This sermon was delivered on Easter Sunday and the Sunday following, and is the second in a two-part series dealing with Jesus as Master or Mascot. In the last sermon we saw how each vignette/picture in John 12:1-19 asks the question, “How much does it cost us to worship Jesus on his terms?” If “nothing” or “not much,” then is it possible that we are attempting to warp Jesus into being our “mascot” instead of worshipping him as our “master?” In 12:20-36 we saw that to worship Jesus on his terms, we must live the “cruciformed” life. This consists of dying to self daily in our personal lives and in being a son of deliverance for people in the world. Both prongs of the cruciformed life ask us to sacrifice our all for Jesus.
Now we come to the part in John 12 that makes God look like a sadistic, sick, puppet master … at least from a quick reading of John 12:36-43. However, as with most things in Scripture, a closer look is warrented.
John 12:36-43:
When Jesus has said these things, he departed and his himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“Lord, who has believed what he heard
from us,
and to whom has the arm of the
Lord been revealed?”
Therefore they could not believe. For again
Isaiah said,
“He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
and understand with their heart, and
turn
and I would heal them.”
Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God (ESV).
A cursory reading of this passage makes God look like a sick, sadistic puppet master. He demands his people believe in Jesus for the ultimate salvation promised in the Old Testament, but he prevents them from being able to turn and believe.
To get a better understanding of our passage here, we’ll need to delve into Isaiah and a bit further in Israel’s history. Before we journey with Isaiah, however, we must understand how John is using the Old Testament. When he quotes from Isaiah, he’s not simply latching onto those 2 or 3 verses. Rather in tugging on those 2 or 3 verses, he’s pulling from the context surrounding those 2 or 3 verses. We’ll deal with each citation separately and then form a composite picture of the message John is communicating, using Isaiah.
So let’s begin with our first Isaiah quote:
“Lord, who has believed what he heard
from us,
and to whom has the arm of the
Lord been revealed?”
This quote comes from Isaiah 53:1, and it is verbatim. Let’s see the context on which this verse is tugging.
Isaiah 52:13-53:12:
Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
As many were astonished at you–
his appearance was so marred,
beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the
children of mankind–
so he shall sprinkle (startle) many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because
of him;
for that which has not been told them
they see,
and that which they have not heard
they understand.
Who has believed what he has
heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the
LORD been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young
plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we
should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire
him.
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their
faces
he was despised, and we esteemed
him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
but he was wounded for our
transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that
brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned–every one–to his
own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its
shearers is silent,
so he opened no his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was
taken away;
and as for his generation, who
considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the
living,
stricken for the transgression of my
people?
and they made his grave with the
wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush
him;
he has put him to grief;
when his sould makes an offering for
guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall
prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his
hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall
see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous
one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion
with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the
strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the
transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the
transgressors (ESV; underlining mine).
We can certainly see that the underlined verse in this lengthy passage is John’s first pulled quote. We can also see that by itself it makes no sense. Well, let’s walk through the passage, attempting to make sense of it. This passage as a whole is about the “servant of the Lord.” This nebulous person is featured throughout Isaiah. In this passage his ministry to Israel on behalf of the Lord is a ministry of suffering. This servant will reach out to Israel, calling them to depart from idols and return to the living Lord. Israel will persecute him, but he will reach out all the more passionately. 52:13-53:1 reveal how disturbing this ministry is … shocking even. “…so he shall startle many nations.”
This method of reaching out is strange: “Who has believed what he has heard from us?” The question, “And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” reveals a complexity developing here. This suffering servant is commissioned and sent out by the Lord; yet is unsuccessful. In fact this suffering servant is beaten, oppressed, and mutilated. “… to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?”
The Lord’s “arm” is revealed to all involved. The Lord’s arm … or strength … is revealed in crushing his anointed servant (53:10). Yet his arm is revealed when this servant “divide(s) the spoil with the strong” (53:12). His arm is revealed when the “we” of this passage are healed by the stripes of this servant (53:5). His arm is revealed when “many” are “accounted righteous” (53:11). The arm of the Lord will be stayed from action against the transgressors (53:12). All will see and feel the arm of the Lord. The arm that lowers this servant is the same arm that raises up the many in righteousness because of the suffering of the servant … along with the servant himself.
As stated above we can see this servant throughout Isaiah, as well as a pattern. In short this suffering servant’s mission is to persistently reach out to all of Israel, despite being violently rejected. This interplay would attract a community of people … a remnant … to the suffering servant. This community of the suffering servant would reach out redemptively to the whole of Israel, offering God’s redemption. They would suffer the same torture as the servant, but would nonetheless persevere in redemptively reaching out. Eventually the whole of Israel would be redeemed and in turn take up the ministry of the suffering servant to all the nations. This is the movement or the flow of the whole of Isaiah.
We can see that chapter 52:1-12 and chapter 54 promise strong protection, provision, honor, and glory for redeemed and true Israel. Consider simply the following several verses:
For you shall not go out in haste,
and you shall not go in flight,
for the LORD will go before you,
and the God of Israel will be
your rear guard (52:12; ESV).
If anyone stirs up strife,
it is not from me;
whoever stirs up strife with you
shall fall because of you.
Behold, I have created the smith
who blows the fire of coals
and produces a weapon for its
its purpose.
I have also created the ravager to destroy;
no weapon that is fashioned against
you shall succeed,
and you shall confute every tongue
that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of
the LORD
and their vindication from me,
declares the LORD (54:15-17; ESV)
Consider this mood sandwiches the ministry of the suffering servant. On the one hand God promises protection, provision, even honor and glory to his own. Yet, he sends his own to the wolves as sheep.
Again the question Isaiah asks and John captures is: “Who has believed what he has heard from us?” All of this seems so awkwardly-backwards and upside down … at best paradoxical.
Many of us will no doubt say this strangely resembles the suffering of Jesus. In fact John says that Isaiah “saw his glory and spoke of him” (Isaiah 12:41; ESV). Yet, I would caution us to not make that leap too quickly. Let’s read the Old Testament on its on terms before attempting to play a “Where’s Waldo” game with finding Jesus in a prophetic haystack. Reading and understanding the Old Testament on its on terms will instead enrich our understanding of the New. Seeing this vision God had for reaching his people as seen through Isaiah’s prophetic eyes renders Jesus’s call in John 12:20-36 more grounded. In essence Jesus is calling to himself a community of people who will attach themselves to him to become the community of the suffering servant on redemptive mission to the world. He says this community would take up the “cruciformed” life.
Thus, what we may be seeing in John, based on this quotation (Isaiah 53:1 plus context) is not so much an acknowledgement of a near Islamic-like divine sovereignty at work. Rather what we are seeing is God using his sovereignty to deal redemptively with people of free will. This becomes clearer with the next quotation in its Isaiah-context:
He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
and understand with their heart, and
turn,
and I would heal them (John 12:40; ESV).
John is quoting from Isaiah 6.
Isaiah 6:
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, hight and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”
Then I said, “Here am I! Send me” (6:1-8; ESV).
Obviously this is not the part of chapter 6 from which John quotes. Yet, it sets the stage. Isaiah had a powerful experience with God and received a special call to go out. This is a popular missions sermon text. Isaiah has been redeemed and is now sent out on mission of redemption. His mission-message is as follows:
Isaiah 6:9-10:
And he said, “Go, and say to this people:
‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
Make the heart of this people dull,
and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed” (ESV).
This was his mission. This was from where John quoted. Commentator after commentator; speaker after speaker; preacher after preacher; teacher after teacher have interpreted this to mean that Isaiah was going to have an extremely difficult time … but he was sent to preach to them anyway. I take issue with this, precisely because of the group of verses following this passage as a whole.
Isaiah 6:11-13:
Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is a desolate waste,
and the LORD removes people far away,
and the forsaken places are many in
the midst of the land.
And though a tenth remain in it,
it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak,
whose stump remains
when it is felled.”
The holy seed is its stump (ESV; underlining mine).
The Lord tells Isaiah his people will not turn, and seems to be prohibiting them to do so. Isaiah’s empassioned response is: “How long, O Lord???????” The Lord responds “until they have reached their bottom.” How often is it that we continue to prop up bad or destructive behavior through our well-intentioned support? As substance-abuse counselors teach, being “nice” to an alcoholic is deadly for him in the long-run.
You might say: well, William, the passage seems to suggest that God is looking to start over with a holy remant of descendents of the recalcitrant, wicked people of God. Yet, let us remember a couple of things.
- Why is God sending out “missionary” activity to his people if he “knows” it is futile?
- This passage is in the flow/movement of Isaiah’s larger work, wherein he and God are pleading with the people to turn. Clearly there is the expectation that some will.
Let us turn to Isaiah 12, which is regarded by some as the direction of the whole of Isaiah.
Isaiah 12:
You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O LORD,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
“Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the LORD GOD is my strength and
my song,
and he has become my salvation.”
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day:
“Give thanks to the LORD,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the
peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.
Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done
gloriously;
let this be made known in all the
earth.
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of
Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy
One of Israel” (ESV).
God’s heart is always for his people to be for him and his ways. Yet, he is Father … not pocket-mascot. As Rabbi Dr. Abraham Heschel reminds us:
Our embarrassment in reading the harsh expressions of divine wrath is also due to the general disposition of modern man. We have no sense for spiritual grandeur. Spiritual to us means ethereal, calm, moderate, slight, imperceptible. We respond to beauty; grandeur is unbearable. We are moved by a soft religiosity, and would like to think that God is lovely, tender, and familiar, as if faith were a source of comfort, but not readiness for martyrdom.
To our mind the terrible threats of castigation bespeak a lack of moderation. Is it not because we are only dimly away are the full gravity of human failure, of the sufferings inflicted by those who revile God’s demand for justice? There is a cruelty which pardons, just as there is a pity which punishes. Severity must tame whom love cannot win (from The Prophets, Vol 2, p. 77).
In short God is using his sovereignty to work with recalcitrant people of free will. His mission in Isaiah is never sadistic but salvific. His mission is transformation not merely torture.
He is using the ministry of the suffering servant to draw a community to take up the missional way of life of the suffering servant. This community of the suffering servant would work to draw Israel way from idolatry to true worship of the true and living God … in the face of deep persecution. In time Israel would turn and be transformed and in turn take up the ministry of the suffering servant in the world for the nations of the world. After all this is in keeping with the “marriage vows” Israel took when he married God at Mt. Sinai.
Exodus 19:1-3:
On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God.
The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel” (ESV).
In this passage Israel has just been delivered by God from Egyptian slavery. This passage does not stop with the idea of bringing Israel to God. Rather it continues through to this notion of keeping covenant with God and becoming a kingdom of priests. If the whole nation is one gigantic priesthood, then to whom are they called to minister? Consider the phrase: “for all the earth is mine.” While that certainly emphasizes the exclusivity of Israel, it also emphasizes that direction of Israel’s “salvation.” They were not saved for themselves. Rather they were saved for God and for the nations. This is the directional movement of Isaiah, wherein the goal is to transform Israel into that for which God saved him.
Returning to John 12 this fits in perfectly with the directional flow of John’s pointed question to all would-be disciples of Jesus: How much does it cost you to authentically worship Jesus? Jesus is taking up the ministry of the suffering servant (12:24) and is calling his would-be disciples to do the same (12:25, 26). They are called to be the community of Jesus … the community of the suffering servant. This is not a one-time event … only … but indeed an all-consuming way of life. They … we … are not saved for themselves/ourselves. Rather they were … we are … saved for Jesus and for the world (12:25-26 & 35-36).
The overarching picture of John 12 is comparing the manipulative will of man with the loving-sovereignty of God. John 12:1-19 features the nasty manipulative will of man. John 12:36-43 features the loving sovereignty of God. John 12:20-36 features our Savior who mediates between the two redemptively. We are called to be where Jesus is. Easter makes this possible.
