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By Van Sprague

Does God make some people unable to obey Him? What does this quote from John 12:39-40 mean?

“Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:

‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,

Lest they should see with their eyes,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.’” (Unless otherwise stated: Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Used by permission. All rights reserved.)

“He” in the passage is God. When we read through this passage the first time, it may appear as though there are people God makes unable to believe by making it impossible for them to hear and understand what He wants. Looking at other Scriptures, including more references to the same verse, we can see that this simply expresses a part of God’s plan to allow us the freedom to make our own choices.

We speak similarly. Have you ever said something like, “I made them angry when I told them they were wrong?” The truth is, you cannot make someone angry. They choose to become angry because of what you did. Even so, we often talk about how someone responds as being directed by their situation rather than their decision. We don’t mean we forced them to do something, but that as a result of what we did, they reacted a certain way.

The Lord has chosen to communicate His will to us in such a way that we can choose to accept or reject it. While He used a variety of methods through the ages, now He has shown us all we need to know through His Son, through the New Testament (Hebrews 1:1-3; John 14:25-26; Acts 1:4-8; 1 Corinthians 2:12-13). Preaching the Message of the New Testament is preaching the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). It is through such instruction that God is pleased to save those who believe (1:Corinthians 1:21).

On the other hand, if someone chooses not to believe, it is not because of the message, but because of them. The gospel does not change. Though, to those who reject the message, the gospel is foolish, a stumbling block, and the stench of death (1:Cor 1:23; 2 Cor 2:16). Our Father designed His teaching to be just right so that someone can take it or leave it. Second Thessalonians 2:10-11 explains the principle that if someone does not have a love for the truth, the Lord will send them strong delusions so that they will believe a lie. Romans 1:24 illustrates a time when God gave people up so that they could live the way they wanted.

When He was asked why He taught in parables, Jesus explained “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given” (Matt 13:11). The ones to whom it was not given were not being kept away by God, but by their own choices. Jesus went on to quote Isaiah 6:9-10 again, with an important detail added from the Greek Old Testament. He said, “Their eyes they have closed…” (Mat 13:15). At the heart of it, the people who chose not to believe what Jesus was teaching closed their own eyes in response to His message. They did not desire it. They would not listen to it. That is why they could not understand it.

The difference wasn’t the message. It was the desire. He concluded that section saying, “But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (Mat 13:16-17).

The offer stands. The message is the same. It is right there in your New Testament. Will you ask, seek, and knock to find it? If so, you will be answered (Mat 7:7-8). It is up to you to take it or leave it.

Van Sprague is an evangelist at the Church of Christ at Houston Park. He has a wife and three children. Come Visit! Sunday morning Bible class is at 9, with worship at 10 am and 5 pm. Wednesday night Bible class is at 6.