There were some very sobering points of the message on Sunday, where we learned that some will reject the light of Christ — and even people who saw the glory of God through Jesus still chose to reject Him.
I sat there feeling the weight of that on Sunday, did you? I can’t imagine being in those crowds and seeing those miracles and still not believing, but we were told so many years prior that this would happen through the prophet Isaiah.
In Isaiah’s words, there is something that might trouble believers to read. Let’s work through it together.
He quotes this prophecy in John 12:40:
“He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.”
It is hard to attribute the hardening of hearts to God. After all, isn’t He the same God that desires that no one would perish and all would receive eternal life (2 Peter 3:9)? Yes, He is! But He also deeply knows the human heart. And He is keenly aware of those who will reject Him, despite seeing all the signs. His omniscience does not stop at this point — He is all knowing, and that means He knows when someone will reject His Son.
What makes this so difficult is that Isaiah seems to infer through the language here that God is actively “blinding” and “hardening” - how do we reconcile that with the character of a loving God? How do the two exist together, and not on opposite sides?
I really believe it comes down to His sovereignty. Because He knows it all, we can trust His decision here. Because He is fully aware of the intricacies of the human heart, and especially within the people’s hearts in John 12…He knows what needs to happen.
David points out in the Psalms that only God in His sovereignty can do the searching, only God can know the human heart:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)
It’s important to note that David is inviting this heart search, the Pharisees do not.
Notice at the end of verse 40 in the quote from Isaiah it says, “…and I would heal them.” No matter what type of rejection Christ faced, He was always willing to accept any Pharisee back with open arms. If there was a turning, a healing would happen.
You might be wondering: But Erika, if God was against these people and He was the one hardening their hearts, then these people didn’t even stand a chance — there is no way they could even turn — God was against them!
And I see your point, I have often wondered this myself. As we journeyed through the Old Testament in Women’s LIFE this past year, I felt the same way about Pharaoh. I thought in my heart, “God, if you were against him…how could he even stand a chance?”
But in studying, I realized that Pharaoh had a very slow and long process of hardening his heart…it didn’t happen overnight. He kept saying no, over and over again. Moses and Aaron would appeal to his reason, even his own court would appeal to his logical thinking mind…yet the rejection and stubbornness continued. Eventually we do see verses where God was part of the hardening, but we can’t miss the hardening that was already happening inside of him all along.
A different kind of stubbornness was happening with these people that Jesus was desperately trying to preach and share the good news with. In almost a “last ditch effort”, He once again proclaims that the darkness is coming, but they can choose the light.
Interestingly, their hard hearts come from a completely different place than Pharaoh’s — they are stuck in the throws of pleasing people. They want to be viewed a certain way in the eyes of the Pharisees, they want to stay in the synagogue and hold their status, they want the praise of man to feed the idol in their hearts.
Was God wrong to harden the hearts of these people who continually rejected Christ for the praise of man? I will leave that question up to you. Although, I have to say it is truly remarkable that we serve a God who sees all the ugly parts of us and the ways that we reject Him and says: I will still pursue that human heart.
If we are soft, if we open up, if we begin to see the light…He comes in and brings hope and healing and forgiveness. But if we repeatedly reject and harden and look to the things of this world…darkness will come.
Let’s remember that in our time here on earth, and especially with those who have not yet chosen Christ, there is always hope that they will move toward the light. Keep living faithfully, keep walking through those open doors to share the gospel, keep looking for dark places to bring in the light…God will meet you there and give you a chance to shine.
I sat there feeling the weight of that on Sunday, did you? I can’t imagine being in those crowds and seeing those miracles and still not believing, but we were told so many years prior that this would happen through the prophet Isaiah.
In Isaiah’s words, there is something that might trouble believers to read. Let’s work through it together.
He quotes this prophecy in John 12:40:
“He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.”
It is hard to attribute the hardening of hearts to God. After all, isn’t He the same God that desires that no one would perish and all would receive eternal life (2 Peter 3:9)? Yes, He is! But He also deeply knows the human heart. And He is keenly aware of those who will reject Him, despite seeing all the signs. His omniscience does not stop at this point — He is all knowing, and that means He knows when someone will reject His Son.
What makes this so difficult is that Isaiah seems to infer through the language here that God is actively “blinding” and “hardening” - how do we reconcile that with the character of a loving God? How do the two exist together, and not on opposite sides?
I really believe it comes down to His sovereignty. Because He knows it all, we can trust His decision here. Because He is fully aware of the intricacies of the human heart, and especially within the people’s hearts in John 12…He knows what needs to happen.
David points out in the Psalms that only God in His sovereignty can do the searching, only God can know the human heart:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)
It’s important to note that David is inviting this heart search, the Pharisees do not.
Notice at the end of verse 40 in the quote from Isaiah it says, “…and I would heal them.” No matter what type of rejection Christ faced, He was always willing to accept any Pharisee back with open arms. If there was a turning, a healing would happen.
You might be wondering: But Erika, if God was against these people and He was the one hardening their hearts, then these people didn’t even stand a chance — there is no way they could even turn — God was against them!
And I see your point, I have often wondered this myself. As we journeyed through the Old Testament in Women’s LIFE this past year, I felt the same way about Pharaoh. I thought in my heart, “God, if you were against him…how could he even stand a chance?”
But in studying, I realized that Pharaoh had a very slow and long process of hardening his heart…it didn’t happen overnight. He kept saying no, over and over again. Moses and Aaron would appeal to his reason, even his own court would appeal to his logical thinking mind…yet the rejection and stubbornness continued. Eventually we do see verses where God was part of the hardening, but we can’t miss the hardening that was already happening inside of him all along.
A different kind of stubbornness was happening with these people that Jesus was desperately trying to preach and share the good news with. In almost a “last ditch effort”, He once again proclaims that the darkness is coming, but they can choose the light.
Interestingly, their hard hearts come from a completely different place than Pharaoh’s — they are stuck in the throws of pleasing people. They want to be viewed a certain way in the eyes of the Pharisees, they want to stay in the synagogue and hold their status, they want the praise of man to feed the idol in their hearts.
Was God wrong to harden the hearts of these people who continually rejected Christ for the praise of man? I will leave that question up to you. Although, I have to say it is truly remarkable that we serve a God who sees all the ugly parts of us and the ways that we reject Him and says: I will still pursue that human heart.
If we are soft, if we open up, if we begin to see the light…He comes in and brings hope and healing and forgiveness. But if we repeatedly reject and harden and look to the things of this world…darkness will come.
Let’s remember that in our time here on earth, and especially with those who have not yet chosen Christ, there is always hope that they will move toward the light. Keep living faithfully, keep walking through those open doors to share the gospel, keep looking for dark places to bring in the light…God will meet you there and give you a chance to shine.
Erika Pizzo
Erika is an author of various books on the topics of faith, mental health, and victory in Christ. Erika lives with her husband, daughter, son, and their fluffy poodle in sunny Southern California. Her two favorite things are a visit to the beach and a chai latte in hand.