Series: NOW I SEE (Season 2)
Heart Check-up
June 17, 2018 | Bob Kerrey
Passage: John 12:37-50
Big Idea: Refusing His hand will harden your heart.
John 12:37-50 (ESV)
37 Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38 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?”
39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,
40 “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.”
41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.42 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; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
Jesus Came to Save the World
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
Series Information
Same Series, New Look!
Deadened by the daily grind, drifting in a sea of confusing cultural ideologies, blinded by what we’ve always been taught or been told, we wonder. What is true? What is real? What is the meaning of all this? Why all the suffering and injustice? How can I find fulfillment? How can I make a difference? How can I live without regrets?
Jesus gives signs. The signs point to a new, full life that he offers. But neither Jesus nor the signs nor the new life fit into the tidy religious box of our expectations. And so they are easily misread or distorted or dismissed altogether. They demand openness. And eyes to see. And faith.
The Gospel of John was written to help everyone see the signs--signs that can lead us to a new, full life. Whether you're the most hardened skeptic or the most ardent fan, join us, expecting to think hard and fresh, as we study our way through the Gospel of John. This is for you.
