The Bible Study Podcast, episode 338. Today, the Bible Study podcast continues the study of John with chapters 12 and 13.

Welcome to the Bible Study podcast. I'm your host, Chris Christensen. We've been studying the gospel of

John, and we're wrapping up. We're in Holy Week post-Palm Sunday and pre-Good Friday here as we

start in chapter 12 at verse 37. You may remember that before we got to this point, two episodes ago,

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. And then we saw last week

some of the reaction to people for Lazarus being raised from the dead, people believing in

Jesus. John tells us that a lot of the reaction that Jesus got at Palm Sunday was related

to that miracle. And the Jewish leaders at this point are also trying to kill Lazarus because he stands

there with his life as a symbol of Jesus ministry and is what Jesus can do in opposition

to the religious leaders who are trying to quiet things down and get things to just stay the

way they are.

Well, this week we're going to look first at belief and unbelief among the Jews, their reaction to Jesus. Even after Jesus had

performed so many signs in their presence, they still did not believe in him. This was to fulfill

the word of Isaiah the prophet, Lord who has believed our message, and to whom has the

arm of the Lord been revealed. For this reason, they could not believe, because as Isaiah says elsewhere,

he has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes

nor understand with their hearts, nor turn, and I would heal them.

Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus glory and spoke about him. Yet at the same time, many

even among the leaders believed in him, but because of the Pharisees, they would not openly

acknowledge their faith for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue,

for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

Then Jesus cried out,

...