23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. 24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.
Throughout the gospel of John, Jesus consistently acts in ways which glorify the Father. The many miracles that Jesus performed pointed people to the Father and backed up His claim that He was the Messiah, God in the flesh. It is one thing for someone to preach powerfully, but then, if his words are backed up by powerful miracles, these miracles add authority to his message. This was the case with Jesus.
Because of these miraculous signs, many did put their believe in Jesus, as the Messiah. But these verses punctuate an important truth about Jesus. Jesus knew how fickle man’s faith could be. Some of the very people that were putting their faith in Jesus this day, would eventually cry “Crucify him!” later. But these people whose hearts were evil, are the very ones He came to die for.
Application
Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things
and desperately sick; who can understand it?” The truth is Jesus understands our human hearts. He knows our faith waivers from day to day, week to week, month to month. He also knows how it can swell and blossom. He is in charge of how He grows our faith. We can either be willing partners in the faith building process or we can short circuit the process by placing our trust and desires in ungodly things.
It is comforting to know that Jesus came to earth to save wretched sinners like us. Praise God that He has given us the Holy Spirit to change our evil and desperate hearts into the image of Himself. The Holy Spirit is not content to leave us as we are, but instead begin the incredible transformation of our lives into beautiful creations which mirror the Savior.
Do you hate your sin? Or do you hold fast to your sinful desires, far more interested in