Hard to Believe

One of the common complaints of skeptics is "If God was so interested in saving us, why didn't He make it more obvious? Why is He so hard to find?" We get stuck on that. We might answer boldly, "The heavens declare the glory of God" (Psa. 19:1) or "Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse" (Rom. 1:20) -- you know, because these are the Bible's answers -- but we're still stuck with the fact that many don't believe. We think God is quite obvious, but they don't. What's up with that?

In Jesus's story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31), after both Lazarus and the rich man are dead, the rich man pleads to have Lazarus sent to his father's house to warn his brothers of their doom if they don't repent. He is given this answer: "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead" (Luke 16:31).

How many times have you heard it? I asked my grandfather once who does not believe in God, "What would it take?" He said, "All I need is a direct miracle right here in front of me." And we think, "Well, God, how about it?" But it doesn't happen. Why?

I suspect the answer is found in John. There he tells of another dead man named Lazarus. The account has many fascinating aspects. There is this:

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, so when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was (John 11:5-6).

Did you catch that. Because He loved them, He delayed visiting them when He heard Lazarus was sick. Interesting.

Of course, there is the famous verse that we all begged to be given credit for memorizing in Sunday School. "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). Very enigmatic. Why did He weep. He knew He was about to raise His friend from the dead. Why did He weep? Was it for the grief of those around? Was it for the sadness that death (the result of sin) brings? What was it for? No one is really sure.

The part that really gets me is this. Jesus goes to the tomb and orders them to remove the stone (even though "he stinketh"). Then He simply commands the dead man to "Come forth!" ... and he does. Not something you see every day. What really gets me is the reaction of the observers:

Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done (John 11:45-46).

"Some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done"????? What's that all about? Look, guys, you just had a verified, undeniable, actual miracle occur. There is no explanation. He hasn't been sleeping; he's been dead. And no one ever calls a dead man out of his tomb. But Jesus did. So you go and tattle on Him???

These people got exactly what the skeptic requires to believe. They witnessed a supernatural event. They didn't hear about it by email and have to check Snopes; they saw it occur. And still they were hostile to Christ and refusing to believe. How is that possible?

John doesn't leave us hanging. He tells us the answer in the next chapter. In chapter 12 we learn:

The chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus (John 12:10-11).

The chief priests, having been informed by hostile eyewitnesses that a man had been brought back to life on the command of Jesus (who claimed to be God Incarnate), plotted to kill him. He was causing them trouble. What was at the root of their hatred? You might think that their power was threatened, and there was some of that. But John tells us the real problem:

Though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they would not believe in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? 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 He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them." (John 12:37-40).

This is truly astounding. According to John, the reason that so many did not believe is because they refused ("would not"). The reason they refused was because they lacked the ability ("could not"). And the reason they lacked the ability was because they were intentionally blinded. John, quoting Isaiah, says that this was God's intent.

We who believe find all sorts of reasons to believe. It makes sense. It is logical. It is practical. We experience it. We see it. We understand it. We cannot even begin to fathom why it is that others don't. How is it even remotely possible that someone asks, "If God was so interested in saving us, why didn't He make it more obvious? Why is He so hard to find?" Hard to find?? In what sense? It's right there in front of your face!! The real answer is that, while God would like to save everyone (1 Tim. 2:4), He doesn't plan to save everyone. Instead, He has other, better plans. Unfortunately, that includes judgment on so many who have chosen to be their own god. And it is likely difficult for us to comprehend, being one of those worthy of judgment. But God has planned to allow many to be blinded because He does not plan to save them. There is no other possible conclusion.

Why is it that many don't believe? Why does it seem, sometimes, so hard for people to see the truth that we see so easily? It's because they are blinded by the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4) ... and God sees fit to leave them that way. We think it's easy to believe. It's not. It's hard -- very hard. So when we place our confidence in our apologetics or our persuasive speech, we're missing the point. Faith is a gift, and it's not given to everyone. Sight is a privilege that is not afforded to all. No one deserves it. No one receives it because they're more valuable than another. But it is a gift by the grace of God. That ought to make us far more grateful, and that ought to alter how we act.