John 12:40
"He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them."
*Strong's Ex. Conc. No.
Hardened: petrify, render callous, to deaden, to make obtuse
From the Greek word ' póroó' (pronounced po-ro'-o): properly, made of stone; (figuratively) insensible; dull, unperceptive as a rock; calloused (hardened); i.e. unresponsive (dense), completely lacking sensitivity or spiritual perception.
This is a strong judgment against the ones who see Christ's miracles all day long and day after day yet still refuse to believe that He is Messiah, the fulfillment of prophecy as proclaimed by the prophets. For instance, here He references Isaiah 6:9, 10 "And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
If you think this does not apply to us today, you are mistaken. God still does miracles today. We are given new days to turn and believe. We are given new opportunities to hear and believe. We are given chance upon chance to know that God is who He says He is and that Jesus Christ is His only begotten Son who died on the cross to save us from the punishment of our sins.
God makes the sun to rise and shine, the clouds to gather and rain to fall. God makes the moon to shine and calls the tides to ebb and flow. God makes the seeds to germinate, blossom and produce plantlife. God is still creating, His Word is still going forth and His light is still shining.
To think otherwise is to be a fool. Fools neither see the Truth of God's Word, nor do they understand it. For God has said that He would use the foolish things of this world to confound the wise in this world (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). The wise in this world choose to believe anything but God. Whatever prophecy falls in their ears, they follow. It is why there is such a variety of 'churches' and doctrines.
God is still in the business of saving souls according to His wisdom. When the Word is preached, it falls not only in the hearing of the ones who hunger and thirst for it, but on itching ears, who hope to hear something that will justify their pride, their sins. And when they are convicted by the Spirit of God, they turn a deaf ear to Him, ignoring the Word. So God closes their eyes to seeing and hardens their hearts to believing.
Don't be those people. This is where the Lost In Space robot would be waving his arms and shouting, "Warning! Warning! Warning! Danger to you!" This is where Darth Vader says (to the unbelieving heart), "Turn to the darkside."
But the Spirit and the church say, "Come. Come, you who are thirsty. Come drink the water of life." (Revelation 22:17).
Sinners who repent of their wicked ways and believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior are transformed by the Spirit of God into God's church, God's saints. As difficult as many find that hard to believe, it is only by faith that such a thing is possible. Even the Old Testament believers had to have faith in God; to believe not only that God Is, but that GOD IS WHO HE SAYS THAT HE IS (I AM THAT I AM [Exodus 3:14]).
The Spirit continues to transform and mold the believer's heart into the state of perfection to which God has called us to be. It is not a state we will reach in its entirety until we see Jesus face to face. We are moved from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18) by the Spirit of God until that perfect day arrives.
Come, now is the time to give your hearts to Christ. Today is your day of salvation if you have not already believed. And if you have believed that Christ is your Lord and Savior, now is the time to humble ourselves, fall on our faces and fully commit to following His Word faithfully. Now is the time before time runs out.
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