Genuine trust
Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people. No one needed to tell him about human nature, for he knew what was in each person’s heart. John 2:23-25
God honors only faith that selects the right object. Prior from the context of what Jesus said in the text, He already performed numerous miracles. John did not mention all the miracles Jesus did for the focus of his narrative was the message of Jesus rather than His miracles. Yet, miracles led people to believe in His name. This created a great following that the band of disciples was building rapidly in the big city. John chose to describe the sign-miracles for they were revelations of Christ’s glory to which the disciples often did not understand at first their spiritual significance. The word “sign” appeared sixteen times in John’s Gospel. John emphasized the purpose for the miracles for they revealed who Jesus was so that people would believe in Him. “The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name” (John 20:30–31). “But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew all about people” (John 2:24). The people in Jerusalem were there not to place their faith in Jesus. Jesus saw through into their hearts and He knew their motives. The focus of their belief is His work and not in His person. The Lord looks at our hearts to examine whether what we say we believe really represents our inner motives. These words of Jesus should stand as a warning to us for He desires from us genuine trust. There will be times that we will not experience the miracles we wanted Him to do for us but what will matter during those times is the knowledge that His presence is with us. “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me” (John 10:14).
Blessings,
Noel De Guzman
www.my-wbc.com
