Although the Lord Jesus knew well that men were watching to make Him a prisoner, it seemed He must again give all the opportunity to believe on Him. We read, “Jesus cried (spoke out loudly), and said He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me.”
He was once more telling them that He was from God and for them to believe His words as One sent by God, even if they did not understand who He was.
What Judges Man
Then He said, “If any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not.” The word “judge” meant to give sentence or punishment. He continued, “I came not to judge (punish) the world, but to save the world.”
He knew their sins and the sins of the entire world, yet He had not come to punish, but by His own death to save all who would believe Him. “He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath One that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”
Now we cannot see the Lord on earth, nor the great miracles He did, yet we can hear His words which He said, by the writings. And we have the same words of God of the Old Testament, as those men had. If any one does not believe those words, he will have the same “judge” as Jesus told the people then, His Word.
He called so often for all to believe Him, and all His promises are to whoever will believe, but especially to believe His death as the words most of us know so well.
“Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Last Words to the Crowd
The words of the Lord Jesus written in this twelfth chapter of the book of John seem to have been His very last words to the people. His words written in the next chapters were said to His disciples alone. Then there were a few words to the soldiers who took Him, and to the high priest and Pilate.
“Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.”
The “rulers” seem to have been men who had charge or duties when the people met together, in the temple, or in the synagogues in their towns, who would all be in Jerusalem at that time.
The “Pharisees” were men who kept many rules made by themselves and leaders before them, though they said they kept God’s laws. They were against all who believed Jesus was the Christ.
Further Meditation:
1. What did the Lord mean when He said that He hadn’t come to judge?
2. The story of the rich man and Lazarus found in Luke 16 mentions the witness of Moses, which is a reference to the Word of God. How does what is said there connect with the story in this passage of John’s gospel?
3. This chapter refers to how the Lord didn’t come as judge when He first came to earth. However He will act as judge in the future. His judging of the workmanship of believers is clearly presented in a pamphlet you might find useful, The Judgment Seat of Christ by G. H. Hayhoe.