John 12:39-40

[The Righterzpen]

Also remember this, when He was imputed the sins of His elect, it was as if He had committed every sin they ever committed. He knew no sin, but became sin for us...

Yes, He never personally sinned, and will forever be the sinless, spotless, impeccable, Lamb of God. Yet, He became sin and died in our stead. Psalms 75:8 says For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, and the wine foams; It is well mixed, and He pours out of this; Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.

That was the cup He prayed three times to pass from Him, yet no His will, but the Father's will be done. He, when He ingested that cup, ingested our sins, and the Father's wrath was poured out on Him.

The cup is not "sin" the cup is the wrath of God.

Revelation 14:10, 16:19, Jeremiah 25

 

[sdowney717]

Understanding this in John 12, you must also consider the Isaiah 53:1 verse. It is completely related.

37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:

“Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

You must then refer to what Apostle Paul teaches about Isaiah 53 in Roman 10
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

You can have no faith in Christ unless God actually makes you alive spiritually, as in born of God.
Since faith in the Christ comes by literally hearing the words of God spoken into your soul by Him. That is when God reveals Christ in you.

So the Father blinds everyone so that they can not come to faith in Christ without His active intervention.
It is not that they were not blind and He then blinded them, it is just that He has blinded them from the beginning of all things, the foundation of the world, because of the fall in Eden, lest man reach out and take hold of the fruit of the tree of life (Christ) on his own and live forever without the help and assistance of God, as God so said in Genesis 3:22

And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

Adam and Eve were banished from Eden and God's presence, except when God chose to appear to them.
And many generations later banished by the judgement come from God of knowing who Christ was as He is the tree of life, the Vine, and the Father the Vine dresser.

39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.”

41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him.

BUT not all were blinded! Because some did believe.

 

[sdowney717]

Then there is this about blindness. These Pharisees were blind yet falsely claimed they could see, and because of this Christ said their sin remained. It is up to God through Christ to remove the blindness which is upon every man, otherwise they will remain blinded to the gospel.

John 9

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”

36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”

37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.”

38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.

39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”

40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”

41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.

 

[lesliedellow]

I need some help here.

39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,
40 "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them." - John 12:39-40

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. - 1 Corinthians 2:14

If the natural man cannot discern spiritual things, why would they need to be blinded?

The inability to discern spiritual things can ultimately be traced back to the Fall, but since all things, and the Fall in particular, are preordained by God, it is equally true to say that he blinded all men. Subsequently to have mercy on some, in restoring their spiritual sight, whilst not having mercy on others