Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. (John 12:42,43 — New King James Version)
The many miracles of Jesus, combined with the recent miracle of Lazarus rising from the dead and walking out of his own tomb when Jesus called his name caused many ordinary people to believe, and even many of the “rulers”, or religious leaders. Lazarus was a well-know, respected, wealthy man, and many religious leaders were present at his funeral when Jesus arrived and brought him back to life. This show of Jesus’ power was so great that the unbelieving Pharisees decided they would have to kill Jesus and Lazarus to stop the exodus of people from their synagogues.
Jesus had restored the sight of a man born blind, He had healed a man that had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years, and He had healed a woman with a twelve-year hemorrhage, but raising Lazarus from the dead after four days in the tomb was the last straw. Even Jesus’ enemies began to admit that God was at work in Him.
And yet, the rulers that finally gave in an believed were afraid to make their belief public; the Pharisees had made it clear that anyone who believed in Jesus would be banned from the synagogue. This meant that some people would refuse to associate with them, some would not buy from or sell to them, and they risked being rejected by many members of the synagogue and Jewish faith, maybe even their family.
This passage says they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. They were afraid to lose the approval of men, but were not afraid to lose God’s! They believed, but how can this weak type of belief help anyone? As you read this you might even be tempted to make excuses for them, or try to understand their difficult position, and if you are, you would be wrong. We can’t make excuses for being disloyal to the Lord Jesus, and we can’t act as if the world’s approval is everything. It’s not. If we are criticized by the entire world but praised by God, we can count ourselves very blessed. At another time Jesus said, “Whoever disowns me before men, I will disown before my Father in heaven.”
What about us? Are we ashamed of our faith in Jesus? Do we take advantage of opportunities to tell others about Him? …not in a religious or irritating way, but wisely. We cannot give in to the temptation to be ashamed of Jesus. He is the One who undid our curses, forgave our sins, offers us eternal life, and heals our diseases. Anyone who is ashamed of Him has been blinded by the devil. Prostitutes, drug dealers and nightclub owners are not ashamed of what they do, how can we be ashamed of the One who offers the answer to all of life’s problems?
Ask God for the courage to stand up for Him and to love His praise more than the world’s.
Dear Bishop
ReplyDeleteAmen to that and thank you for the message.