The Inability of Unbelief

Every year for the past 25 years, an organization known as Open Doors USA has released what they call the “World Watch List.” This is an organization that aims to support and equip persecuted Christians. And the World Watch List gives the top 50 countries where, according to their research, it’s the most difficult to be a Christian.

Number 5 on their list for 2019 is Pakistan where Islam is the state religion and there are laws against the blasphemy of Allah. In the most severe cases, violation of that law can come with the death sentence, but even if one’s faith doesn’t lead to death, life isn’t easy. Open Doors reports that the occupations that are the lowest, the dirtiest, and the most derogatory, those are officially reserved for Christians.

Fourth on the list is Libya, just west of Egypt. Various militant Islamic groups have control in parts of the nation, and so Libyan Christians face a threat of abuse and violence. The norm there for any converted Muslim is intense pressure from the family to renounce the Christian faith.

Number 3 on the list is Somalia, on the horn of Africa, just southwest of Ethiopia. One estimate says that 99% of Somalis are Muslims. The persecution of Christians there almost always includes violence. Muslims who convert to Christianity are “high-value targets—often killed on the spot when discovered.”

Second on the list is Afghanistan. Some of you might remember the missionary we heard from a while back on a Sunday night. By law, no other faith is permitted in the country, other than Islam. Converting to Christianity there is seen either as an act of treason or an act of insanity. If not killed, Christians can end in psychiatric hospitals, with their homes being destroyed. On top of that, the Taliban claims control of at least half of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.

Number 1 on the list has been at the top position of the World Watch List for the past 18 consecutive years. That is North Korea. There, Christians are seen as enemies of society that need to be done away with. Some reports says that the local authorities are increasing their incentives for anyone who exposes a Christian. Those who are exposed can be deported to labor camps or just killed on the spot. And the punishment can be extended to four generations of their family.

Open Doors estimates that the number of Christians in North Korea is just over 1% of the population. That comes out to just over 300,000 believers whose only option for corporate worship is to hold secret meetings.

How in the world do Christian churches survive in that kind of setting? How is it that they are not eradicated? How do new people even come to faith in that kind of setting?

Well, if you’ve been tracking along with us in John’s gospel up to this point, I think you should be equipped to answer that question. The Spirit of God has not just been telling us the story of Jesus, He’s also been teaching us about the nature of genuine faith, the nature of true believers.

Ultimately, nobody comes to Jesus simply because they think it’s a good idea, or because the conditions are right for that decision. People surrender their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ because, as John 3 tells us, they have been born again by the Spirit. They have been born from above. John 1:13 says they are born not of blood, nor by the will of the flesh, nor of will of man, but of God. God brings it about. And as a result, no matter what the external opposition is like, they come to the Light.

Now, in contrast to a genuine believer, the unconverted person will not come to the Light. He hates the Light. He runs from the Light. He does not want to be exposed.

That is the contrast that the gospel of John keeps highlighting for us. God is contrasting the heart of faith with the heart of unbelief. And in the passage we’re looking at this morning, what we get is one more exposure to the unbelieving heart.

On the one hand, we are seeing the story of Jesus, and how it is that He ends up dying on a cross. But along with that, we’re also learning about the nature of unbelief. And I will tell you, the more you understand how unbelievers operate, the more faithfully you will be able to fulfill God’s calling on your life. This is useful stuff to know for every Christian to understand. Today, we get some lessons about unbelievers.

Our first lesson about unbelief comes in the opening verses. Remember, this is right after Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, and the people free him from the grave clothes. Look at what it says. Verses 45 and 46.

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, ⁴⁶but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

 The first lesson we get is this: Unbelievers cannot be converted by signs alone. Unbelievers cannot be converted by signs alone.

Remember, the first 11 chapters of John’s gospel are all focused on the signs of Jesus, His miracles, His works of power. And John’s hope, and the heart of God is that people would know these signs and come to saving faith. That is actually what is behind the healing of Lazarus.

Just think back to the beginning of the story, when Jesus finds out about His friend’s sickness. In verse 4, He says: “This is for the glory of God. This is to glorify the Son of God.”

And then later, in verse 15, He tells His disciples that Lazarus died, and He adds: “For your sake, I am glad that I was not there [to heal Lazarus], so that you may believe.”

In verse 26, He asks Martha the question, “Do you believe? Do you believe?” All of this is aimed at faith, at believing.

In verse 40, Jesus tells Martha, “If you believe, you will see the glory of God.” And then in verse 42 we find that Jesus has been praying to the Father, not just for Lazarus but for the crowd as well, praying that they may believe that the Father sent Him.

Well, that prayer was answered in the lives of some who were there that day. They got a front-row seat to Christ’s glory and they believed.

But, that didn’t happen for everyone. Verse 46 sets up the contrast. Some believed, but some ran off to tell the Pharisees. This wasn’t an effort to evangelize them. This is a group who has no desire to stay with Jesus. Instead, the run off to rejoin themselves to the group who hates Jesus most—the Pharisees.

The Pharisees were the religious elite. They knew the Law, and they interpreted the Law, and they enforced the Law. Most of them were just regular blue-collar guys, but they were elevated in the sight of the people for their knowledge and religious status.

Why would they run off to the Pharisees? I think because that’s all they knew to do. They didn’t believe in Jesus before the miracle, and they didn’t believe in Jesus after the miracle. And so, all they can do in response is run off to be with their crowd.

I think it was Spurgeon who said: “The same sun which melts wax hardens clay. And the same Gospel which melts some persons to repentance hardens others in their sin.” Well, that’s really the case with Jesus’ miracles as well.

Some people come to faith. But a miracle, in itself, is never enough to bring someone to faith. Unbelievers cannot be converted simply by signs alone. Signs and miracles can never guarantee faith.

Now, wouldn’t you think that if you were there and you saw Jesus raise a dead man, you’d have some response of worship? Wouldn’t the average person see that as an indication that Jesus is more than a regular man? Well, if you understand unbelief, you’ll know that the answer is “no.” The average man will not respond that way.

And we can say that because of what we’re told in 2 Corinthians 4. The gospel is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Did the unbelieving crowd see the miracle. Of course they did! But did they see the glory of Jesus Christ? No, they didn’t. They’re blinded by Satan, and no demonstration of power, no matter how impressive, can overcome it.

Jesus had actually said this to His disciples already. Earlier in His ministry, this is recorded in Luke chapter 16, Jesus tells the story of a poor man, also named Lazarus, and a very wealthy, sinful man. Both of them died, and Lazarus goes to be with God’s people, and the rich man goes to the torment of hell.

Well, the rich man, begs Abraham to have someone from the afterlife go visit his five brothers, who are still alive, in order to warn them. He wants an Ebenezer Scrooge Christmas Carol visit. And Abraham says: “No. They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them hear them.” In other words, “They can read their Bibles, that’s enough.”

And the rich man pleads again: “No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!” And this is Abraham’s response. This is how Jesus ends the story. “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinces if someone should rise from the dead.”

If you won’t respond to the word of God, to the truth of God, no act of power is going to persuade you.

That’s exactly what is happening to the crowd here. A dead man has risen from the dead, and it’s not enough to convince them of who Jesus really is, and to bring them to repentance. Unbelievers cannot be converted by signs alone.

Well then, how does it happen? Jesus told us that too. It happens by the Spirit of God. Jesus said: “With man, it’s impossible. But with God all things are possible.”

How does that help us? Well for one, it prepares us for unbelievers who reject. It prepares us for rejection. We shouldn’t be surprised when people reject. That’s sinful human nature.

We can grieve and weep with compassion, like Jesus did, but we shouldn’t be surprised, and we shouldn’t despair or get frustrated.

You can show someone the power of an undeniably transformed life, you can share your own testimony, or you can use sound logical arguments. And they don’t even have an answer for it. But it will never be enough. Don’t be surprised by unbelief.

A second application of this truth about unbelief is it frees us from self-reliance. It frees us from self-reliance, and it frees us from gimmicks.

Sometimes, there’s this fear that if you don’t do something just right, you might ruin the chance of someone coming to faith. You know, if my clothing doesn’t look nice enough, or if I don’t have an extraordinary family or an impressive car, then people won’t take the gospel seriously.

Folks, that’s just not true. You can do everything perfectly faithful to God, and people still won’t come to faith. And I can say that because that’s exactly what Jesus did. He did everything perfectly, and people didn’t come.

I think like this sometimes. If I could just do something spectacular, or if someone were to be miraculously healed, then someone will come to faith. Maybe if God gave me some kind of miracle, I could use that to bring people to Jesus. But that’s not necessarily true.

Jesus raised a man from the dead! And the people saw it! But there were still some who didn’t believe! So don’t think that someone else’s conversion rests solely on you. It doesn’t.

So, who does it depend on? We already said the answer to that. God does it. And that’s a final application of the truth we’re talking about.

Knowing that unbelievers cannot be converted by something I can do on my own, leads me to dependence and prayer. The truth about Satan blinding unbelievers leads us to dependence and to prayer.

We want to be faithful in our lives. We want to be clear in our presentation of the truth, but beyond all that we want to be dependent on God in prayer.

And I’ll tell you, that’s the hardest one for me. And I think a big part of that is because my sinful flesh likes to be exalted. It wants the credit. It wants the attention of others. And praying for salvation and depending on God is a recognition that I don’t get the credit. God does. God gets the glory. He’s the only one who can overcome the power of sin and Satan in a person’s life.

As the story progresses, and the Pharisees find out about what Jesus did, we get a second lesson about the nature of unbelief. Let’s see what happens in verses 47 and 48.

So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. ⁴⁸If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”

Here’s lesson number two: Unbelievers cannot see beyond their self-preservation. Unbelievers cannot see beyond their self-preservation

Once the Pharisees heard about what Jesus had done, they called for a meeting. Verse 47 says they gathered the council. The official term for the Jewishcouncil of Jerusalem is the Sanhedrin. We’re not completely sure if this was an official meeting or not, but either way, it’s a focused meeting with a focused question: “What are we to do about Jesus?”

They recognize that whatever they have been doing to get Jesus out of the picture hasn’t been working well enough, and they need to decide what their next step is.

What’s their main concern? What is the danger that Jesus poses to them? Well, John tells us in verse 48. If Jesus continues to convince people that He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior of Israel, He will gain a larger following. And if He gains a larger following, then the Romans are going to hear about it.

Keep in mind, Israel, at this time, didn’t operate as an independent nation. They were under the rule of the Roman Empire. And one of Rome’s primary goals was to keep everybody in subjection to the Roman government, to Caesar himself. At this time, Caesar is a man we know as Tiberius. And in order to help keep the peace, the Romans would place people in positions of leadership who would promote the same agenda.

The governor over the norther region of Israel was a man named Herod Antipas. He was known as the Tetrarch of Galilee. And the local ruler in the southern portion of Israel, who was known as the Prefect of Judea, was a man named Pontius Pilate. And Pilate’s goal, in order to keep his job, and probably even his life, was to keep peace in the land. Don’t allow any uprisings.

One of the ways the Romans tried to maintain peace was to control who took the position of High Priest. The Old Testament says that the office of High Priest was for life, but the Romans made sure it changed a lot more often. The High Priest at this time was a man named Caiaphas. We’ll get to him in just a little bit.

Well, as you can imagine, the Jews, for the most part, detested the Roman oppression. And in many of their minds, the Messiah was going to bring an immediate political liberation. He was going to throw off the oppression of the ruling empire and make Israel a glorious and free nation. And this Messiah would be the new King. Well, if enough Jewish people made a big deal about a supposed Messiah, then the Romans would come in and try to wipe everybody out. That’s how they handled uprisings.

And that’s what the Sanhedrin is talking about at the end of verse 48. “The Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” I think “our place” is primarily a reference to the Temple, which is on the mount in Jerusalem. And then, by extension, it could also refer to the authority that the Sanhedrin held over the people. Things can’t continue like this if enough people start following a Messiah figure.

So, what the unbelieving Jewish leaders care most about here is self-preservation. They don’t want to change the way things are or the way they run. They want to stay in control. In fact, they care more about staying in control, than they care about truth.

And here’s what we all need to acknowledge. That is not unique to the Pharisees, right? Sin loves control. Sin loves to be in charge.

You kids and youth, sometimes you might know you’re parents are right about something, but it just bothers you that they’re telling you what to do. Right? Because sin wants me to be king, not somebody else. And that feeling will never completely go away this side of heaven.

When you grow up, you get a job, and someone’s telling you what to do. And you get married, and someone’s telling you what to do. And you have kids, and they’re trying to tell you what to do. Sin detests that! Sin rejects that!

This is what makes the gospel so offensive. The offensiveness of the gospel isn’t just that you’re a sinner, or that you deserve hell. It is the message that the only way that gets resolved is by surrendering to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is Lord. That means He is Master. That’s at the heart of gospel. Jesus is King.

All three other gospels record the following words of Jesus to His disciples. They are familiar: “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” The cross was an instrument of death. Jesus is saying: “If you want to follow Me, you need to die.” In other words, “You’re not in charge anymore. I am.”

That what we’re asking people to recognize and to live in accordance with if they want to follow Jesus. That’s what it means to be a Christian. Don’t shy away from that when you talk to someone about Jesus. Don’t lose sight of that. That’s where a true gospel conversation has to lead. “Surrender to Jesus Christ.” It’s not easy. It’s costly. But what it’ll cost you cannot be compared to what you’ll gain.

If you’re talking to someone about your faith, about Christianity, eventually, you need to get there. It’s not just about going to church, or behaving better. It’s about repenting from sin and surrendering to Jesus, who rose from the dead in victory over sin and the curse. And by our faith in the Lord Jesus, we’re cleansed from sin and we’re accepted by God, if we receive Him as Lord.

Well, that’s exactly what this group is pushing against. They’re not asking: “who is Jesus?” They’re asking: “How can we stay in charge? How can we stay in the position we’re in? How can we stop losing ground in all this?” They are jealous for their own glory, and they ignore the jealousy of the Father who desires authentic worship through the Son.

Well, as they’re batting around their questions and thoughts, one man gives a response. Verse 49—But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all.”

So, apparently, he’s not a very nice guy. “You know nothing at all. ⁵⁰Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”

What does he mean? He stands up, and he says: “Guys, there’s something you’re not considering. I know how this all gets fixed. I know how our power and our system stays intact. Don’t fight people over their allegiance to Jesus. Just put Him to death. They crowd can’t follow a dead guy!”

That’s what Caiaphas has in mind in verse 50. “It’s better to have one man die, than to have our entire nation be wiped out. Let’s put Jesus to death to save our people.”

That’s the plan. If you skip down to verse 53, you’ll notice it says: So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

This is the unbelieving heart at its best, or at its worst, however you want to say it—scheming and devising plans in order to stay in control. As Romans 1 puts it, this is the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

These men heard eyewitness testimony about Jesus raising a man from the dead. Does that make a difference? No. They want Jesus out of the picture. They don’t care what the implications are. They want Him dead. They cannot see beyond their own self-preservation. They interpret this whole thing as an attack. And so they lash out.

And if you know the story of the New Testament, you see that it doesn’t end with Jesus. It continues into the opposition of the Apostles. It continues with the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7. It continues with the persecution of Paul and his fellow workers through their missionary journey. And it continues today all across the world.

We see it in our own culture, if you’ve got your eyes open. We are living in a secular society, some call it a post-Christian society. And the trendy thing to do is reject the authority and the clarity and the truth of God’s word. That’s generally what the culture is pushing. They don’t anyone to surrender to Jesus. They want us all to live however we want, to be true to our heart, to be true to who we really are. And nobody has the right, they’ll say, to tell you anything different.

And if you stand up for the law of Christ, you’re ridiculed or you’re cast aside, and you’re labeled as a bigot, or a hater, or a fool. That’s the culture.

Listen, you younger ones might not see it as much. And that may be either because you’re not as “out there” in the world yet, or worse, it could be because you’re already accustomed and desensitized to the message. You’ve got so much of the world already in you, you don’t even realize what’s happening. And so, this message sounds like it’s coming from some kind of extremist.

That’s where I was in my younger years. I just figures the rest of the people were taking all this Jesus stuff a little too seriously. But in reality, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was I wasn’t taking things seriously enough. I wasn’t walking close enough to Jesus through prayer and through the word and through Christian fellowship, to see how great the battle is between truth and error. But it’s a serious battle.

And don’t think that just because you hear about Christians dying in other countries, that the battle for truth isn’t a serious one in our country as well. Or in your school. Or in your workplace. It’s a serious battle.

Now, unfortunately, the seriousness of that battle can lead us to worry. It can lead us to a kind of hopelessness. We see persecution, we see opposition, we see immorality gaining ground, and we might think: “Oh Lord, something is terribly wrong! Christianity is losing the battle! I’m losing the battle!”

Well, lesson number 3 is the correction to that idea. Lesson number 1 was: unbelievers cannot be converted by signs alone. Lesson number 2 was: Unbelievers cannot see beyond their self-preservation. Lesson number three is this: Unbelievers cannot operate outside the sovereignty of God. Unbelievers cannot operate outside the sovereignty of God.

If we were just reading the story, and we loved Jesus but didn’t have any theological understanding, this would be a horrible turn. Motivated by their own self-righteousness, the highest authority among the Jewish nation is united and is plotting to kill Jesus. That’s horrible news.

But God reminds us about the bigger picture. Look at verses 51 and 52. This is right after Caiaphas makes that statement about having one man die on behalf of the nation. Verse 51—He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

Here’s what that means. From a human perspective, Caiaphas, the enemy of Jesus Christ, thought he was coming up with a pretty good plan—sacrifice one man for the sake of the nation. Put him to death. And John tells us: Actually, he’s not completely wrong.

This is the High Priest whom God had divinely appointed for this position, so that at this particular year, when Christ was going to die, he could give this message: “Jesus will die for the nation.”

And John adds for us: Actually, it’s not just for Israel, but so that God can gather to Himself people from every tongue and tribe and people and nation. They will be one in Jesus Christ.

This is God’s sovereign plan. Sovereignty is a word that talks about God’s rule over every aspect of life. God has a plan, and it will not be thwarted. It cannot be stopped by anyone. Even the most opposed enemy of God is playing right into God’s perfectly and wisely ordained eternal plan. “Oh yes,” God might be thinking, “Jesus will die for the nation, Caiaphas. But He will do so in a way that you refuse to imagine.”

Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. God isn’t on the defensive here. God isn’t surprised by what’s happening. This is all part of the plan. Hold your place here for a moment, and go with me to the book of Acts. Acts chapter 2, verse 23. This is after the Resurrection, after the Ascension, and it’s right after the coming of the Holy Spirit. It’s the Day of Pentecost, and Peter stands up before the people in Jerusalem and begins to talk about Jesus.

And notice how He talks about what happened. Verse 23—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

You killed Him, but it was part of God’s sovereign plan. Skip over to chapter 4 now, verse 27. This is the group of believers praying to God after Peter and John were commanded by the council to stop preaching about Jesus. So there’s this pressure from the enemies of Jesus against the leadership of the church.

And so, how does the church pray. They pray through Psalm 2. They’re not surprised by any of it. And then, here’s what they say. Verse 27—For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, [those] whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, ²⁸to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

They’re not intimidated by the opposition. They know that God is sovereign over all of it. And they are not deterred. In fact, they don’t even pray for the opposition to go away. They pray for more boldness.

That’s an amazing practical outflow of this principle. That’s when theology becomes real. That’s when orthodoxy becomes orthopraxy. Right doctrine becomes right living. And that’s where you and I need to go when we encounter persecution, no matter to what degree. “God is in charge of all this. I don’t have to be in control of everything. I don’t even have to have all the answers, but God has got it all under control. And I trust Him. So, Father, empower us to stay faithful to the task you have given us.” That’s the heart of faith.

Going back now to John 11, Caiaphas thought he was fighting against Jesus by planning to have Him killed. But in reality, all he was doing was helping God’s plan move forward. Unbelievers cannot operate outside the sovereignty of God.

That’s why 1 Peter 2 says that when Jesus kept suffering, He continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly.

He just kept trusting in the Father. And if the sovereignty of God can shine forth in the deepest and darkest of sin, how much more should it shine forth in the sin and suffering that we come across?

Oh, First Bilingual Baptist: Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you as though something strange were happening to you.

God is still on His throne. And He will do all thing for His glory, and for the eternal good of His people.

In his short little book, Spectacular Sins, John Piper points to the death of Christ and he says: “God used sin to kill sin.” God used kill to kill sin. God used the sin of man, which they are responsible for, and turned it for his own purposes.

This is one of the points of the story of Job. Satan needed God’s permission to afflict Job. And though Job suffered tremendously, it was so that he and we could benefit eternally from what happened. And so that God could be glorified.

When Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, it was to preserve the nation of Israel when the famine came. That’s why in Genesis 50:20, even though he had suffered so much because of what they did, he says to them: You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. They meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.

The same thing happens later in Exodus. Pharaoh opposes God and rebels against Him. But God uses it to showcase His power in the plagues. In the book of Numbers, the king of Moab summons an evil prophet named Balaam, hoping to curse Israel. But that results in Israel receiving a blessing. In Judges, Samson decides to go chasing after a prostitute, but that’s what led to the people’s salvation from the Philistines.

In all of those stories, the sinners are still guilty of their sin. But the point is, that no matter how grievous the sin is, God can still use it to accomplish His purpose. All things will be used for His glory, and no plan of God can be thwarted.

Remember, Jesus isn’t enslaved to the plans of men. He’s operating on a divinely appointed timetable. So, in the wisdom of God, John 11:54 tells us: Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

This is just another example of a truth we’ve said before: Those who reject Jesus are left to themselves, while those who truly receive Him, are drawn into deeper and deeper fellowship.

It’s also a reminder to us that Jesus is completely in charge of what’s happening. Ultimately, this is not the time for Jesus to die for the people of Israel and for the people of every nation. That time, however, will come soon enough.