John 12:37-40
Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Therefore, they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”
This is a tough passage to understand. Do people refuse to believe in Jesus and his works because they choose unbelief…or does God “blind their eyes and harden their hearts,” making them incapable of believing? This opens up the can of worms involving man’s free will “versus” God’s sovereignty (predestination)—something that has been argued over by Christians for centuries—so while I can’t fully resolve that, I think I can help ease some of the tension.
Yes, and Yes.
Does man have a free will? Yes. Does God pre-ordain some to salvation and not others? Yes. How can that be? These two positions obviously contradict one another…or do they? Some people take the position that God has foreknowledge of who will be saved because He can see through time. He simply looks out ahead of your birthdate and sees whether you choose Jesus or not. This is a convenient way to resolve the conflict, but it’s wrong. In the case of salvation, the bible does not teach foreknowledge, but rather, election. Romans 8:29 states clearly that, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” He knew AND he predestined. That being said, the bible clearly teaches that man has a free will, too. God makes choices AND we do, too.
Wait…What?
Dr. Danny Akin is the President of a major seminary (and a friend) and he uses a short phrase about this tension that has been helpful to me: The doctrine of predestination does no violence to the doctrine of free will. They exist in perfect harmony, despite our inability to fully understand it. We must accept that we have limits on our ability to fully understand—we see through the glass dimly—while trusting that the Lord gives us what we NEED to know, rather than all there IS to know. Speaking plainly…we need to get over ourselves.
But what about today’s passage?
Many chose not to believe in Jesus despite his obvious power and authority. They refused him and God acted in judgment on their unbelief by hardening their hearts and blinding their eyes…in conjunction with their free will choice. But which came first? Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. God acted, and so did they. You have probably seen this in your own life. You made the arguments and presented the facts, but your friend refused to believe. Worse yet, they have gotten more aggressive in their unbelief over the years. They didn’t choose God…and He hasn’t chosen them…at least, not yet. But don’t give up hope, because God’s desire is that they should not perish, but have everlasting life (2 Peter 3:9).
Accept the tension and trust God. Do your part and know that God will always do his. Finally, rejoice regularly that YOU know and are known! You chose Him…but even more amazingly, He chose YOU! That truth should amaze you and humble you…and cause you to pray the same for every lost person you know and care about.
