Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.'" In other words, "Isaiah, I am sending you to preach to a people with hearts that I will harden. Your results will be negative. You will be scorned, ignored and rejected. And the more you preach My message, the harder their hearts will become." How's that for an encouraging start to your ministry?

These verses in Isaiah 6:9-10 are often quoted in the New Testament. And every time these verses are quoted, they come on the heels of hardhearted Jewish unbelief. In the Gospels (Mt. 13:14; Mk. 4:12; Lk. 8:10), Jesus used these verses to justify His use of parables to veil the truth from unbelievers. In Acts (Ac. 26-27), Paul uses these verses to justify the gospel's outreach to the Gentiles. And here in John 12, these verses are quoted after massive Jewish unbelief at the end of Christ's ministry I believe to justify the departure of Christ's physical presence (verse 36). Since the people failed to exercise faith, but rather sought to kill Jesus when they had the Light, Jesus withdrew. The more they rejected, the more God hardened their hearts. The prophecy of Isaiah 6 had now reached its fulfillment in the ministry of Christ.

Now this concept of God hardening hearts (which is found throughout Scripture), no doubt sounds very harsh. Therefore, to understand it rightly we must see it from two different perspectives.

First of all, as we learned earlier from Romans 9, God is completely sovereign over all things, including the salvation of His children. Even in the book of John we have learned about the need to be drawn by Christ (12:32) and drawn by the Father (6:44). We learned that only His sheep hear His voice (10:16, 27). In three chapters Jesus will say, "You did not choose Me but I chose you" (15:16; c.f. 1:12-13; 13:18; 17:1-2, 6). We must come to the realization that God is free and does whatever He pleases according to His own sovereign pleasure. Romans 9:18 says, "So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires."

The doctrine of election is clearly taught in the Bible, but we must go further. The Scriptures do not present God as a cruel monster who delights in deliberately preparing people for hell. On the contrary, They present Him as a God of love, warning and urging guilty people to be saved from His wrath (Eze. 33:11; 1 Tim. 2:4). In the gospel of John, we are learning about all that God has done to save sinners. Let me be clear, God has never turned away one repentant sinner who has come to Him with genuine faith (Jn. 6:37).

Therefore, as we consider divine sovereignty, we must not fail to consider human responsibility as well. Every individual who rejects the gospel, rejects it according to his or her own free will. Every individual in hell is there because they have chosen to be there. As verse 37 of John 12 indicates, the Jews had no excuse. Elsewhere God said, "All the day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people" (Rom. 10:21).

The same could be said of people today. Most have heard the words of Christ. All have seen God's general revelation in creation (Rom. 1:20). All have witnessed their conscience bearing testimony to the Law of God (Rom. 2:15). But yet they have refused to believe. They are too proud to admit their need for salvation. They have "suppress(ed) the truth in unrighteousness" (Rom. 1:18). They have hardened their hearts.

Now, as these individuals willfully harden their own hearts, the Scriptures say God gives them over (Rom. 1:24, 26, 28; c.f. 2 Thes. 2:11) to their rebellion. God gives these people what they want. He hardens their heart as a consequence of their own free choice. He lets them stay within the demands of their own free will. The more they reject God, the more they harden their own hearts. The more they reject God, the more He hardens their hearts. The best example of this duel hardening under the sovereignty of God is Pharaoh (c.f. Rom. 9:17). Twice the book of Exodus says his heart was hardened (Ex. 8:19; 9:7). Three times it says Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Ex. 8:15, 32; 9:34). Five times it says God hardened Pharaoh's heart (Ex. 4:21; 10:1; 11:10; 14:4, 8).

The more people reject God, the easier it becomes. Both a human and divine hardening of their hearts progressively occurs. Are we to be surprised when more young children come to faith? The reason being, children have soft hearts. They have not spent a lifetime rejecting God. Are we to be surprised that Jesus used a child as a model of faith (Mt. 18:2-4)? Are we to be surprised if someone in this church who has yet to bow the knee to Christ, has progressively hardened his or her heart after hearing the gospel proclaimed in John now for 16 months? Are we to be surprised that God will not come to someone's beck and call when they have jerked Him around all their life? What kind of God do we think He is? It's been said, "There is a line by us unseen, that crosses every path, the hidden boundary between God's patience and His wrath."

3. GOD'S GRACIOUS CHOICE - NOW

So we put all of this together and return to our original question. Since so few believed, was the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ a failure? And as we have learned, the answer is emphatically "no." Those whom God called came to saving faith. Those who rejected Christ's offer both fulfilled the prophetic Scripture (verse 38) and "could not believe" because God hardened their hearts (verses 39 and 40). Those who rejected will be held accountable for their own unbelief, but through their unbelief, God brought salvation for the world (see Romans 11). All in all, everything happened according to the will of God. Evil men did not frustrate His will, they only facilitated it. The ministry of Jesus Christ was a success! And now in victorious fashion, John will close this section of the book in verses 44-50 by presenting the triumphant gospel now for the final time by recalling words from His Savior from an earlier occasion.

I can remember the pain I experienced below the inside of my fingers the first time I lifted weights. Eventually the open wounds became scabs and the scabs became calluses. The more I worked out the more the calluses grew and hardened. Some 20 years later I have absolutely no feeling in these portions of my palm.

In the same way, the human heart can become callused. It can become numb to the things of the Lord. The more one rejects God, the more that callous grows and hardens. Eventually the heart has become so hard it looses all spiritual sensitivity and begins to actively oppose its Creator.

We live in a culture where God has given people over to their willful rebellion. We are surrounded by hard hearts that exhibit no interest in Jesus Christ. Yet we understand now that the gospel has not failed. God's plan is being accomplished according to perfection as He uses us to call the remnant that He has chosen to Himself.

Hallelujah! Amen! (Rev. 5:13)