John 2:24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men.
I’ve notice that one of the amazing things about the life of Jesus is not that He could do things that no one else could do, but that He did things that everyone else should do. For instance, I don’t marvel that He could raise the sick because He is God. What does make me marvel is that God the Son would pray, that He would be led by the Holy Spirit, and that He would be baptized because there is a sense in which we would not think He would need to do any of these things. He is God in flesh. Yet, He did do these things.
In a like manner you find the idea of Jesus using or not using faith or trust in other people. We often talk about trusting Jesus, and the question this morning is, “Does Jesus trust you?” In verse 23 it says, “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.” Now, this sounds good. They believed in Him. But, the Bible goes on to indicate a question about whether they were saved. So, what is going on?
Verse 24 gives us the light when it says, “Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.” The words “believe” and “commit” are the exact same word. They believed in His name because of what they saw. They saw Him do miracles. They were believing that He could do these miracles because they had seen Him do them. On the other hand, He did not entrust Himself to them because He didn’t need a witness, as John was for Him, for Him to understand men. He knew them to their very core. John 3 is an example of that when it comes to Nicodemus.
So, what informs our understanding of what it meant for them to believe in Jesus but Jesus not to commit Himself to them? First, the book of John is about believing. John 1:7 says, “All men through him might believe.” That is why John is written. John 3:18 says, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed.” So, John is all about believing.
Second, only believing in Jesus saves. The one question between you and eternity is “What will you do with Jesus Christ?”
This leads to a question. They believed in Jesus, but the question is, “What and about whom did they believe?” In Mark 6, when Jesus was speaking to His own countrymen, they saw His mighty works, they heard His mighty words, and they marveled saying, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” They believed what He could do because they had seen it, but they rejected Who He is, God the Son.
What we see here is that Jesus responds in kind. Nicodemus says, “We know that you are a teacher sent from God.” That is great, but it is not enough. Jesus is God the Son, and only through Him might you be saved. Jesus did not commit or entrust Himself to them because they did not trust Him for Who He is. They saw what He did, but they didn’t believe Who He was. That was the most important thing.
Jesus responds in kind. He gives grace to the humble. Think of Jesus’ harsh treatment of Pharisees, His merciful treatment of publicans, His gracious treatment of Nicodemus, and the woman at the well. You find that Jesus deals with us as individuals and He responds in kind. He gives more to those who are good stewards. When I have eyes to see, ears to hear, and accept the truth I have, I receive more. When I reject what I have, I lose what I have. He gives mercy to sinners. He commits Himself to those who trust Him. I don’t know what you need today, but I know that Jesus is the answer. Jesus will respond to you in kind today.