John 12:42 - Meaning and Application

These rulers gave Christ some honor, because they believed in him and were convinced that God had sent him. They accepted his teaching as from God. Yet they did not honor him enough, because they lacked the courage to admit their faith openly. Many people show more kindness to Christ than they are willing to confess. Here we see the struggle in these rulers between what they knew was true and what their sinful desires pulled them toward.

First, we see the power of God’s word in the convictions that many of them felt. They did not deliberately close their eyes to the light. Like Nicodemus, they believed in Christ and received him as a teacher who had come from God. The truth of the gospel may have a stronger hold on people’s consciences than we realize. Many cannot help approving it in their hearts, even while they hesitate to show it openly. It may even be that some people are true believers, though very weak, with a faith like a smoking wick.

We should remember that there may be more good people than we think. Elijah thought he was the only faithful worshiper left, but God had seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed to Baal. Some people are better than they appear. Their faults are known, but their repentance is not. A person’s true goodness may be hidden by a weakness that is blameworthy, yet still forgiven, and which he honestly regrets. God’s kingdom does not always appear in the same way in every person, and not all who are good know how to look good.

Second, we see the power of the world in burying these convictions. They believed in Christ, but because of the Pharisees, who could harm them, they would not confess him for fear of being put out of the synagogue. Their failure was that they did not openly confess Christ. We should question the sincerity of a faith that is too afraid or ashamed to show itself, because those who believe with the heart should confess with the mouth (Romans 10:9).

What they feared was being expelled from the synagogue, which they thought would bring shame and loss. As if it were any great harm to be cast out of a synagogue that had become like a synagogue of Satan, and from which God was already leaving. At the root of this fear was a love of human praise. They valued the approval of men more than the approval of God. That is a kind of hidden idol worship, like loving and serving the creature more than the Creator (Romans 1:25).

They weighed these two things against each other. On one side was the praise of men. They liked being thought well of by the Pharisees and praised by the people as good sons of the Jewish church. They did not want to confess Christ if that would lessen the Pharisees’ opinion of them or hurt their own standing and advancement. They also knew that Christ’s followers were looked down on, and those who had once enjoyed honor could not bear that disgrace. Yet if they had known one another’s minds, they might have shown more courage together. Each one likely thought he would stand alone if he spoke for Christ, but if one had broken the silence, many more might have followed.

On the other side was the praise of God. They knew that confessing Christ would give glory to God and bring God’s approval. He would be pleased with them and say, “Well done.” But they gave the better place to human praise, and that turned the decision. What their senses could see outweighed what faith called them to believe. It seemed better to them to stand right with the Pharisees than to be accepted by God.

This shows how great a hindrance the love of human praise is to true religion and godliness. Many fall short of the glory of God because they care so much about what people think. If a person uses the praise of men as a hidden goal in doing good, he will become a hypocrite when religion is respected and can bring him credit. If he uses the praise of men as a base reason for doing wrong, he will fall away when religion is mocked and being faithful costs him honor, as happened here. See Romans 2:29.