As Christians, we regularly gather to worship, study Scripture, and encourage one another in faith. We speak of believing God’s word, trusting his sovereignty in every circumstance, and living as born-again believers who have received eternal life. Yet the apostle John, in his gospel, gives us something unexpected: a theology of unbelief.
John wrote his Gospel with a clear purpose. In 20:30–31, he explains: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” However, in 12:36–43, John shifts his focus to describe what it means to reject Christ—to remain in unbelief despite overwhelming evidence.
The Nature of Unbelief
Scripture describes unbelief through vivid metaphors. The unbeliever is blind. “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case 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” (2 Corinthians 4:3–4).
The unbeliever is deaf. Jeremiah laments, “To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it” (Jeremiah 6:10).
Scripture also describes unbelievers as dead. “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:1–2).
They are rebellious—stubborn and impudent, refusing to hear God’s word (Ezekiel 2:3–5). They are adulterous, breaking covenant with God (Matthew 12:39).
From Cain, who refused to worship God rightly and “went away from the presence of the LORD” (Genesis 4:16), to the Israelites, who died in the wilderness because of unbelief (Hebrews 3:19), to Judas Iscariot, who walked among the disciples yet remained hard-hearted, Scripture reveals this truth: Unbelief is not the result of lack of evidence but a condition of the heart.
The Urgency of Belief
In John 12:36, Jesus issues an urgent call: “While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” There is an expiry date on the opportunity to come to Christ. The light will not always be available. The time to respond is now.
The Cause of Unbelief
John 12:37–41 reveals something shocking: “Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him.” Despite witnessing Jesus’ miracles, hearing his teaching, and seeing evidence of his divine nature, many refused to believe. Why?
John quotes Isaiah 6:10: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.” This judicial hardening demonstrates that persistent rejection of God leads to divine confirmation of that rejection. When hearts continually resist the light, God may give them over to the darkness they have chosen.
Yet John 12:42 introduces a troubling category: “Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue.” Here were people who believed intellectually, who recognised Jesus’s identity, yet refused to confess him publicly.
The Cost of Unbelief
Verse 43 exposes the fatal flaw: “for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.” This is the final stumbling block that prevents many from true faith. They see the signs, hear the word, and may even believe in their minds, but their hearts remain dead and hardened because they fear man more than they fear God.
The desire for human approval, affirmation, and acknowledgement becomes a prison. People want others to say they’re good, successful, acceptable. They crave worldly glory. To confess Christ means risking rejection from family, friends, colleagues, or religious communities. The cost seems too high.
But Jesus asks in John 5:44, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” James 4:4 is even starker: “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
The fear of man is a snare. Jesus warned in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Human opinion cannot save you. Only God can.
The Call to Faith
Understanding unbelief helps us grasp the nature of true faith. True believers confess Christ regardless of cost. They do not hide their faith but proclaim it boldly, even when it costs them friendships, family approval, or social standing.
If you profess to believe but remain silent about Christ, if you fear human opinion more than divine judgement, if you seek worldly glory rather than God’s approval, you must examine whether your faith is genuine.
The gospel demands a response. Will you love the glory that comes from man, or the glory that comes from God? Will you remain blind, deaf, dead, and rebellious, or will you cry out to God for salvation? While you have the light, believe in the light. The opportunity will not last for ever.
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