Why the Jews Did Not Believe
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton
Text: John 12:27-43
I. It is a curious thing, the Son of God lived among men (John 1:14) yet He was rejected
A. John 1:9-11 - Even among those who were expecting Him, those who had claimed to be God’s children, did not accept him.
B. How can this be?
II. Because they were not God’s - John 10:26
A. Oh, they laid claim on God, but they had not turned themselves over to God
B. I Peter 2:6-8 - They stumbled over Jesus because they first were not obedient to God
C. The idea of belief and obedience is tightly interwoven. You cannot have one without the other - Hebrews 3:12-19; 4:1-2, 6, 11
1. Ever heard a person claim to be a faithful Christian, but noticed that their life says otherwise.
a. They don’t attend services regularly
b. They do things that a Christian ought to know are wrong
2. Without surrendering your will to the will of God, there is no trust – no belief.
D. And so they put sin ahead of God - John 3:18-21
E. God’s word did not reside in their hearts - John 5:37-40
III. Because they were stubborn - Acts 28:24
A. They thought they had it all figured out - Isaiah 65:1-7
1. They were righteous in their own sight - Romans 10:1-4
2. They were selfishly ambitious - Romans 2:8
B. Psalm 81:11-16 - They stubbornly walked their own path
C. They harden themselves like stone - Zechariah 7:9-12
D. Even seeing sinners change did not soften them - Matthew 21:28-32
IV. Because they refused to understand - Isaiah 44:18-20
A. They were looking for signs - I Corinthians 1:21-24
B. Those signs were done in their presence - John 20:30-31
C. But they closed their eyes to them - John 12:38-40
D. They did not recognize what they had - Acts 13:27
E. Wisdom came among men and men refused to see it - Proverbs 1:20-25
F. Lest you think that Israel has a monopoly on blindness - II Thessalonians 2:11-12
V. Because God wasn’t doing things their way - Luke 7:29-30
A. They thought to force Jesus to be their king - John 6:14-15
B. When Jesus showed their ignorance, they left - John 6:26-27, 66
C. In another area, the Jews held a strong animosity for Gentiles, so when God showed His offer of salvation to the Gentiles, many Jews rejected the message - Romans 10:16-21
1. Example: Acts 13:43-50
2. Example: Acts 17:2-5
D. Jesus was not what they were expecting and so he was dismissed
VI. Because they were afraid of their peers - John 12:42-43
A. Yet faith might leave others behind - Hebrews 11:7
B. Cannot put family or friends first - Luke 14:26
VII. It continues today
A. People will not believe the gospel message because they have no desire to submit to God’s will.
B. People are confident they are righteous without ever checking God’s word and woe to anyone who would dare upset their boat.
C. People refuse to even look at the word of God. They don’t want to be bothered with facts.
D. People have their own ideas about what makes a good church – fellowship halls, daycare centers, kids clubs, social programs.
E. Irrate when proven wrong. I regularly get irrate mail concerning articles on our website. Funny thing is, looking at the articles is their choice. Yet they are upset that thoughts contradicting their own exists.
F. They will not listen to anything that indicates their family might be wrong or even that they might have been mistaken in the past.
G. What about you today?
