John wrote his gospel with you in mind. His explicit and passionate purpose was for you to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and so have eternal life. And part of why he was so passionate about it was because he had witnessed the tragedy of multitudes refusing to believe even when the Messiah was standing right in front of them. Israel was in an upheaval of controversy. Those that believed in Jesus found life. But those that didn’t, those that rejected their promised Savior and King, became the context for the death of Christ Jesus.
In fact, the unbelief of the Jews had always been a part of God’s perfect plan, prophesied long before in his Word. Here’s a fun side discussion. Was their unbelief because of God’s sovereignty or their own poor choices? Interestingly enough, John in this passage ascribes it to both—and somehow that works. Nonbelievers disbelieve because of their own sinful choices, and yet at the end of the day, even those are subservient to God’s power to accomplish his ultimate plan. But God doesn’t lay out his whole plan for us to see. So the responsibility we have is to live as if our belief is up to us, all while we worship with gratitude that it’s up to God.
Some are following Jesus and some are rejecting him. Yet in fact the most sinister part of this passage is a third category of people: those who suppose they believe but don’t want to make a big deal out of it. Call them lukewarm Christians. They believed that Jesus is the Messiah and all that, but oh come on, they couldn’t afford the risk of following him; that could jeopardize the reputation they had amongst other men! These were believers that tried to find some middle ground to live in. But John’s tone is clear: these halfway believers are no better than nonbelievers.
Be wary about finding yourself in that middle category! Our hearts are always being pulled to love worldly things, but the only thing truly worthy of our heart’s deepest love is the glory of God through Christ Jesus. John wrote his gospel to warn you against unbelief, and to convince you to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God—and not only to believe it, but to love what Jesus is doing as well. Those that do will find eternal life in overwhelming abundance.
