40 He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, that they may not see with their eyes, and understand with their heart and be converted, and I should heal them.
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and healed.
For this cause I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear nor understand; and in them is filled up the prophecy of Esaias, which says, Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and beholding ye shall behold and not see; for the heart of this people has grown fat, and they have heard heavily with their ears, and they have closed their eyes as asleep, lest they should see with the eyes, and hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
that beholding they may behold and not see, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest it may be, they should be converted and they should be forgiven.
He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
Be gracious unto me, Jehovah, for I am withered; Jehovah, heal me, for my bones tremble.
As for me, I said, Jehovah, be gracious unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.
I have seen his ways, and will heal him; and I will lead him, and will restore comforts unto him and to those of his that mourn. I create the fruit of the lips: peace, peace to him [that is] afar off, and to him [that is] nigh, saith Jehovah; and I will heal him.
-- Return, backsliding children; I will heal your backslidings. ... Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art Jehovah our God.
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him.
[The] Spirit of [the] Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach glad tidings to [the] poor; he has sent me to preach to captives deliverance, and to [the] blind sight, to send forth [the] crushed delivered,
What [is it] then? What Israel seeks for, that he has not obtained; but the election has obtained, and the rest have been blinded, according as it is written, God has given to them a spirit of slumber, eyes not to see, and ears not to hear, unto this day. And David says, Let their table be for a snare, and for a gin, and for a fall-trap, and for a recompense to them: let their eyes be darkened not to see, and bow down their back alway. I say then, Have they stumbled in order that they might fall? Far be the thought: but by their fall [there is] salvation to the nations to provoke them to jealousy.
So then, to whom he will he shews mercy, and whom he will he hardens.
Repent therefore and be converted, for the blotting out of your sins, so that times of refreshing may come from [the] presence of the Lord,
And Jesus said, For judgment am I come into this world, that they which see not may see, and they which see may become blind.
And Jehovah said to Moses, When thou goest to return to Egypt, see that thou do all the wonders before Pharaoh that I have put in thy hand. And I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
And I will render Pharaoh's heart obdurate, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he may pursue after them; and I will glorify myself in Pharaoh, and in all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah. And they did so.
And Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel; and the children of Israel had gone out with a high hand.
But Jehovah hath not given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day.
and Jehovah said, Who shall entice Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead? And one said after this manner, and another said after that manner.
Who smote great nations, and slew mighty kings, Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan; And gave their land for an inheritance, an inheritance unto Israel his people. Thy name, O Jehovah, is for ever; thy memorial, O Jehovah, from generation to generation. For Jehovah will judge his people, and will repent in favour of his servants. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands: They have a mouth, and they speak not; eyes have they, and they see not; They have ears, and they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouth. They that make them are like unto them, -- every one that confideth in them.
Who is blind, but my servant? and deaf, as my messenger whom I sent? Who is blind as he in whom I have trusted, and blind as Jehovah's servant, -- seeing many things, and thou observest not? With opened ears, he heareth not.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.
Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not, which have ears to hear, and hear not; for they are a rebellious house.
And if the prophet be enticed and shall speak a word, I Jehovah have enticed that prophet; and I will stretch out my hand against him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
for they understood not through the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
And Jesus knowing [it], says to them, Why reason ye because ye have no bread? Do ye not yet perceive nor understand? Have ye your heart [yet] hardened? Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on John 12
Commentary on John 12 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 12
It was a melancholy account which we had in the close of the foregoing chapter of the dishonour done to our Lord Jesus, when the scribes and Pharisees proclaimed him a traitor to their church, and put upon him all the marks of ignominy they could: but the story of this chapter balances that, by giving us an account of the honour done to the Redeemer, notwithstanding all that reproach thrown upon him. Thus the one was set over against the other. Let us see what honours were heaped on the head of the Lord Jesus, even in the depths of his humiliation.
Jhn 12:1-11
In these verses we have,
Jhn 12:12-19
This story of Christ's riding in triumph to Jerusalem is recorded by all the evangelists, as worthy of special remark; and in it we may observe,
Jhn 12:20-26
Honour is here paid to Christ by certain Greeks that enquired or him with respect. We are not told what day of Christ's last week this was, probably not the same day he rode into Jerusalem (for that day was taken up in public work), but a day or two after.
Thus far Christ's discourse has reference to those Greeks who desired to see him, encouraging them to serve him. What became of those Greeks we are not told, but are willing to hope that those who thus asked the way to heaven with their faces thitherward, found it, and walked in it.
Jhn 12:27-36
Honour is here done to Christ by his Father in a voice from heaven, occasioned by the following part of his discourse, and which gave occasion to a further conference with the people. In these verses we have,
Jhn 12:37-41
We have here the honour done to our Lord Jesus by the Old-Testament prophets, who foretold and lamented the infidelity of the many that believed not on him. It was indeed a dishonour and grief to Christ that his doctrine met with so little acceptance and so much opposition; but this takes off the wonder and reproach, makes the offence of it to cease, and made it no disappointment to Christ, that herein the scriptures were fulfilled. Two things are here said concerning this untractable people, and both were foretold by the evangelical prophet Isaiah, that they did not believe, and that they could not believe.
Jhn 12:42-43
Some honour was done to Christ by these rulers: for they believed on him, were convinced that he was sent of God, and received his doctrine as divine; but they did not do him honour enough, for they had not courage to own their faith in him. Many professed more kindness for Christ than really they had; these had more kindness for him than they were willing to profess. See here what a struggle was in these rulers between their convictions and their corruptions.
Jhn 12:44-50
We have here the honour Christ not assumed, but asserted, to himself, in the account he gave of his mission and his errand into the world. Probably this discourse was not at the same time with that before (for them he departed, v. 36), but some time after, when he made another public appearance; and, as this evangelist records it, it was Christ's farewell sermon to the Jews, and his last public discourse; all that follows was private with his disciples. Now observe how our Lord Jesus delivered this parting word: he cried and said. Doth not wisdom cry (Prov. 8:1), cry without? Prov. 1:20. The raising of his voice and crying intimate,