4th Week in Easter Time, Wednesday – 28th April 2021 — Gospel: John 12,44-50
Passing Judgment unto Oneself
This closing section has the Lord’s last message before He “hid himself” from the people, which again emphasizes faith. A number of basic themes in John’s gospel run through in this section: God sent the Son; to see the Son means to see the Father; Jesus is the light of the world; His Word are the very words of God; faith in Him brings salvation; to reject Him is to face eternal judgment. In fact, the very Word that Jesus spoke will judge those who have rejected it and avoided Him. It is interesting to note that the unbeliever will face judgment based on the knowledge of Scripture that he read or heard. For the very Word the unbeliever rejects becomes his own judge. Because the Word points to the Living Word, Jesus Christ (Jn 1,14). The word “judge” is repeated four times in this closing message. The purpose of Christ’s first coming was not to judge the world, but to save (Jn 3,18; 8,15). But if the unbeliever does not trust in Jesus as his Saviour, then Jesus will become his judge. In this way, the sinner actually is passing judgment on himself.
