João 2

João 2

William MacDonald - As a result of the signs which Jesus performed in Jerusalem at the Passover, many believed in His name. This does not necessarily mean that they actually committed their lives to Him in simple trust; rather, they professed to accept Him. There was no reality to their action; it was merely an outward display of following Jesus. It was similar to the condition which we have in the world where many people claim to be Christians who have never truly been born again through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (BORROW Believer's Bible Commentary) Edwin Blum - While... in Jerusalem during the Passover, Jesus did other signs which John chose not to describe. The effect of these miracles (which were probably healings) was to elicit faith on the part of many people. They believed in His name, that is, they trusted in Him. This was not necessarily saving faith as the next verse implies. They believed He was a great Healer, but not necessarily a great Savior from sin. (See Bible Knowledge Commentary then scroll up and down for more text) Colin Kruse - These signs led many people to believe in Jesus, but, as the next verse indicates, their belief was defective. 24–25. Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. There is a play on words here. In 2:23 we are told ‘many people … believed [episteusan] in his name’, but in 2:24 the evangelist adds, ‘But Jesus would not entrust [episteuen] himself to them’. Their ‘trust’ in him was not of a sort to make Jesus want to ‘entrust’ himself to them. Evidently, the belief of these people, based upon witnessing the signs Jesus performed, was shallow and inauthentic. (BORROW The gospel according to John : an introduction and commentary) Skip Heitzig - The words believe and commit are essentially the same word. Many people believed in Jesus, but He did not believe in them. There is a faith short of saving faith. Many people believe in God and Jesus. Superficial faith (see James 2:19). Emotional response. Unsaved believers. (NOTES) "Now when he, Jesus, was in Jerusalem at the Passover during the feast many believed in His name." Now stop right there. Now admit it, when you read those words you get excited. Wow, many are starting to believe in Jesus. This is awesome. Get their names, put them on the mailing list. Make them a deacon. Given them a responsibility. There's people that are believing in Him. You want to strike while the iron's hot. But keep reading. "Many believed in His name when they saw the signs which he did." So now we have a motivation. Now we have a reason. They are believing, but they are believing because of the miracles he did. Well you say, so what? But notice Jesus' response. According to John, his editorial comments "but Jesus did not commit Himself to them because he knew all men. He had no need that anyone should testify of man for he knew what was in man." In part, John, the author, wants you to know that his summary of these events in Jerusalem is that we are dealing with, we are looking at, we are observing a man who is more than a man, a man who exhibits the very characteristics and qualities of God, somebody who has well, x-ray vision into one's thoughts and motivations. One of whom you can call, you can say, and you can't say it of anyone else, for he knows what people are thinking. He knows what's in the heart and the very mind of a person. Those are John's comments. He exhibits the character trait of omniscience. He knows everything. And you will see this quite a bit through the book. But what's interesting is John's choice of grammar, his language use. It's really a play on words. It's say many believed in Him. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them. That's a play on words. Because the word "believe" and the word "commit" are essentially the same exact word. So if you'll permit me to re-translate that for the effect of the play on words. Many believed in Him but he did not believe in them. That's sort of the intended impact and the force of these words. There is a faith short of saving faith. And so how many people do you talk to, oh, I believe in God. I believe in Jesus. And especially we love that if somebody famous like our favorite musical rock star or something has any lyric at all that's spiritual. Oh wow, he must be a born again Christian. Why? Because he said "spirit in the sky where I'm gonna go when I die?" Or even if he mentions Jesus. We go oh, we get all excited. But there is a faith that is short of saving faith. There is superficial faith. How do we know that? While James describes it. He says you say you believe in God, you do well. (James 2:19+) But I want you to know even the demons believe and they tremble. They believe in God so much that they have an emotional response. They tremble. Warren Wiersbe calls these people in Jerusalem by a special interesting little title. He calls them "unsaved believers." it's an interesting phrase. They are unsaved believers. He knows what's in their heart, He knows they want a free meal, He knows they want a miracle. He knows that they're not really fully committed to Him with saving faith. They just like what they see, they love the entertainment value, they're going along for the ride. Unsaved believers. "But he did not commit Himself to them, because he knew all men. And he had no need that anyone should testify of man for he knew what was in man." (TRANSCRIPT) Bob Utley on believed in the present context indicates "uncertainty as to the genuineness of the crowd’s commitment to Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. Other examples of this superficial use of the term “believe” are in John 8:31–59 and Acts 8:13, 18–24 (see Simon Magus). True biblical faith is more than an initial response (ED: AND MORE THAN INTELLECTUAL ACCEPTANCE). It must be followed by a process of discipleship (cf. Mt. 13:20–22, 31–32+)....these superficial "believers" were drawn to Jesus by His miracles (cf. Jn 2:11; 7:31). Their purpose was to affirm Jesus’ person and work. However, it must be noted that faith in the mighty works of Jesus was never adequate, persevering belief (cf. Jn 4:38; 20:29). The object of faith must be Jesus (cf. Jn 20:30–31). Miracles are not automatically a sign of God (cf. Matt. 24:24; Rev. 13:13; 16:14; 19:20). Jesus’ works were meant to lead people to faith in Him (cf. Jn 2:23; 6:14; 7:31; 10:42); often people saw the sign but refused to believe (cf. Jn 6:27; 11:47; 12:37). (John 2 Commentary)(See also Believe, Trust, Faith, and Faithfulness in the Old Testament) Compare Simon the magician's "belief" (and even baptism) in Acts 8:13+ - "Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed." And then in Acts 8:19-23+ we read about Simon's "belief" (Simon says), “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” Observing (theaomai) His signs - NET = "they saw the miraculous signs." These signs are not specifically recorded a fact John alludes to in John 20:30 and John 21:25. The Jews were continually (present tense) giving rapt contemplation to Jesus' miraculous signs. This seems almost too difficult to believe, that the Jews carefully observed first hand the signs of Jesus, but yet most of them completely missed His message of redemption! The verb theoreo is from theoros which means a spectator, one who looks at something with interest and purpose, carefully observing the details of what is happening. These Jews were "seers" of the Word (the Living Word Himself - Rev 19:13+) but failed to become "doers" of the Word and thus failed to become genuine believers. One is reminded of James' command to "But prove (present imperative - See discussion of the Need for the Holy Spirit to obey this and all NT commands) yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves." (James 1:22+) J.