John 2:23-25 (WEL) Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did. 24 But Jesus did not trust himself with them because he knew all people. 25 He didn’t need anyone to tell him about them because he knew what was in each person.
V23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did.
Believing in His name means believing God’s message, but not necessarily for salvation. Compare James 2:19.
His name references—Exodus 15:3, Exodus 20:7, Psalm 99:6, Psalm 105:1, and Malachi 3:16. His name is a term meaning the one and only God. Based on verse 24, believing in His name did not equal trust for saving faith.
(Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible) “Our Lord knew all men, their nature, dispositions, affection, designs, so as we do not know any man, not even ourselves. He knows his crafty enemies, and all their secret projects; his false friends, and their true characters. He knows who are truly his, knows their uprightness, and knows their weaknesses. We know what is done by men; Christ knows what is in them, he tries the heart. Beware of a dead faith, or a formal profession: carnal, empty professors are not to be trusted, and however men impose on others or themselves, they cannot impose on the heart-searching God.”
V24 But Jesus did not trust himself with them because he knew all people.
If they were truly saved, Jesus would have known it. He did not trust them because he knows everything about everyone. Jesus is God’s son, as such, He has the same essence as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. One trait of God’s essence is omniscience of thoughts, desires, words, and deeds of everything thinking thing.
V25 He didn’t need anyone to tell him about them because he knew what was in each person.
No one had to reveal it to Jesus; He knew. John emphasizes this fact to encourage people to acknowledge that Jesus is God.
We learn:
- Jesus knows everything.
- There are fake believers.
Questions:
- What does Jesus know about you?
- Are you comforted or troubled by that issue/s?