"To Whom has the Arm of the Lord been Revealed?"

TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED? John 12:37-50

Introduction: “Apologetics” is an area of study that relates not to saying “I’m sorry!” [Though that would be a valid and important study for another sermon!] but rather to defending the truth of the Christian Faith. We raised one question last week that has been put before the church for two millennia: If Jesus really is the Son of God and did the things the Bible says He did, why was He rejected by his own people? Part of the answer that is difficult to grasp is related in this context. Jesus died because God planned for Him to die so that we could be saved through faith in Him. The Context: Jesus had just spoken of his impending death/departure and called his listeners to believe in the Light. The last phrase of v.36 is interesting, the same word that appeared in 8:58, He was “…hidden…” from them. In both contexts it seems to me that is talking about more than the fact that suddenly he was gone and they couldn’t find Him. They couldn’t see, they couldn’t understand, He was hidden from them. God had a plan then that had to lead to Calvary, and He has a plan now that we should preach the cross, proclaim the Gospel, and call people to repentence and authentic faith in Jesus. The Big Idea: It was God’s plan for Jesus to be rejected by His own people, so that through His life, and His death and resurrection, He could reveal the way to eternal life.

I.THEN: The Scriptures predicted the unbelief of the Jews (37-41).

John 12:37 points to the problem:

“But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him…”

The wording here is quite emphatic: the signs were compelling evidence. There were many of them and they were done “before [there very eyes],” yet still they were not responding in faith! Its similar to the idea Peter presents in his sermon on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:23,

“Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God through miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did through him in your midst just as you yourselves also know…”

He was “…attested…” to them, publically revealed to a legal certainty by the miraculous signs he did. In this very context he opened the eyes of a man born blind (John 9) and raised from the dead a man who had been dead and buried for four days (John 11). Only God could do such things! Yet, despite the evidence, they were not believing in Him. The majority of those who saw Jesus still “…would not believe in Him… despite the signs He did…” They had the proof, the evidence of his teaching, the testimony of his mighty works, but still they held back. The “weren’t believing in Him…” Sometimes the failure to believe the warnings we receive can prove fatal. I read this report this week:

A San Diego man killed Friday by a grizzly bear in Alaska’s Denali National Park had been taking pictures of the animal for at least seven to eight minutes before the attack, park officials said Sunday. Richard White, 49, was between 50 and 100 yards away from the bear that ultimately mauled him to death, according to images found on his camera, park spokeswoman Maureen McLaughlin said. He is the first person to die in a bear attack in the history of the park, which covers 4.7 million acres. Hikers are typically advised to stay at least 300 yards away from a bear, McLaughlin said. The bear, which weighed approximately 600 pounds, was shot and killed by a state trooper as he was defending the spot where White's remains were found.

He was warned to keep a safe distance. What was he thinking? We’ll never know, maybe, “It will never happen to me. I’m not like others who might have been mauled. I’m quiet, keeping a low profile, and besides this grizzly isn’t acting like it’s very dangerous.” Until it killed him. There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. John gives an explanation of their unbelief in 12:38ff.:

“…that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, "LORD, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"

Notice there are two parallel statements in this verse that focus first on “words,” i.e. verbal testimony, and secondly on “works [the arm of the Lord].” He asks two rhetorical questions: 1) Who has believed our report?; and secondly, 2) “…and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed…” Believing, and having the truth of God’s powerful presence “revealed” are connected. The context is Isaiah 53, the powerful revelation of the suffering servant who would bear our sorrows and have the iniquity of us all laid on him. At the end of Isaiah 52 it prophesies that though he would be marred more than any man, he would be exalted, lifted up, and the nations would consider him (remember the Greeks had just come seeking him!). John then gives us another quote from Isaiah in Jn 12:39-41

“For this cause they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 "He has blinded their eyes, and He hardened their heart; lest they see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and be converted, and I heal them." 41 These things Isaiah said, because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.”

This quote comes from Isaiah 6, that tremendous scene where God is calling Isaiah and he gives him a glimpse of the heavenly throne room. God is so majestic and powerful that His glorious presence is more than Isaiah can take in: “Woe unto me I am undone…” Two things: First John explains that Isaiah saw HIS glory, i.e., Jesus’ glory. That was Jesus on the throne—He is God, Immanuel. Jesus was a man, but not merely a man. He was more than the babe of Bethlehem, more than the carpenter from Nazareth, more than itinerate preacher who attracted crowds and annoyed the leadership. John has been pounding away at a truth that is indispensable to our faith: the Deity of Christ. The Muslims will affirm that Jesus was a great prophet, many people even today will agree that He was a wonderful teacher. But if that is all you can say about Him according to John you are missing the point:

“In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”

Jesus is eternal God, the Son. Think about it! The Creator came to die for your sins and mine! He is the One we worship, the One who’s Word we read. Secondly, it says here that they could not believe, because God hardened their hearts, he blinded their eyes. I believe one way that He did that was by sending a kind of messiah that they couldn’t fathom—it just didn’t compute. At that point in Jewish history, in the “fullness of time” when God sent forth His Son (Gal 4:4,5), they were not wired in their expectations to receive a humble servant, a suffering servant, a Lamb. It was God’s plan for them to reject Jesus—it was His plan to go to the cross. He was delivered up by the predetermined purpose and foreknowledge of God. He came to His own, but there was no question, absolutely no doubt, that He would be rejected by them, they would not receive Him. Ironically, His rejection was our only hope, and it was God’s only plan. So ironically, their rejection of Him fulfilled prophecy, confirmed His identity, and carried out the Father’s plan. *** It was God’s plan for Jesus to be rejected by His own people, so that through His life, and His death and resurrection, He could reveal the way to eternal life.

II. AND NOW: What kind of believer are you?

There were some who “believed” but were fearful to make their faith public (42-43). There seemed to have been some “secret believers” almost from the start. Here, many “believed” among the leaders but “were not confessing Him” before the Pharisees-lest they be excommunicated from the synagogue. Men like Joseph of Arimathea who would later expose himself (along with Nicodemus) by asking for the body of Jesus so that he could give him a respectable burial. It’s also clear that some who “believed,” did so in an inadequate way, not having the faith that saves. We saw that in John 2:23-25

“Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, beholding His signs which He was doing. 24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, 25 and because He did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man for He Himself knew what was in man.”

Their faith was not saving faith, in some way it was partial incomplete. Some people have a mere, intellectual assent to certain facts of history. They believe in Jesus, that is, they believe he walked on the earth, taught good things, maybe even did miracles. But they have not trusted in Him alone as their only hope for salvation. They might believe in Jesus like they believe in George Washington, he’s a historical figure, but they are not trusting him to do anything for them today! Whether or not these leaders who “believed” had saving faith I’m not sure, but John is pointing out that a faithful disciple should not be a secret disciple. But before we’re too hard on these—are we faithful in letting those in our sphere of influence—those we bump shoulders with on a regular basis, do they know who we have believed? Or are we afraid to speak up-hesitant to risk offending them or losing their friendship? In verses 42-43 we see the motivation for their not publically affirming their faith: the cost seemed too high, these it said loved the praise of men more than they loved the praise of God. Authentic faith in Jesus illumines our understanding so that in Jesus we can see the invisible God (44-46). He’ll say again in chapter 14,

“He who has seen me has seen the Father…” (14:9).

Here he says “He who believes in me believes in the One who sent me…” (v.44); and “He who sees me has seen the one who sent me…” (v.45). In the first chapter of John we read that “No man has seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son, who is in the bossom of the Father, He has made him known…” (Jn 1:18). Think of that, as we read these stories of Jesus and consider His works and words, we are brought face to face with our Creator, the God who spoke this universe into existence! Faith means believing Him, taking Christ at His Word. The Word of Christ is the Truth that brings life: rejection of the Truth will condemn unbelievers (47-50). The idea that faith that requires signs, faith that demands proof, is inadequate, that idea has been repeatedly affirmed in this Gospel. Thomas will be the epitome of that teaching at the end of John 20 when, after the resurrection, He refuses to believe unless he cans see and touch “the evidence” for himself. Jesus answers “blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” God’s Word is truth, it is fact, it is absolutely reliable and it is self-authenticating. It doesn’t require justification or defense in order to be effective. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.

What is God saying to me in this passage?

It was God’s plan for Jesus to be rejected by His own people, so that through His life, and His death and resurrection, He could reveal the way to eternal life. You’ve been warned—there are bears in the woods—there is only one place of safety, in Christ.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?

Next Sunday is “Rally Day” for our Sunday School. We will be having a church breakfast in which well express thanks for our Sunday School teachers as they introduce a new semester of study. We invite you to be here, and to invite a friend or neighbor who isn’t part of a Bible preaching church. Some of our small groups that stopped for the summer will be restarting soon—a great opportunity to get involved and to invite a friend. Let’s seek to be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us… Amen.