They Did Not Confess Him Jn. 12:42 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Sometimes you are afraid to confess Jesus.  That’s not uncommon.  When the chief rulers got saved in Jn 12:42 they did not confess him, either.  The main reason people don’t confess him is fear [Jer 1:8].  Let’s find out, specifically, why people don’t confess Jesus and for each reason we’ll offer a solution.  People don’t confess him because of the:

Fear of Exclusion – Jn 12:42 – the chief rulers were afraid that they would be put out of the synagogue [Jn 9:22].  The blind man in Jn 9 was put out for confessing Jesus [Jn 9:34] so their fear was based on fact.  Exclusion and excommunication are harsh.  But you must remember this.  Would you rather join hands with the lost and spend eternity in hell with them or would you rather spend eternity in heaven with the Lord even if it meant being excluded from your religion?  Jesus had to die all alone; his disciples forsook him.  It stands to reason that the devil’s crowd would abandon you when you confess him.  Look at Matt 10:32-36.  You’ll be in good company if you are excluded from your present company.

Fear of Ridicule – Jn 12:43 – as a general rule men love the praise of other men.  So, the fear of being ridiculed for confessing Jesus is very strong.  But you must remember that we are here to please the Lord [Rev 4:11].  And when you please the Lord, generally speaking, someone else is not going to be pleased.  And to show their disgust they will ridicule you.  Look at Prov 29:27. This works both ways. There’s coming a day when they will realize that you were right and they were wrong.  In the meantime, just grin and bear it; the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Fear of Credibility – Ex 4:1 – sometimes people are afraid to confess him because they are afraid that the person to whom they are witnessing will not believe them.  Well, your testimony is your testimony of what the Lord has done for you.  They may not believe you, but what the Lord has done for you is undeniable [like the healing of the blind man in Jn 9:18].  A good solution is to get them in front of an open Bible or to quote scripture.  Then it’s not a matter of them not believing you but rather them not believing what God said.  Furthermore, it’s the word of God that changes them not your testimony.

Fear of Inability – Ex 4:10 – sometimes people don’t confess him because they are afraid that they don’t know enough.  Well, you know that you are saved, don’t you?  The woman at the well in Jn 4 was a little sketchy on her Bible but she confessed Jesus to many who came to the Lord.  Remember that the more you confess him the better you’ll be at confessing him.  You learn as you go.  The best solution is to study and speak; speak and study.  A little seed sown poorly is much better than none sown at all.

Fear of Failure – Ex 6:12 – sometimes you are just afraid of failure.  This fear has an easy solution.  Whether the person you are witnessing to gets saved is not your business.  That’s between him and the Lord.  God gives the increase [1 Cor 3:6-7].  Our business is to confess him and to sow.  God’s the one that “wins” them.  And if you will pray much before attempting to tell someone you know, you will find that the Lord will orchestrate the whole conversation.  You won’t feel the pressure that you are putting on yourself.

Conclusion: there’s one other reason you might not confess him, Lack of Salvation – Rom 10:9-10 – if you are not saved you really have nothing to confess about Jesus.  If you haven’t believed in your heart, there is no confession with your mouth.  The solution for you is to get saved.