23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. 24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.
Message: Jesus and the Hearts of Men
Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."
What the Lord is Saying: So far in Chapter 2, Jesus has done a miracle at a wedding, turning water into wine and in the process I believe he also communicates something because in that miracle he provides the best wine so it wasn't simply wine being delivered when it was out, but the wine Jesus provided was the best wine and it showed the people at the wedding the best had come at the end. I think for me it is a reminder that Jesus and what He is providing us through Him is better than anything up to that point God has provided and yet everything He is doing is consistent with God's message from the beginning.
And then Jesus goes to the temple to tell people that what they are doing there is not part of His Father's business. He has authority. Granted, they are using it for their own gain, but nevertheless, the synagogue needs to return to being a place of worship. The Jews at this moment want to understand better and Jesus instead shows that His body is a temple and he will rise again, first providing atonement for people's sin, once and for all.
Now here in verse 23, John repeats the Passover and remarks that at this time many were believing in His Name. John was proclaiming. John the Baptist was the forerunner. And many are believing. But also mentions that believing by "observing His signs which He was doing." And then Jesus also mentions, "Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them." It seems that while these people were believing it was not a saving faith believing. Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them. Perhaps their belief was only head knowledge and not heart knowledge.
In some ways this is a little bit of a puzzling statement to me. John remarks that people are believing but perhaps they are too focused on the signs and not on the Savior. Perhaps they are missing the message of John about repentance. Jesus knows hearts. He knows people. And Jesus is remarking that these people maybe are not ready for Him completely for His is "not entrusting Himself to them." It reminds me of the verse in Matthew 7:21 and Jesus speaks, "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." It is not enough to believe, but believe must be followed with good works. I don't think this means that works save us but works do follow our belief.
Jesus knows us. He knows hearts. We know God knows us. Throughout the Old Testament, over and over, through the Law and the Prophets we can tell God knows us. He knows our motives. And Jesus knows us. He knows us in the same way as God. "and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man."
I cannot see into the heart of a person. But Jesus can. Throughout life, we have works that help us to show whether a person is saved or not or how there life is being lived, but Jesus is different. Jesus knows people. He knows hearts.
Summary: People were believing in Jesus' name, but Jesus did not entrust Himself to them. Jesus knows hearts and must have not seen true faith in all people.
Promise: We can never hide from Jesus. So we might as well be honest with Him.
Prayer: O God, thank you for saving me. Thank you Jesus for bearing my sin on the cross. I sat in church yesterday as Lamar proclaimed your gospel and wanted to shout but didn't. Your truth was being stated in a clear manner and yet we were all silent. That is your gospel being proclaimed. How wonderful and amazing it is. That you have saved us. And You know me. You know me better than I know myself and You know my real motives. Thank you for these truths and continuing to know and understand you through these words.
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