The Irony of Unbelief

At the feast, the people were unbelieving. This despite the fact that Jesus had done so many signs before them (Jn 12:37). The world itself could not contain the books if records had been kept of all that He had done (Jn 21:25). A great light had shone. Its brilliance was stunning. Yet, they stubbornly refused to receive the testimony of His miracles and acknowledge Him as God's Son. The continuous aspect of the verb indicates an ongoing refusal to believe despite the radiance of His light. So Isaiah's prediction had come true (many times over), and these folks persisted in their unbelief. Jerusalem housed the spiritually blind, deaf and dumb. How tragic for them. How insulting to Jesus. How defiant before the Majesty who had thundered from heaven (Jn 12:29).

The plot thickens when John reveals the result of their unbelief, which was more unbelief. He writes, Therefore they could not believe (v. 39). Literally, they were not able to believe. Divine judgment had come in the form of spiritual blindness and hardening (v. 40). Sadly the Jews had no idea their own unbelief signaled both their guilt and (provisional) punishment. If persisted in, their unbelief would incur the full weight of divine fury hereafter. For now, they were storing up wrath through unbelief, incurring the judgment of more unbelief, and increasing their burden as well as adding to their guilt.

I'm reminded of Jesus' words: To the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away (Mt 13:12). Almost certainly those crowds did not recognize unbelief as a form of judgment. Lightning bolts had not struck, the earth had not swallowed, the waters had not transgressed their boundaries. Life seemed good. Little did they know that spiritual thunder bolts had struck stripping them further of any opportunity to receive Christ. Their unbelief was both a sin and punishment.

How often today do people mistake their freedom to sin as proof of heaven's impotence or indifference. Such a mistake is typically made by the spiritually blind, deaf and dumb. Clearly whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (Jn 3:36). As children of wrath, born and bred under the Judge's frown, they simply incur a greater penalty and retain less opportunity by persisting in their unbelief. That is the judgment. May the Lord keep us from stubbornly refusing to receive Christ whose light shines brightly in the pages of Scripture.

New Testament Conjunctions

Someone has said the conjunctions of the New Testament are the most important words in the Greek text. Whether or not this is true, it can be said with certainty that conjunctions are small but powerful words guiding the flow of New Testament thought. We see this, for example, in the discussion between Jesus and the Jews during the Feast of Dedication.

The Lord was walking in the portico of Solomon when the Jews surrounded Him to continue their ongoing interrogation. Their skeptical and unbelieving attitude intruded itself by demanding another self-disclosure from Jesus that He is the Christ. "I told you and my works testify about me," He responded. Then came the crucial statement, "You do not believe because you are not part of my flock" (Jn 10:26). It is a fascinating response with profound theological implications flowing from the conjunction "because."

The reason why the Jews do not believe, He says, is their exclusion from those who are His sheep. One might have expected Him to say their exclusion from His flock is the result of their unbelief. But if that were meant, the conjunction would have been "hoste" (so that) or "hina" (in order that). In this text, the word "hoti" (because) is used. Infinite wisdom and authority employs it to introduce the ground of their unbelief, not its result.

An appreciation for the conjunction and a careful reading of the "hoti clause" is crucial for understanding this text. Jesus is not saying their exclusion from the sheep is the outcome of their unbelief. Rather, He is saying their exclusion from the sheep is the basis for their unbelief. Christ did not say, "You do not believe so that you are not of my sheep." Rather, He said, "You do not believe because you are not of my sheep." Simply put, the Jews refused to believe because they were not elect people. They were not the objects of redemptive love. They had not been chosen by God. That is one of amazing ironies of Scripture! The chosen were not among the chosen.

Of course, this does not lessen their responsibility. The Jews who were interrogating Jesus bore full responsibility for their hard, unbelieving response. It was their sin for which they would have to give an account. But with this statement (and this conjunction) Jesus pulls back the curtain and subtly reveals one of those secret things belonging to God. According to His infinite wisdom, the sovereign God had passed by these fallen men leaving them in their unbelief. Unless they subsequently repented, of which we have no record, they not only lived in skepticism but died and perished in it as well.

So nothing short of sovereign grace and eternal election is implied by the "hoti clause." That little conjunction carries a lot of weight! It is significant that Jesus affirmed the inspiration and authority of "every jot and tittle," or in the words of the ESV, every iota and dot (Mt 5:18). That means every conjunction is inspired and authoritative. The Holy Spirit speaks through the "hoti clause." Careful study of the New Testament Greek in general and New Testament conjunctions in particular is not only rewarding but critical for understanding what the Spirit is saying to the churches.