November 30: Isaiah 6:1-5 / John 12:39-41

In life sometimes we don’t see things by no fault of our own. Sometimes we don’t see things because we don’t want to. And being human, sometimes we see things and yet we do not respond or act the way we should.

In John 12 we are told that even though Jesus had performed many miracles people continued to not believe in him. The Gospel writer attributes this to a prophecy of Isaiah long ago.

He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts.

Isaiah, in his calling to be a prophet, was shown things by God that he really didn’t want to see. Isaiah went on to do what God asked of him but in his initial reaction to this revelation he declared,

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.

The Gospel writer John references the prophecy of Isaiah as why people refused to believe in Jesus even after seeing what he was doing. Blinded eyes and hardened hearts.

But that is not in the whole story. We are told in John 12:42:

Yet...many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue. 

There were many who did believe but they were afraid to act upon what they knew in their hearts to be true. They were afraid.

As we enter this Advent season our prayer should be to see clearly and to have an open heart. Despite circumstances that would cause us to be fearful, we should pray to be brave and hopeful. The Messiah is coming.

Pastor Matt Knapp
Sturgeon Bay Moravian