Calvary Road Baptist Church
“CHRIST HONORED BY THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHET”
John 12.37-41
In John 12.1-11 the evangelist records the occasion in Bethany, the Saturday night before our Lord’s crucifixion, when Mary greatly honored the Lord Jesus Christ, along with her brother Lazarus and sister Martha. Most in the narrative seemed indifferent to the notion of honoring Him, while Judas Iscariot and the chief priests are reported to have been opposed to Mary’s efforts to honoring Him.
In John 12.12-19, we see the Lord Jesus Christ honored by a great many Jewish people gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover on the occasion of what is frequently referred to as His triumphal entry. Predictably, some were indifferent to Him being honored, and on this occasion, it was the Pharisees who opposed honoring Him.
In John 12.20-26, we are told of Greek-speaking Gentiles in Jerusalem for the Passover coming to Philip, who then went to Andrew, the two of them then bringing the Gentiles to the Lord. Their desire was for an audience with Him, thus honoring Him by their open display of His importance to them.
In John 12.27-36, we learn of our Lord publicly praying to His Father, with His Father audibly answering His Son for the third time such a thing is recorded in His earthly ministry.[1] The Father thereby honored His Son by showing before one and all His attentiveness to His Son’s words and His desire to publicly authenticate His Son’s ministry.
We now consider John 12.37-41, the fifth example the Apostle John shows, in this chapter alone, the Lord Jesus Christ is honored. Please turn to that passage and stand for the reading of God’s Word:
37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:
38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?
39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,
40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
Even if you have not heard the four previous messages I have brought from John chapter twelve; you might have noticed something of a pattern from my introductory remarks. There are those who seek to honor the Lord Jesus Christ. There are those who seem to be indifferent to honoring Him. Then there are those who are opposed to honoring Him.
Who might those be who are on record as opposed to honoring the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, there was Judas Iscariot. There were the chief priests. There were the Pharisees. Then, of course, there are those who show themselves to be indifferent to honoring the Lord Jesus Christ by their speech and conduct. And those who line up on the side of openly, publicly, honoring Him? That would include Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, the multitudes who cheered Him as He rode into Jerusalem in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, the Greek-speaking Gentiles come to Jerusalem for Passover, and God! Think about that. There is an issue that allows anyone to side with God. That issue is honoring His Son, Jesus Christ.
We now consider a passage in which yet another significant person honored the Lord Jesus Christ. Who was that? The prophet Isaiah, whose life and service to God took place seven centuries before the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. This was the servant of God who predicted our Lord’s virgin birth, in Isaiah 7.14, in case you didn’t know.
How does the Apostle John establish that the prophet Isaiah honored the Savior? Isaiah honored our Lord Jesus, by both predicting and criticizing centuries in advance the people’s failure to believe on Him. John recounts that.
May I remind you that some honored Christ, others seemed to be disinterested, and a third category was comprised of those who opposed honoring Him? The prophet Isaiah lumped together in his predictions those who, for whatever reason, did not honor Him by not believing in Him. Of course, this includes both those actively opposed to honoring Him as well as those who adopted an attitude of indifference.
Christ is dishonored both by those who are seemingly neutral toward Him and those who are opposed to Him. Remember, He once said, “He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.”[2]
Three main points for you to consider:
First, ISAIAH PREDICTED THEY WOULD NOT BELIEVE
John 12.37:
“But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him.”
Notice three things regarding the refusal of sinners to believe on Him:
First, the Lord Jesus Christ provides reasons to believe. Faith is the right conclusion drawn from circumstantial evidence. However, with the Lord Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, not only did circumstantial evidence overwhelmingly support Him, but there were so many opportunities for first-hand evidence in the form of eyewitnesses of His miracles, so that a multiplicity of witnesses was not always necessary, though witnesses were many. Follow the Savior around for a while, and you would see Him work a miracle with your own eyes. Reflect with me on the abundance of evidence to support faith in Christ. He worked so many miracles, and miracles of such demonstrable power. His miracles, from the raising of the dead to the feeding of the multitudes, to the casting out of demons, to the cleansings of the lepers, were the great proofs of His mission. In particular, there are two things to point out about our Lord’s miracles: First, there is the number of them. He worked so many great many miracles of different kinds. Herbert Lockyer, in his All The Miracles Of The Bible, informs us the exact number of miracles is impossible to arrive at because they are sometimes clustered, but that Fausset claims there were 40 miracles, Scroggie claims there were 35, and Trench says there were 33 miracles.[3] Whatever the total, there were a lot of them. John 21.25 reads,
“And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.”
As well, the number of our Lord’s miracles not only proved His might but increased the exposure of His miracles to witnesses who could attest to their genuineness. This notoriety resulted from His exposure to so many witnesses with the working of miracles not taking place in isolation from the crowds, frequently occurring in the presence of His enemies, and never with any staging or the use of props. Thus, His miracles were entirely credible.
Yet, they remained unbelieving. Consider that some of them admitted to the genuineness of His miracles:
John 3.2:
“The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.”
The Pharisee Nicodemus acknowledged the Lord’s miracles.
John 7.31:
“And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?”
Many of the people admitted He worked miracles.
John 9.16:
“Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.”
Nicodemus wasn’t the only Pharisee who recognized that He worked miracles.
John 11.47:
“Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.”
Even some of the chief priests admitted His miracles. Yet they refused to believe on Him. They could not deny the premise, yet they would not grant the conclusion. Is this not evidence of the irrationality of sinfulness, that the most numerous and powerful means of conviction still will not result in faith in depraved hearts? They saw, and yet they refused to believe.
Of course, this is what Isaiah predicted, John 12.38:
“That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
This is the prophet Isaiah’s complaint from the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, which describes the Suffering Servant seven centuries before His substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. The complaint, in the form of a question, asks who will believe? The implication, of course, is that very few will believe, despite so much evidence. Isaiah’s prediction, then and now, is spot on.
This Is Because, Second, ISAIAH PREDICTED THEY COULD NOT BELIEVE
John 12.40:
“He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.”
The Apostle John here refers to Isaiah 6.9-10:
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Rather than being a quote from the prophet Isaiah, John here provides for his readers a reference to and an explanation of Isaiah’s prediction. Fulfilled in both the near term and the distant future, Isaiah will preach to the people. Sinners will hear, but will not understand. Sinners will see, but will not perceive. In other words, sinners will not be stirred by the import of the message. Sinners will not understand with their heart and be converted. What was born out in Isaiah’s day is shown by the Apostle John to be the explanation of what was occurring in the final week of Christ’s earthly ministry. But John provides a provocative 1declaration at the beginning of the verse:
“He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart.”
He, of course, being God. Pharaoh was not the only unbeliever whose heart was hardened by God.[4] Has He hardened your heart?
Lest you think this is an issue that is no longer applicable to our day, I suggest you take time to read Paul’s letter to the Romans, particularly chapters 9, 10, and 11. There Paul deals with the judicial blinding of the Jewish people to explain why so few Jewish people have trusted Christ. Especially note Romans 11.8, where the Apostle Paul, like the Apostle John in our text, reminds his readers of Isaiah 6.9, when he writes,
“(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.”
How should this be understood, not only by Jewish people, but by anyone who has heard the Gospel, and been made aware of the multiplicity of Christ’s miracles (including His own historically provable resurrection from the dead), yet remains unmoved by the objective truth? Does it not concern you that you may be subject to the judgment of Almighty God? Does it not concern you that to be alienated from God is not a good position for anyone to be in? How can a person stroll through life like a child walking through a cemetery at night saying “La, la, la, la” to distract yourself from the truth that someday you will die and if you do not believe in Christ you will die unprepared for eternity?
Finally, THE OBJECT OF THEIR BELIEF WHO IS DISHONORED
John 12.41:
“These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.”
The first prediction from Isaiah that John brings to his readers’ attention is Isaiah 53.1, the entire chapter of which refers to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Substitutionary Sacrifice for our sins. Thus, John shows us Isaiah’s prediction of Christ on the cross.
The second prediction from Isaiah that John brings to his readers’ attention is Isaiah 6.9-10, where the prophet is told: “Go, and tell this people.” The question, of course, is who speaks to the prophet to give him his charge? The key to understanding is here in John 12.41, where the apostle clears away any possible confusion by pointing out that Isaiah beheld Christ’s glory and spoke of Christ.
Notice Isaiah 6.1-8:
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
This passage is meat for dozens of sermons, but for now let us focus on only one thing, the subject of Isaiah’s vision: Verse 1 places Isaiah’s subject on a throne in a temple with an impressive train. Verse 2 reveals He is surrounded by flaming angels, each having six wings. Verse 3 reveals their cry to each other, apparently referring to Him being the LORD of hosts with great glory. Verse 5 shows Isaiah’s horror at the contrast between his spiritual defilement and this One he has seen, the King, the LORD of hosts. Verse 8 records the Lord saying to Isaiah, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” with Isaiah responding, “Then said I, Here am I; send me.” John informs us in verse 41 that the subject to whom Isaiah’s prophecy refers is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, in His glory, before His incarnation.
How did the prophet Isaiah honor the Lord Jesus Christ? He honored Him seven centuries before His earthly ministry began in several ways. John sets his readers’ attention on the honor Isaiah paid to Israel’s Messiah in two ways: First, there is his description of the Lord Jesus Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice in Isaiah chapter 53. Then, there is his reference to the Lord Jesus Christ’s judicial blinding of Israel in Isaiah 6.9-10.
In John 12.41, the apostle makes sure no one mistakes the implications of a sinner’s disbelief concerning Christ. He does this by pointing out that the One who is not believed, the One who is passed by as the proper Object of faith, is none other than the King, the LORD of hosts, who in Isaiah’s time and in our own time is enthroned in heaven and surrounded by adoring angels. In the time John’s Gospel account records, this King, the LORD of hosts, was standing in their midst.
Thus, John shows to us that Isaiah honored the Lord Jesus Christ in his ancient prophecies. But the implications of Isaiah honoring the Savior are profound and worth rehearsing so as not to escape your attention.
When you are exposed to the Gospel, you are provided with sufficient evidence to respond by believing in Jesus Christ to the saving of your eternal and undying soul. That said, in our Lord’s day leading up to His crucifixion as well as our day, most sinners do not believe on Him. Most sinners willfully disregard reliable evidence attesting to the identity and the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you any idea how such disregard for the evidence He has graciously provided, then as well as now that He has risen from the dead, is rewarded by Him? Dare you consider what will happen to you for discounting both the importance and the accuracy of the evidence He has supplied to mankind showing who and what He is?
And if there is any silly notion that though you now disbelieve you will in the future decide to believe in Christ, remember what John has shown us from Isaiah. They not only did not believe, but they could not believe. How is this to be explained? In several ways:
First, they, and you, are dead in trespasses and sins. Pray tell, what can a dead person do? Nothing. Thus, so long as you are spiritually dead, you not only will not, but you also cannot respond to the Gospel on your own.
Next, in Second Corinthians 4.13, the Apostle Paul refers to the Spirit of faith, suggesting that saving faith in any sinner must be given by the Holy Spirit of God. Yet do you not resist the Spirit by doing what you know He does not want you to do, and grieve Him by not doing what you know He wants you to do? Thus, so many sinners actively aggravate the Spirit, who must regenerate them for them to be saved.
Third, there is Romans 10.17, where is revealed the vital connection between faith and hearing the Word of God preached. Yet so many sinners avoid Gospel preaching or ignore the preaching they are exposed to.
Finally, let me remind you that God is sovereign. He is in charge, and no sinner succeeds in playing Him. Salvation is so utterly dependent upon the grace of God that you will never be saved, you can never be saved, apart from God’s gracious work in your life. Christ is so high and lifted up, and you are so very low in your deadness and sin, that not only do you not believe in Him you cannot believe in Him apart from divine intervention.
This has been the fifth occurrence in John’s twelfth chapter of Christ being honored. It may also be the most astonishing illustration we have yet seen of who it is you believe or disbelieve, and your utter dependence upon God’s good graces to ever come to faith in Christ.
He is the LORD, high and lifted up. My suggestion is that you reflect on Isaiah’s reaction when he perceived who the Lord Jesus Christ is and that you seriously consider the claims of Christ as you contemplate coming to trust Him for your soul’s salvation. Pray the Father is kindly disposed to draw you to His Son.
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[1] Matthew 3.17; 17.5
[2] Matthew 12.30; Luke 11.23
[3] Herbert Lockyer, All The Miracles of the Bible, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961), page 154.
[4] Exodus 10.20, 27; 11.10; 14.4, 8
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