“Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.” John 2:23-25
Many, at the Passover feast in Jerusalem, believed that Jesus was the Messiah when they saw the signs and miracles which He worked among them. But though they had come to believe that He was the Messiah, Jesus did not entrust Himself to them because He knew what was in their hearts.
These few verses contain an important truth for us to consider. It is not enough to just know and believe the facts about Jesus. We, too, have heard and read of His mighty miracles. We have heard and read of His sufferings and death and of His resurrection on the third day. And we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the promised Messiah and Savior. But do we know Him and trust in Him as our own Savior? Have we entrusted our very hearts and souls to His keeping?
Jesus searches and knows our hearts! This can be a frightening thought since, as the Scriptures testify, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:9-10). Yes, the Lord Jesus Himself searches our hearts and tests our minds. He knows our every thought and desire. And, certainly, not a single one of us deserves that the Lord Jesus should commit and entrust Himself to us.
Yet, through His Word and the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus does reveal and entrust Himself to those who look to Him in faith. He first reveals our utter sinfulness and unworthiness before God, bringing us to confess and agree with God’s judgment that we are sinners deserving of His eternal wrath and punishment. But then, Jesus, through His Word, also reveals to us His great love and mercy. He so loved us that He went to the cross to suffer and die in our stead and take our punishment. He rose from the dead in victory, and He gives to us His mercy, forgiveness, and acceptance when we trust in Him for life and salvation.
Many people in Jesus’ day believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah because of His mighty works, but they did not know Jesus as their Savior and trust in Him for pardon, forgiveness, and life eternal! And so also today, many believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the promised Messiah, but they do not know and have not partaken of Jesus and His love and mercy for them through faith. Instead, their hearts remain closed, and they continue on in their old evil ways, not seeing their lost and sinful condition or knowing and receiving in faith the mercy and forgiveness God offers and extends to them in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Though Jesus’ many mighty works and signs confirm His identity and authority, He has chosen to reveal Himself to mankind through His Word. Thus, those seeking only signs and wonders and spectacular works are likely never to know Him. But to the ones who sit humbly at His feet, hearing, reading, and studying His Word, Jesus reveals Himself as their merciful and loving Savior!
Dear Lord Jesus, Son of God and Son of man, open my heart to hear Your life-giving Word, to acknowledge and confess my utter sinfulness, and to trust in You and Your cross for my salvation. Amen.
[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]