“Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
The full verse · John 12:38 · KJV
the of the might be , he , , hath ? to hath the of the been ?
Asked by
Isaiah: "Esaias the prophet," whose words from Isaiah 53:1 John quotes to explain the people's unbelief (John 12:38)
The Scene
After Jesus warns the people to believe in the light and then hides Himself from them, John looks back on His public ministry: "though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him" (John 12:36-37).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionJohn uses Isaiah's question to explain something painful: why so many did not believe in Jesus after so many miracles (John 12:37). In Isaiah the question is a lament over a message that few received. Barnes says "might be fulfilled" here means "That the same effect should occur which occurred in the time of Isaiah." Gill adds that the people did not disbelieve in order to fulfill the prophecy, "yet hereby they were eventually fulfilled." The first question asks who has believed the message. The second asks to whom God's power has been made known.
The Response
What Scripture recordsJohn answers the question himself from the story he has told: "yet they believed not on him" (John 12:37). He then quotes Isaiah again: "He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them" (John 12:39-40). Yet John also records that "among the chief rulers also many believed on him," though they did not confess Him for fear of the Pharisees (John 12:42).
Historical Context
The world behind the words"Esaias" is the Greek form of the name Isaiah. The quotation comes from Isaiah 53:1, the opening of the passage about the Servant who "is despised and rejected of men" (Isaiah 53:3). In the KJV of Isaiah 53:1 the question begins, "Who hath believed our report?"; John's quotation adds "Lord" at the start. Keil & Delitzsch hold that in Isaiah 53 "It is Israel that speaks," a nation that "acknowledges with penitence how shamefully it has mistaken its own Saviour." Gill reads Isaiah 53 as "a prophecy of the Messiah." Barnes explains "the arm of the Lord" as God's power, in this place clearly "the power displayed by the miracles of Christ."
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyJohn's point is that the unbelief Jesus met was not a surprise to God. Isaiah had foreseen that the Servant's message would be widely rejected. John goes further and says Isaiah wrote these things "when he saw his glory, and spake of him" (John 12:41). The One Isaiah saw in glory is the same Jesus the crowds turned away from.
This question is also a comfort to anyone whose message about God seems to fall on deaf ears. Isaiah asked it, John applied it to Jesus, and Paul applied it to the preaching of the gospel in his own day (Romans 10:16). Unbelief does not mean God's word has failed. It means the word is being fulfilled even in the way people respond to it.
Look Closer
Why does John quote Isaiah here?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, when Your message seems to be ignored, how do You want me to keep trusting that Your word will do its work?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Some rulers believed but stayed silent because they "loved the praise of men." What makes it hard for you to speak openly about Jesus?
- Tell about a time when someone came to faith after you thought they never would.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
If you share your faith and few seem to believe, you are in good company. Isaiah asked this question, and Paul quoted it again in his own day (Romans 10:16). Rejection of the message is not proof that the message is wrong. John shows that God saw it coming and that His purposes were still moving forward.
This passage also asks you to look at your own heart. Some of the rulers "believed on him," but kept quiet because they "loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42-43). Matthew Henry warns that love of the praise of men can turn a person away from the faith "when religion is in disgrace, and credit is to be lost for it." Faith that hides to keep its reputation needs courage from God to speak.
This does not mean every quiet believer is a coward. But it does mean the approval of God matters more than the approval of people.
Scripture's own application: Romans 10:16-17
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
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