Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man. John 2:23-25
”But Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them”.
What a sad statement. Here you have all these people “believing” and Jesus’ response is “I don’t trust you.” As a result the relationship stayed on the surface, they got enough to see some signs and be wowed, but they weren’t really seeing the heart and soul of Jesus – because He didn’t put it out there.
On a similar occasion Jesus talks about people who believe only because He gave them food to eat (John 6:26). A few minutes later they said, “So, now what sign are you going to do so we can believe?”
You don’t have to think long to figure that Jesus was not about to trust Himself to people who cared nothing for Him, and only wanted what He would hand out. Nothing has changed today, people are still deciding for or against Jesus based on the payoff. Some decide to give it a shot, believe and stick out their hand waiting for the reward. They forget that the reward is not the bread, or money, or anything that can be put in their hand. Instead it is the One who now sits beside them, who rises every time they stand and walks every step with them. Most don’t want that. So He doesn’t entrust Himself.
So who gets it? To whom does Jesus “entrust Himself”? It will be to those who believe when there is no sign; when He performs no miracle, grants no deliverance and refuses to heal. And to those whose mates still divorce them, those who lose their jobs, and never seem to get ahead. Their faith is not based on His doing but His being. Real “belief” is that quality of faith that holds onto Jesus regardless what is or is not in His hand.
Remember this, “He knew what was in man.” He knows if you are making Him another part of your investment portfolio or your Soul mate.
No wonder Peter got more of Jesus than the others. After Jesus asked a simple question, “Do you guys know who I am?” After the boys gave wrong answers, Peter got it right – “You are the Son of the Living God”. Jesus responded, “Flesh and blood didn’t reveal this to you…And upon you I can build my house…Oh yeah and here are the keys to the front door.” Mt. 16:13-20
Can’t you hear Jesus saying, “Finally, someone I can trust.”
What about you?
“So who gets it? To whom does Jesus “entrust Himself”? It will be to those who believe when there is no sign; when He performs no miracle, grants no deliverance and refuses to heal. And to those whose mates still divorce them, those who lose their jobs, and never seem to get ahead.” – This is the Gospel. When you really know Jesus, you know that His person is the most valuable reward and benefit. Well said.
I’ll take a set of those keys.
Jesus didn’t entrust himself to the people in Jerusalem during Passover because they did not recognize him for who he was — only for what he could do. They saw what he could do and took that for granted. Gee – do you think they were human. We all take Jesus for granted, it is all a part of our growth process with him.
A true relationship with Christ works 2 ways, we put ourselves out there, leave ourselves vulnerable and through our faith through prayer Jesus shows us the way.
And yes, we will probably stray from that as well just don’t stop trying.
Where did Peter get this understanding that would cause him to be so trusted by Jesus? And why didn’t the people at the passover celebration, that saw and believed He was the Messiah, have this same understanding?
Peter had an understanding based on more than belief. For God to trust us, we’ve got to do more than believe in what we can see and touch, or even what He can do. Belief should lead to faith, and faith to understanding (or a deeper going with God).
Faith is the playing field we are all called to do life on. We run the bases as the Holy Spirit directs us, until we reach home. Belief is just the practise game.
I love the way you put it, “Their faith is not based on His doing but His being”. Thanks for helping me go deeper today!!!!!!
Thanks for this. It’s interesting to note that Christ would distrust at all. I’m acquainted with some believers who mistake distrust for hate or unforgiveness, but in my experience forgiveness deals with the past while trust deals with the future.