The Present Judgment of God on Unbelievers

In our study of John's Gospel we have read numerous exchanges between Jesus, His disciples, and the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem. We have read of some who had believed on Jesus and of those who had rejected Him. But what was the reason for their unbelief, for their rejection of Jesus? Jesus had shown them many signs, but they refused to believe on Him. Some might wrongly conclude that the people's rejection of Jesus was indicative of a failure on the part of Jesus or His Father to win over His people. But in the verses before us the Gospel writer gave the explanation of why it was that so many of the Jewish people had refused and failed to believe on Jesus as their promised Messiah. It was due to the judgment of God that was upon the Jewish people, just as it had been foretold long before in the Old Testament Prophets. This generation was very much the same as the initial generation of Jews that God had rescued from Egypt under Moses. The entire first generation of Israelites suffered God's judgment for 40 years in the wilderness until all of them had died.