2:23–25 While he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast.  This was during the same week that Jesus purged the temple in Jerusalem (see 2:13ff.). It was the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread that followed the day of Passover.

Many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.  John did not recount any of the particular miracles Jesus performed in Jerusalem; he simply said that many people believed in Jesus when they saw the miracles he did. But, as the next verse indicates, this belief was not complete. The people believed in Jesus as a miracle worker or a political messiah, but not necessarily as the true Messiah, the Son of God.

Faith in Jesus can be deficient in at least two ways. The first occurs when we base our faith on the wrong motives. We should not believe in Jesus because of what he can do for us (or for what miracle he may have done for us); we should believe in him for who he is—the Christ, the Son of God. The second deficiency of faith pictures trust as a point of arrival rather than a point of departure. John described the disciples’ attitude toward Jesus as belief, even though there was a great deal of room for growth. Either of these deficiencies leads to incomplete and immature faith. Does your faith rest on what Christ does for you or on who he is?

But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them.  John used the Greek verb pisteuo to make a wordplay. In 2:23, John said that many believed (episteusan) in him; in 2:24, John said that Jesus did not entrust (episteusen) himself to them. Another way to word this would be, “many trusted in his name, … but he did not entrust Himself to them.” The reason for Jesus’ lack of trust then follows—because he knew all people.  In other words, many people trusted in him, but Jesus did not entrust himself to them, for he knew that people are not trustworthy. Jesus was realistic about the depth of trust in those who were now following him. Some would endure; others would fall away (6:66). It is worth noting, however, that Jesus did not give up on them; they gave up on him.

PATIENCE

How easy it is to give up on those around us or in our ministry! Yet Jesus had the patience to wait for the disciples to develop and mature. He had the courage to face spiritual loneliness with no one around him who was able to understand his experience.

How patient are we with those who are struggling to keep on track spiritually? How well do we do in those dry times when there are no others with whom we can relate at the same spiritual level? We can see Christ’s example in the Gospels, and we can experience his patience in our own lives. Practice Christ’s patience with those to whom he has called us to minister.

Needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.  Jesus did not need to be told about human nature; he knew the motives behind people’s actions because he thoroughly knew the human makeup. He knew how fickle people were (and are). Jesus was well aware of the truth of Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (—see also 1 Samuel 16:7; Psalm 139; Acts 1:24). Jesus was discerning, and he knew that the faith of some followers was superficial. Some of the same people who claimed to believe in Jesus at this time would later yell, “Crucify him!”

JESUS KNOWS

It’s easy to believe when there is excitement and everyone else seems to believe the same way. But sooner or later the opportunities will come to discover whether our faith is firm when it isn’t popular to follow Christ. It is comforting to know that Jesus sees through our efforts to be more confident or perfect than we really are. In fact, we will not fully appreciate his grace until we recognize that he sees us and knows us exactly as we are, and he loves us anyway. Part of trusting Jesus is acknowledging that he understands us better than we understand ourselves.

John based both of these two phrases on the same Greek verb for “believe.” This verse subtly reveals the true nature of belief from a biblical standpoint. Because of what they knew of Jesus from His miraculous signs, many came to believe in Him. However, Jesus made it His habit not to wholeheartedly “entrust” or “commit” Himself to them because He knew their hearts.

Verse 24 indicates that Jesus looked for genuine conversion rather than enthusiasm for the spectacular. The latter verse also leaves a subtle doubt as to the genuineness of the conversion of some (cf. 8:31, 32).

This emphatic contrast between verses 23, 24 in terms of type of trust, therefore, reveals that literally “belief into His name” involved much more than intellectual assent. It called for whole-hearted commitment of one’s life as Jesus’ disciple (cf. Matt. 10:37; 16:24–26).

While in Jerusalem for the Passover, Jesus performed miracles that are not given in detail in any of the Gospels. It must have been these signs that especially attracted Nicodemus (John 3:2). Because of the miracles, many people professed to believe in Him; but Jesus did not accept their profession. No matter what the people themselves said, or others said about them, He did not accept human testimony. Why? Because, being God, He knew what was in each person’s heart and mind.

The words believed in John 2:23 and commit in John 2:24 are the same Greek word. These people believed in Jesus, but He did not believe in them! They were “unsaved believers”! It was one thing to respond to a miracle but quite something else to commit oneself to Jesus Christ and continue in His Word (John 8:30–31).

John was not discrediting the importance of our Lord’s signs, because he wrote his book to record these signs and to encourage his readers to trust Jesus Christ and receive eternal life (John 20:30–31). However, throughout the book, John makes it clear that it takes more than believing in miracles for a person to be saved. Seeing the signs and believing in them would be a great beginning; in fact, even the disciples started that way and had to grow in their faith (compare John 2:11 and v. 22).

Throughout the Gospel of John, you see the Jewish people divided over the meaning of these miracles (John 9:16; 11:45–46). The same miracles that attracted Nicodemus to Jesus caused some of the other religious leaders to want to kill Him! They even asserted that His miracles were done in the power of Satan! Our Lord’s miracles were testimonies (John 5:36), giving evidence of His divine sonship; but they were also tests, exposing the hearts of the people (John 12:37ff). The same events that opened some eyes only made other eyes that much more blind (John 9:39–41).

It is important to see that Jesus tied His miracles to the truth of His message. He knew that the human heart is attracted to the sensational. The 5,000 that He fed wanted to make Him King—until He preached a sermon on the Bread of Life, and then they left Him in droves! “Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). In grace, Jesus fed the hungry; in truth, He taught the Word. The people wanted the physical food but not the spiritual truth, so they abandoned Him.

“He knew what was in man” is a statement that is proved several times in John’s Gospel. Jesus knew the character of Simon (John 1:42). He knew what Nathanael was like (John 1:46ff), and He told the Samaritan woman “all things” that she had ever done (John 4:29). He knew that the Jewish leaders did not have God’s love in their hearts (John 5:42), and that one of His disciples was not truly a believer (John 6:64). He saw the repentance in the heart of the adulteress (John 8:10–11) and the murder in the hearts of His enemies (John 8:40ff). Several times in the Upper Room message, Jesus revealed to His disciples their own inner feelings and questions.

As you follow our Lord’s ministry in John’s Gospel, you see Him moving gradually out of the bright light of popularity and into the dark shadows of rejection. At the beginning, it was easy for people to follow the crowd and watch His miracles. But then, His words began to penetrate hearts, with conviction following; and conviction leads either to conversion or opposition. It is impossible to be neutral. People had to decide, and most of them decided against Him.

Yes, Jesus knows the human heart. “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe” (John 4:48). People who want His works but not His Word can never share His life. “Seeing is believing” is not the Christian approach (John 11:40; 20:29). First we believe; then we see. Miracles can only lead us to the Word (John 5:36–38), and the Word generates saving faith (Rom. 10:17).

Our Lord’s accurate knowledge of the human heart is another evidence of His deity, for only God can see the inner person. This brief paragraph prepares us for the important interview with Nicodemus recorded in the next chapter. Note the repetition of the word man from John 2:25 to 3:1. Nicodemus wanted to learn more about Jesus, but he ended up learning more about himself!^[1]

1. corroborative text

^[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 293–294.