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.

Hurricanes

The recent hurricanes in New Orleans and Texas have been described as “natural disasters.” Implying the destructive activity of some impersonal force, this explanation contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture. It ascribes to these tempests meaning and purpose arising from the infinite wisdom and power of a personal God. “They saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. For He commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea” (Ps 107:24f). As a king directs his army so the Lord raises and commands all the forces of nature. With only a word He wisely orders both winds and waves to mount up and accomplish His sacred aim. “I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things” (Is 45:7).

This of course leads one to ask, “Why did He do it?” Ultimately it is the outworking of His good pleasure. He was pleased so to do. More specifically, according to Elihu, He causes it to happen “for correction or for his land or for love” (Job 37:13). That is, the recent hurricanes were sent for either punishment, mercy, or geographical improvement – or some combination thereof. The U.S.A. has enjoyed generations of God’s mercy, yet today more than ever its moral compass is out of kilter and its sense of gratitude is fast eroding. As a people it seems we have refused to listen, hated knowledge, and forsaken the fear of the Lord. Thus terror has struck “like a storm” and calamity has come “like a whirlwind” (Prv 1:27). This is a critical time. Let us not miss what these disasters are designed to teach. Indeed, as Jesus Himself so solemnly said, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Lk 13:5).

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