John 12:37–43
The Bible4Jesus.com Podcast
About this episode
We come now to a passage that is a hard stop for the modern mind. It is a theological and philosophical stumbling block, intentionally placed there by the Holy Spirit. Our generation, steeped as it is in the syrup of sentimentalism, wants a God who is a celestial butler, always on call, eager to please, and never, ever offensive. We want a democratic deity who must win our vote. But the God of Scripture is not running for office. John, under the inspiration of the Spirit, has just concluded his account of Jesus' public ministry. He has marshaled witness after witness, sign after sign. Water to wine, healing the nobleman's son, restoring the paralytic, feeding the five thousand, walking on water, giving sight to the blind man, and culminating in the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. The modern evangelical instinct is to start making excuses for God, to try and get Him off the hook.