Unbelief Among the People

(Gospel of John 12:36 - 12:50)
After making these pronouncements, Jesus departed and went into seclusion from them.  Even though he had performed many miracles, which the people had witnessed, there were still many who would not believe in him.  This was a fulfillment of what had been foretold by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "Jehovah, who has believed our message?  To whom has the power of Jehovah been revealed?"  And because they could not believe, Isaiah also said (elsewhere), "Jehovah has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes or understand with their hearts.  Nor will they be converted, so I can heal them."  Isaiah said these things because he foresaw the glory of the Messiah and foretold his coming.

Nevertheless, many people, even among the religious establishment, believed in Jesus.  But they would not acknowledge it publicly for fear the Pharisees might expel them from the synagogue.  For they craved the approval of men more than the approval of God.

Jesus proclaimed, "He who believes in me believes not only in me alone, but in the one who sent me.  Those who look at me are seeing the one who sent me.  I have come into the world to be a light so that those who believe in me need not remain in darkness.  If someone hears my message and rejects it, I will not judge that person, for I have come into the world not to judge it, but to save it.  But those who reject me and will not accept my message will be judged on the Last Day -- and be condemned by the truth I have spoken.   Indeed, I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me told me what to say and how to speak.  I know that following his commandments leads to life everlasting, so I say exactly what the Father bids me to say."

Notes
1.  The author suggests, rather weakly, that the prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of Jesus, but the passages offered are so vague as to pertain to anything.  But this highlights the strong desire of gospel writers to fit Jesus into traditional Judaic belief, mostly by finding biblical passages that might be interpreted as referring to him.  It is easy to make present events seem to conform to ancient prophecy.   This was done by gospel writers, as it is done today by enthusiasts of the 16th-Century prophet Nostradamus.

2.  It is admitted that many who believed in Jesus were too cowardly, too cowed by the Pharisees, and too fearful of being kicked out of the synagogue to openly proclaim their beliefs.  One would think that Jesus' message, one that promised forgiveness of sins and life everlasting, would be compelling enough to trump material concerns, that those who accepted it would acknowledge it proudly, especially considering that later followers would endure martyrdom and cruel death rather than renounce their beliefs.

3.  Jesus reiterates the conviction expressed earlier by Martha that there will be a Last Day, or Day of Judgment during which all souls will be resurrected and divinely judged.  The commonly held Christian notion, that one goes to Heaven or Hell immediately after death, is not here suggested and would be an obvious contradiction to this belief.