Reader: “Put your trust in the light”
Response: “while there is still time.”

Scripture: John 12:36-43

“Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.”

After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.

But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him. This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted:

>“Lord, who has believed our message?
>To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?”
>But the people couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said,
>“The Lord has blinded their eyes
>and hardened their hearts—
>so that their eyes cannot see,
>and their hearts cannot understand,
>and they cannot turn to me
>and have me heal them.”

Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah’s glory. Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

Reader: “The word of the Lord.”
Response: “Thanks be to God.”