John 12:37-41
By Scott Fiddler
The Word
37 But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 40 “He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.” 41 These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.
Exegesis
It’s easy to read verse 37 and be incredulous. How, we wonder, could people have seen the miracles Jesus performed and still not believe? That people could have seen these miracles and not believe seems almost harder to believe than the miracles. But belief is a complicated act, driven by more than just one’s fives senses and mind. There is another factor, a factor so powerful it can trump the five senses and the most rational of minds.
That factor is the heart. All that we perceive and interpret is filtered through it, and all that we say and do proceeds out of it. See Matthew 15:18. Think of the heart like a diaphragm on a sound system speaker. When it is functioning properly it clearly conveys the sound from the sound system. If the diaphragm becomes dented or damaged, the sound is distorted and what is heard from the speaker is not an accurate representation of the sound from the sound system.
The heart is prone to being damaged. Wrongs, offenses, and unforgiveness dent and damage the heart such that what a person “hears” through it is no longer fully trustworthy. That is why there is so much focus on the heart in the Bible. David prayed to the Lord, “Create in me a pure heart.” Psalm 51:10. Solomon advised, “Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23. When Jesus wanted to explain to His disciples why people could react so differently to the same gospel message, He likened the human heart to four types of soil, making the point that the condition of the heart at the time it received the gospel was the deciding factor as to whether someone believed. See Matthew 13:3-9.
Application
So, how’s your heart?
Are you protecting it from the things that pollute it, and are you allowing the Holy Spirit to search it and make sure it is clean?
When you realize your heart has become polluted are you repenting and asking the Lord to cleanse it?