Ever “get” something. I mean the kind of “get” when we suddenly understand a concept or have a clearer insight into a problem—that “aha” moment often pictured as a lightbulb suddenly glowing brightly. Teachers live for those moments when the clouds of confusion are swept away with the light of understanding. Well, the crowd Jesus has been conversing with in John 12 didn’t “get it.” Their confusion remained, which compelled John to give his readers some insight when he wrote his gospel.
John explains, “But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him. 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.” Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah’s glory. Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.” (John 12:37–43, NLT)
John is quoting and referencing Isaiah 6:1-10. God had called Isaiah to carry a message. Isaiah responded with, “Here I am, send me!” But the message wasn’t a joyful one filled with hope, promise, or blessing. Both the passages from John and Isaiah generate one gigantic question – Why would God blind their eyes and harden their hearts? That seems unlike God and unlike what we read about Jesus in the Gospels. Why don’t people “get” it? Especially when the evidence is right there before their eyes.
John doesn’t leave his readers in the dark. He answers why God seems to blind the eyes of some to the truth of the Gospel. And the answer is this – it isn’t so much that God is blinding them, but their own desires are dimming their perception. Why? Because “they love human praise more than the praise of God.”
Who do we look to for acceptance, approval, and glory? The answer to that question is often hard to accept. We all look for the acceptance and approval of others far more than we should. I’m guilty of that; I think we all are in some way. We come by it naturally; much of our childhood learning is based on the approval of others in our life. Just think back on all of those “look, mom” moments. We wanted to do something and hear her praise.
We then transfer that same desire for approval to our peer group, our friends, our workmates, and our employers. But, as followers of Jesus, we need to transfer that desire to God. But, it’s not one or the other. It is, instead, more about levels of priority. John used the modifier “more than.” We should seek the praise of God more than the praise from the others in our life. That little shift in priority affects all of our other priorities.
But, to get back to where we started, that shift in desires removes the fog of confusion and lights our path with understanding. We often think God isn’t moving or acting; the reality is that we may simply be blind to it because we’re looking for praise, acceptance, and approval in the wrong places. And that is today’s invitation, to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal where we are still looking for the praise of others instead of praise from God and praise to God.
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