Have you ever been told, “shoulda, coulda, woulda, but didn’t”? I know growing up, my mom scolded my siblings and I, and she would say this frequently if we started to give excuses as to why we didn’t clean our bedrooms or do our homework. As I was reading the gospel of John chapter 12, I could hear her voice saying, “shoulda, coulda, woulda, but didn’t.” It’s funny how distant memories pop up in the most unexpected places.
In the gospel of John chapter 12, the passage that I am reading and attempting to gain some insight on is the set of verses 37 through 43. This is the ESV translation of this passage.
Though he [Jesus] had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, "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." Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. 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; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
Jesus had done so many works of God, signs and manifestations of His authority and power, but many of the people still refused to give Him the glory due Him. They refused to see what was plainly right in front of them, the Son of God. Jesus is who He says He is. He has made the lame to walk, the blind to see, and the deaf to hear. He has healed so many physical and mental ailments, and yet many still did not confess this because they were afraid of being excommunicated by the Pharisees more than being excommunicated by God. This is the negative version of the last verse of this passage. The verse speaks of receiving glory from men more than the glory of God. But if we were to put this into a different perspective of the same thought pattern, we would see that they would rather dwell within the synagogue with the Pharisees than dwell within the wilderness with Jesus.
So where am I hearing the “shoulda, coulda, woulda, but didn’t”? Well, first, they should have believed but they didn’t, even though they had seen the evidence of Jesus’ divine Sonship. In verse 37, the people saw all of the wonders and signs, but “they still did not believe in Him.” It is as if they closed their eyes and put their fingers in their ears so that they would not see or hear what is clearly manifested in front of them. It is a picture of them doing this willfully and on purpose. They are refusing Him.
Second, they “could not” believe because their hearts became hard and their eyes became blind. As one remains in their resolve to not see and not hear (or understand) what Jesus was saying and doing, they become fixed in that mentality making it more difficult to undo the damage to this line of reasoning. The saying, “it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks” applies here because of the hardness of their hearts. They are choosing to fix their mind on something that denies the truth that is there.
Lastly, they would have believed Him if they had not continued down the path of rejection of the Son of the Living God. If they would have received the truth of Jesus with all of the evidence surrounding making a sound decision, they would have turned and been healed as noted in verse 40. This is a quote from Isaiah 6:10, “Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. (ESV)” If you have been called by Christ, but you persist in rejecting Him, it will be so. By the way, Isaiah 6:10 is quoted multiple times in the New Testament (Matthew 13:14; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:26; Romans 11:8). It is a repeated warning that reminds the unsaved not to take their spiritual opportunities lightly. In John 12:36, Jesus says, “While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. (ESV)” Isaiah 55:6 says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near. (ESV)”
The time to receive Jesus is now. Do not take for granted that you are alive right now. A dear friend of mine recently passed away. She was in her 30’s. Thankfully, she believed in Jesus. But if you do not believe Jesus is who He says He is, don’t take for granted that you have a lot of time to mess around with making that decision. I will tell you plainly that He is who He says He is. He is the Son of God. He is the only way, the truth, and the life. There is no other way to the Father except through Jesus. Accept His gift. It cannot be earned. It is a free gift. The only requirement is that you accept this gift that cost Him everything. He did not have to do this. He shoulda, coulda, woulda, and DID!
Gotta go fill up my cup…..
Coffee with Candee 