²² “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.”

Now clearly, there was sin in the world already before this, as Paul later wrote, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned, for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.…” (Rom 5:12-13). So also Jesus had previously taught essentially the same thing, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). But sin was not imputed until they rejected Christ – that is what our verse today addresses.

It is true that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, deserving of death (Romans 3:23, 6:23). But the full weight of sin is seen in the rejection of Christ. The Jews had seen Jesus’ miraculous signs and heard His wonderful teachings. He had shown them the inconsistencies in their teachings and their manipulation of the Law. He uncovered their duplicitous hearts on many occasions. The tragic irony of this is that they rejected the very signs that validated Jesus as the Messiah. In the Nazareth synagogue, He had read the Messianic prophecy in Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed… ” (Lk 4:18). And then finishing, He proclaimed, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:21). Even Nicodemus, himself a Pharisee, admitted to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (John 3:2).

Yes, the Jews rejected their Messiah. There is no excuse. They who knew the Law, and who so easily passed judgment on others with their knowledge of the Law, are themselves condemned by the Law. How ironic that in less than twenty-four hours, they would be crying out, “His blood be on us” (Matt 27:25).

Yet despite all this, Jesus, while hanging on the cross, pleaded with His Father, “Forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:32). Their guilt in knowingly rejecting Christ was fully culpable. But their crucifying Him was a supreme ignorance. It was a chosen ignorance, and pitiable. If only they knew, really knew, they were crucifying their only possible means of restoration with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Lawgiver.

Lord, I want to help others come to the true knowledge of who Jesus Christ is.