Based on John 12:37-50 (New King James Version)
“But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 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?’ Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: ‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.’ These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Then Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. 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. 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. 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. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
Contrary to many things in this world, with the Lord, there are no grays or middle grounds. In reality, it’s something quite simple: either it’s all with Him or nothing without Him. It’s so simple that it becomes very difficult (or at least, people make it difficult), because unfortunately, extremes are not accepted. Now then, we are not talking about pursuing details, but rather, understanding fully what is written. You don’t need much depth with a lot of the Scriptures, especially when it is related to the simple fact of either following the Lord or not. Let’s dig a little deeper.
There are believers that focus so much on the details that they lose sight of the main idea, or they make something out of nothing. It’s not necessary to draw lines (per se) or have a very deep understanding to be able to get it. In this passage, the Lord clearly explains the extreme of things, the simple fact of believing in Him, and following Him, no matter what; or not believing in Him and not following Him for whatever reason may exist, and with that, not only is the Lord being rejected, but also God the Father. And hardly anyone likes this extreme. Therefore, nothing has changed since then.
If we go step-by-step, we see that no matter what the Lord would do, there were people that did not “want” to believe in Him. And in this passage, we see God’s worthiness. God is love, but He is consuming fire. He is worthy. In other words, by seeing their disbelief, the simple rebellion that existed in their hearts, God also put on His worthiness. God has a limit. His mercy has a limit that only He knows where it is. So then, we should not misunderstand this passage in the sense that God predetermined them to have a hard heart, but rather, since they rejected Him, He then put forth His worthiness as the God and King He is, and He finished things by hardening their hearts and closing their eyes. If they would not have been rebellious, it would have been a completely different story.
We also see the lukewarm tendency of some, by understanding that they did believe, but preferred to please men rather than confessing God. And before the eyes of God, that is unacceptable, because again, He is a Worthy Being. He cannot have a second a place, because quite simply, the reality is that there is nothing greater than Him. This is what the Bible says regarding being lukewarm: “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: ‘I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.’” Revelation 3:14-16. It also has this to say about confessing Him before men: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33. In these kinds of things, there can simply be no grays or lukewarm. Simply, either you are, or you are not.
Whether you believe it or not, there is a war in progress; the war between good and evil; a war between God and Satan, and there is no middle ground. And this draws a very definite and distinguishable line. The Lord Himself said this: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 10:34-39.
So then, it’s quite simple. Either you accept Jesus as who He is, or you refuse to believe, and so, you deny everything that is related to Him, including the Father, heaven, the Truth, and finally, eternal life. Either you confess and proclaim Jesus Christ before men, no matter what may happen, or you deny Him, and like that, you try to please those that can neither give you eternal life, nor forgiveness of sins, nor anything that is lasting. In the end, it’s either all or nothing. So, is Jesus everything to you, or is He nothing? Lord bless! John