"But though he had done so many
miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias
the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our
report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been
revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He
hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see
with their eyes, nor understand
with their heart, and be
converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw his
glory, and spake of him."
(John
12:37-41 KJV)
This is a profound passage of Holy Scripture from Saint John's Gospel. In these verses we see a complete and full picture of the Divinity and Eternity of Jesus Christ. Through the sacred pages of John's Gospel the Holy Ghost emphasizes several miracles Jesus Christ performed throughout His publick ministry. The miracles were performed so we would know that Jesus Christ is the Saviour. And so also, we would know Jesus Christ's Godhood and His love and compassion. These miracles were 'signs' to point us in the direction of redemption and truth in Christ. The miracles were also 'figures' or 'types' which depict spiritual truths Christ desires to teach us. Because of Christ, we can walk in the truth and acknowledge God as both our Creator and Saviour; to realize our utter dependence on Him (to sustain our existence both physical and spiritually) and likewise our utter despondence, hopelessness, emptiness, and darkness without Him.
Christ blinded them and thus
fulfilled this Old Testament prophecy as being the stumblingstone
and rock of offense (Is.
By inspiration of the Holy Spirit John
first quotes Isaiah 53:1 (cf. Rom.
"Make
the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with
their heart, and convert, and be healed." (Isaiah 6:10) Now we see why
the Jews hearts were so hardened to their own Messiah. (And this not only goes
for the Jews but for Gentiles unbelievers as well.) God hardens hearts and closes eyes to the
truth of salvation according to judgment against sin, and according to His own
secret Sovereign will. (cf. Rom 9) Christ Himself also quoted this passage
during His ministry (Matthew
Now, but the grace of our Saviour
Jesus Christ, we this astounding and beautiful truth the Holy Ghost links us to
through these prophetic passages. In
John Ch. 12 we see that Esaias spake this prophecy of the hardened hearts and
closed eyes when the prophet saw the LORD in His glory. (see
John
"…I saw also the Lord sitting upon a
throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the
seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he
covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did
fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth
is full of his glory. And the
posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was
filled with smoke."
(Isaiah
6:1-4 KJV)
The LORD's appearance was so astoundingly holy and awesome that the first thing the prophet Isaiah exclaimed was "…Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." (Isaiah 6:5)
Again this is an Old Testament passage written 700 years before Christ's birth. This is a passage about the LORD: the One Who established a covenant with Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. And lead Israel out of Egypt, and overthrew Pharaoh and His army in the Rea Sea. This is the God of Jacob, the Almighty God of the Old Testament: and St. John reveals us that He is the LORD JESUS CHRIST! Hallelujah! Alleluia! In Jesus Christ's Name I pray, Amen & Amen. The Veil has been lifted and God is revealed! (cf. II Cor. 3:14)
Again, under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, St. John references this Old Testament passage from Isaiah whew he
saw the LORD's glory (cf. John
No one with the
Spirit of Truth dwelling in them, and looking spiritually into this spiritual
text of John 12:37-41 (referring to Isaiah Ch. 53 & Ch. 6): cannot see
honestly and theologically that this verse is speaking of Jesus Christ. You say, ‘Who’s “the Lord” in Isaiah
6:1?’ That question is answered in the
next Chapter, in blood red letters in a 1611 King James Bible in John 13:13
with 13 words (not including the italicized
word) of the Lord Jesus Christ, including a Tetragrammaton “I am.”
Let’s review John 12:41 one more time to pickup on an additional nugget concerning Jesus Christ’s Deity that’s here spoken of: “These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.” (John 12:41) This is the Scripture passage John the Evangelist wrote right after referencing two passages from the Book of Isaiah (Chapters 6 and 53). John had just quoted these two places from Isaiah, now in verse 41 he’s recounting those two quotations: 1) Is. Ch. 6 Esaias (the prophet Isaiah) “saw his glory”, and 2) Is. Ch. 53 Esaias (the prophet Isaiah) “spake of him.” So again, the question is ‘Who’s the antecedent?’ Who is the “him” Isaiah “saw” in Chapter 6 and “spake of” in Chapter 53? Obviously it’s the same person. Therefore it’s no possible way somebody can say Jesus Christ wasn’t in Isaiah Chapter 6, because Isaiah Chapter 53 is clearly greatest prophetic Chapter in the entire Old Testament about the Lord Jesus Christ! Isaiah 53 contains approximately 40 prophecies the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled. Isaiah 53 is quoted 9 times throughout the New Testament Books in direct reference to Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. If you’re trying to prove that John wasn’t referring to Jesus Christ is this passage, you have a huge boulder blocking your path—ISAIAH LIII.
What? You don’t think the Lord Jesus Christ repeated Himself in Matthew 13:14-15? Jesus did repeat Himself, because the first time He said it was when He said it to Esaias in Isaiah 6:9-10.
Also look at verse 42 (John