John 12:37-41 “But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, (38) that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" (39) Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: (40) “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them." (41) These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.”
The second witness quoted above, is the prophet Isaiah. In context, the apostle John is explaining to us why it is that even though Jesus had done so many signs in front of the Jews, they still refused to believe in Him. And so, John explains this phenomenon to us by quoting the prophet Isaiah. In this passage, we see very clearly that the reason that unbelievers cannot believe, is because God has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts. Isaiah goes on to give us the reason why God blinds their eyes, for he says that God does that, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that He should save them. In other words, in order to prevent those not chosen for salvation from being saved, God blinds their minds so that they cannot see the truth of the gospel message.
Michael E.B. Maher
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