Fear and Faith

At first glance, it appears that God is the one causing the problem in John 12:38-43 because “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts.” However, it was the nature of the Pharisees that predisposed them to be blinded. They did not have their focus on God, but on themselves to begin with. In essence, they had already become blind to the things of God.

Notice that even those leaders who did recognize Jesus would not “openly acknowledge” their faith in Him because they were afraid of being kicked out of the synagogue. Fear is the enemy of faith. They were more concerned about human opinion (glory) than God’s opinion (glory).

What about you? Where is your focus? Whose opinion is the most important to you? Ask God to open your eyes to Him and to the truth. He loves to answer that prayer!

Beth Warlick, 6/18/2008