Some People Are Beyond Word And Deed

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Reading: John 12:37-50

Reflection: This passage is kind of telling...and in some ways pretty sad. Jesus tells us that "Even after he had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him." What a sad reality. We have here a large crowd of people (note that the "they" refers back to the crowd in verse 34) who are having trouble accepting Jesus' teaching. It would appear that this teaching was accompanied by miraculous signs that validated both what Jesus said and who Jesus was. However, the people would not believe either in what He said, or the works He performed to validate his personhood and instruction. Thus, it appears that there is little that Jesus can either say or do to create faith within this crowd.

This is the sad reality of our world. There are large groups of people who, regardless of what they see, hear, or even experience, will not place their faith in Christ. I don't know why that is, as there is no way for me to get inside the psyche of every person and diagnose some kind of clear mental block. This brings us back to the reality that it is the Holy Spirit who must both convict of sin and convince of truth. Until the Sacred Wind blows upon each person, bringing them to the place of faith, all we can do is faithfully live out, and speak out, the gospel of Christ. The fact that many do not come to faith may not be a sign of our failure. Rather, it could be a sign of the hardness of their hearts.

As disciples of Christ, our job is to walk faithfully before God and others. We are to love the lost, serve the lost, share the gospel with the lost, pray and sacrifice to reach the lost. However, once this is done we must also entrust them to the hands of God who alone has the power to save. And while many will be beyond reach of both word and deed, there will also be those who hear His voice, see our deeds, and come to faith.