“44 Then Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.’ ” John 12:44-45
The people to whom Jesus spoke had important decisions to make before Christ was crucified. We are learning from Jesus’ response to this crowd how we can respond to those who refuse to believe in Christ. So far we have discovered we must…
– Challenge them to seek God while there is time (John 12:34-35).
– Counsel them to Believe in Christ while there is time (12:36).
– Contemplate the Scriptures’ explanation for their unbelief (John 12:37-41).
– Consider that some are secret believers (John 12:42-43).
The fifth way to respond to those who refuse to believe is to CONFRONT THOSE WHO REFUSE TO BELIEVE WITH THE TRUTH ABOUT JESUS (John 12:44-50). “Then Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.’ ” (John 12:44). Jesus “cried out” to get the crowd’s attention as He makes one last appeal for them to believe in Him. Jesus is the perfect reflection of the Father because He also is God (cf. 1:1, 14; 5:18; 8:58; 10:30-36). To believe in Jesus is to believe in the Father “who sent” Christ. This emphasizes the oneness of God the Father and God the Son. You cannot say you believe in God and at the same time reject Jesus Christ because Jesus is equal with God the Father (cf. John 5:18-47).
Jesus explains, “And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.” (John 12:45). When a person “sees” Jesus, he or she “sees” the Father “who sent” Him because Christ perfectly mirrors His Father since they are equal in essence. They both have divine natures capable of giving eternal life to those who believe in Christ. Therefore, to behold and believe in One, is to behold and believe in the other. Jesus is claiming to be God here! He is capable of giving eternal life to them if they would behold and believe in Him.
Then Christ said, “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.” (John 12:46). Christ came into the world as the Light so that those who believe in Him “should not abide in darkness.” This may refer to positional or experiential truth. 1 If it is positional truth, it means that those who believe in Christ are now “sons of light”(12:36) and are no longer a part of the kingdom of darkness and eternal death (cf. John 5:24; Colossians 1:13). If this phrase refers to experiential truth, it would mean that Christ came into the world so that those who believe in Him should have fellowship with God. The word “abide” (menō) is a fellowship term in John’s writings. 2 To “abide in darkness” refers to being without direction and alienated from the Lord. Believers are not to remain out of fellowship with God. They are to walk in the light by being open and honest with God (I John 1:5-10).
“And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” (John 12:47). If a person hears Christ’s message and “does not believe” it, Jesus says He will “not judge him; for” He “did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” Jesus will not condemn those who refuse to believe in Him because He came to save sinners by His grace. Christ explains, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him — the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48). But “in the last day” Christ’s message will condemn those who refused to believe in Him. These verses are excellent to show those who accuse God of being unfair when He sends people to hell. The truth is, if a person goes to hell it is not because Jesus rejected him or her, it is because that person rejected Christ.
What is the word that Jesus had “spoken”? Christ said, “he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” (John 6:47). Have you believed in Christ for His gift of everlasting life? If yes, then you will live forever with Him in heaven. But if you do not ever believe in Christ, then His message will condemn you to the Lake of Fire forever on the last day at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). Part of an unbeliever’s agony in the Lake of Fire will be the remembrance of the missed opportunities they had to get right with God by believing in Jesus. Christ’s message of everlasting life will torment the unbeliever throughout eternity.
How can Jesus say that His word will be the fitting judge of people on the last day?! “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.” (John 12:49). He can say this because His message did not originate from Himself, but from His Father. If anyone has a problem with what Jesus teaches, then his or her problem is with God the Father because He told Jesus what to say. Christ is totally dependent upon His Father as to what to teach. His Father commanded Him what to say.
“And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.” (John 12:50). Christ knows that His Father’s “command is everlasting life.” What God the Father commanded Jesus to say resulted in eternal life for those who believed it. Therefore, Christ was very careful to “speak just as the Father has told” Him. 3 Christ’s teaching leads to “everlasting life.” He concludes His final public teaching with an invitation to receive His message and believe in Him for eternal life.
Jesus did not come to the world to condemn the world, but to save the world by His grace. So many unbelievers think that Christianity is a religion filled with dos and don’ts. “Don’t drink and don’t chew. And don’t run around with girls who do.” Christ did not come into the world to condemn us. He came into the world to cleanse us through His matchless grace.
Picture if you will, a giant eagle soaring majestically above the Niagara River, his great wings spread in flight. As he glides silently overhead looking for prey, he spies the carcass of a bird floating upon a block of ice on the river below. He swoops down, lands on the ice, and begins to devour the dead bird. From time to time, while he eats, he looks up and sees the river’s width is increasing — a sign it is nearing the falls — but hastily he returns to his meal, waiting until the ice is about to go over the falls when he will spread his wings and fly to safety. Why worry about the falls? Here is a great feast. There’s plenty of time. So the ice floats onward carrying its strange cargo closer and closer to the gigantic falls. The roar of this great spectacle of God’s handiwork grows louder and louder as if crying out a warning that death is near, but to no avail. At last, as the block of ice is about to plunge over the falls, the eagle lifts his wings to take flight. But, while he has been engrossed in eating, his long talons have become frozen in the ice. He is unable to free himself, and goes screeching over the falls to his death. 4
The same can be said of many people in Jesus’ day and today. They go floating along on the river of life interested only in material things. “The Judgment Day Falls” cry out, but they pay no attention. Oh someday, when they are lying on their death bed, when they are about to breathe their last breath, when they have tried all the world has to offer, then, when they have no other way to turn, then they intend to trust Christ. They intend to fly into the safety of His everlasting arms. But they wait too long. The world has frozen their hearts and they plunge over “Judgment Day Falls” unsaved. Please do not let that happen to you. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ while you still have time and He will give you everlasting life (John 3:16).
Prayer: Father God, thank You for sending Jesus into the world not to condemn us, but to save us and cleanse us of our sins. Please help me to speak Your words in the Bible just as Jesus was careful to speak what You spoke to Him. Your words give live everlasting, Lord God. Father, I am deeply burdened for those who continue to reject Jesus as the Giver of eternal life. Please work in and through their circumstances so that they will become more open to Your message of grace. Help me not to give up on those who have repeatedly rejected Your message, just as You never gave up on me after I initially ignored Your gospel message that others shared with me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
ENDNOTES:
1. Dr. Robert N. Wilkin, “The Gospel According to John,” The Grace New Testament Commentary, Vol. 1: Matthew – Acts (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010), pg. 436.
2. John 1:32, 33, 38, 39 (2); 2:12; 3:36; 4:40 (2); 5:38; 6:27, 56; 7:9; 8:31, 35 (2); 9:41; 10:40; 11:6, 54; 12:24, 34, 46; 14:10, 17, 25; 15:4 (3), 5, 6, 7 (2), 9, 10 (2), 16; 19:31; 21:22, 23; cf. I John 2:6, 10, 14, 17, 24, 27-28; 3:6, 14, 17 24; 4:12-13, 15-16.
3. Dr. Tom Constable, Notes on John, 2015 Edition, pg. 246.
4. On July 4, 2017, taken from http://winsome.org.previewmysite.com/E_ Illustrations.htm.