John 12:34-46

³⁴Someone in the crowd answered him, “We understand from the Scriptures that the Messiah will live forever. So why do you say that the one who came from heaven, who is the Messiah, will be lifted up {that men will lift up the one who came from heaven, who is the Messiah,} on a cross? What kind of man who came from heaven are you talking about? (OR, That's not the kind of Messiah we are expecting!)”

³⁵Then Jesus said to them, “ My message is like MET a light for you. I will be with you for only a little while longer. Live and act as you should while I am still with you, because suddenly you will have no more opportunity to hear my message! You do not want to be like MET someone who cannot see where he is going anymore when it suddenly becomes dark!

³⁶Believe in my message MET while you still have an opportunity to do it, in order that you may become people who have accepted my truth MET!” John 12:36b-43 After Jesus said those things, he left them and hid from them.

³⁷Although he had done many miracles while people were watching, most of them refused to believe that he is ◄ the Messiah/from God►.

³⁸Their stubbornness and refusal to believe was similar to the stubbornness of the people that the prophet Isaiah wrote about long ago: Lord, ◄hardly anyone has believed our message!/who has believed our message?► RHQ Most people refused to accept it, even though you showed them your power!

³⁹That was the reason why they were unable to believe. It was like Isaiah wrote somewhere else that God said:

⁴⁰They have refused to understand; they acted as though they were blind people! They were insensible in their inner beings! As a result, they have not perceived my truth! They have not understood it in their inner beings! They have not turned from their sinful lives, and because of that I cannot help them!

⁴¹Isaiah wrote that because it was as though he saw ahead of time how great Jesus would be, and he prophesied those things about him.

⁴²Although most of the Jewish leaders SYN did not believe that Jesus is ◄ the Messiah/from God►, some of them believed in him. But they would not tell anyone that they believed in him, because they were afraid that if they said that, the Pharisees would not let them worship in the synagogues.

⁴³They wanted people to praise them more than they wanted God to praise them.

⁴⁴Another day, when Jesus was teaching the people, he shouted, “Those who believe in me, they are not believing in me alone. Instead, it is as though they also believe in the one who sent me.

⁴⁵When they see me and what I am doing, it is as though they are seeing the one who sent me.

⁴⁶I have come into the world to show people God's truth, as a light shows people what is around them. I have come in order that people who believe in me will not remain ignorant of God's truth MET, as those who are in the darkness are ignorant of what is around them.