True belief reorders what a person loves the most. In John 12, many believed his teachings, but didn’t believe to the degree that they were willing to confess Jesus as Lord. To receive Jesus in our lives is to place him at the top of our loves and priorities. Saving faith reorders our hearts to love Jesus above all.

Why did some not believe? One of the reasons was because God had hardened their hearts (vv. 38-41). Isaiah foretells that the Messiah would be despised and rejected. God hardened their hearts as a consequence of their lunbelief. The punishment for their unbelieving hearts was for them to become more hardened and more unbelieving. In other words, we see them go from “would not believe” to “could not believe.”

Some believed, however, but not to the point of public confession (v. 42). What’s wrong with this kind of faith? It stops short of saving faith. They were willing to intellectually assent to Jesus being the Messiah, but they weren’t willing to submit their lives to him as Lord. True faith reorders what we love. And we love Jesus for a reason: the gospel message. We were hardened, dead, and lost, and God chose to save us by grace through faith. Not only this, he keeps us safe for all eternity.