Many Still Won't Believe

But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him. [John 12.37]

There are two things that might be gleaned from this verse. The first thing is that even in His day, with Jesus' mighty miracles widely known and publicized, people still did not believe. The second thing is that in our day, with widespread ignorance of God's Word, and therefore inaccurate knowledge of Jesus, people have little opportunity to know Him, let alone believe in Him.

Let's read on...

This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted: “Lord, who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?” But the people couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said, “The Lord has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts— so that their eyes cannot see, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and have me heal them.” [John 12.38-40]

What (Who) is the message? Jesus. What (Who) is the revelation of God's powerful arm? Jesus.

Jesus has one of two effects upon people. They either repent and believe, or, their hearts are hardened by His message and they do not believe.

How are people's hearts hardened? They are hardened by the voice of the Holy Spirit calling them. If they have not concluded there is more to life than just living, and therefore are not "seeking," their proud conceit manifests in a 'blinding glaze' over their hearts when the Holy Spirit calls rendering understanding and healing (body, soul, and mind) impossible. They arrogantly reject Jesus (Whom the Holy Spirit reveals) to suffer eternity separated from Him.

Until people of our time return to the Bible with an unprecedented intention to know Jesus, there is little hope of salvation - there is little hope of healing. Of course, "church" will go on, but until it becomes a lighthouse of Jesus Christ in His powerful life, sacrificial death and redeeming resurrection, people won't even get the chance to reject Him (if they are never introduced to Him in His fulness in the first place)!

Question: If God saw it necessary to identify Jesus by powerful signs and wonders, how could we ever think He will be "revealed" by our lives with different methods? According to Jesus Himself, He won't.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. [John 14.12]

But... back to the subject verse of this article...  But despite all the miraculous signs... people still will not believe. For those who wish to downplay the role of miraculous signs, they do so in direct contradiction to God's intended plan and design from the beginning. In so doing, they only make it harder for people to experience Jesus so that they might come to a decision within themselves. In other words, people cannot reject Jesus if they do not know Jesus. They can reject religion, structure, government, and all manner of other things, but they cannot reject Jesus without knowing Him. Consequently, they cannot believe in Jesus unless they know Him!

The conclusion then is that everyone needs to know Jesus.  And, those who know Him need to introduce others to Him. That's the way it works. That is discipleship. A few will believe - but most will not. If Jesus taught that one in a hundred is worth pursuing and rejoicing in (parable of lost sheep), then our commission is clear. We, like Jesus, are to live Kingdom lives in miraculous power to reach those who will believe.

How much time will it take to know Jesus enough? All of it!

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24]

We will not show Jesus to the world, in all His fulness, until we have entirely given up our own ways. And even then, only a few will believe.

The question, "Do we want others to believe?" is revealed in our answer to this question, "Do we really believe?" If our faith is genuine, our lives will be Jesus Christ on earth today - identifiable in every way like Jesus.

But still, many will not believe.

Father, may my life be found in every way like Jesus.