Episode 24 - Believe in his name

John 2:23   Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

The first thing to which I’d like to call your attention is that John, the author, has only told us about one specific “sign” or miracle that Jesus has done. Yet, it’s clear from the end of verse 23 that he has done more than this because he mentions that people believed because of the signs he was doing. My purpose in pointing this out is that no single gospel account (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) includes everything Jesus did. Each gospel account is like four people watching the same event happen from different angles and each one is giving us a perspective from that angle. Some events in these writings may not even be in chronological order. Each author has reasons for what is included and where it’s included in that specific account. All of these we believe are divinely inspired so that these writings communicate God’s message through human eyes. 

More importantly, I want you to notice in verse 23 that John writes “many believed in his name.” Sound familiar? It should. In John’s prologue, verses 11-12 read, “11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” In this text, there is a contrast between those who receive the Word (Jesus) and those who don’t receive him.” What does that mean? John qualifies the meaning of “receive him” as “those who believe in his name.” 

We see in the Old Testament, as early as the first few chapters of the Bible where God creates things and names them. Then, he gives the first human the responsibility of naming the animals. He is exercising the responsibility God has given him to be a steward over God’s creation. Names represent what or who things and people are. John is saying that to “receive Jesus” we need to believe who he is. John has already given us quite a bit of information about that, hasn’t he?

Just as John tells us in the prologue however that there were those who did not receive him, we get the idea from the context of John 2:23-25 that this happens in some measure at this Passover Feast. John writes in verses 24-25 that Jesus “did not entrust himself to them.” Why? If many people believed in him, why didn’t he entrust himself to them? John provides the answer: “because he knew all people” and “he himself knew what was in man.” What’s up with this? What is going on?

I think if we go back to John’s prologue and think about “he came unto his own people.” Here at the end of John 2 Jesus does just that. He came to his own people at the temple during the Feast of Passover. Many people had seen him work signs, but only some believed. Even though he was demonstrating who he was through his miraculous works, the people as a whole did not receive him; did not believe that he was the Son of God.  John is suggesting this when he mentions that “he knew all people” and “he himself knew what was in man.” Who knows the mind of all people and what is going on in the minds and hearts of mankind? God. 

This is an important reminder to us to not be tempted to think of Jesus as a great teacher, a man with wonderful ideas, or even an amazing person. He is the unique one-of-a-kind Son of God. If you haven’t, I am inviting you to “receive him,” to believe in his name. If you have, think about how you could share this truth with people around you and invite them to believe in his name.