But 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. John 2:24-25
Knowing
that Jesus knows everything is an awesome revelation. It brings Him
to the door of a person's soul and forces them to allow or deny His
entrance. Knowing that He knows our thoughts brings conviction of
sin, shows us our need of forgiveness, and allows us to believe on
Him as our Saviour.
The
Gospel of John clearly reaffirms this divine attribute of Christ.
That Jesus is omniscient is one of the evidences of His identity.
John's account of our wonderful all-knowing Saviour is revealed through
his written testimony (John 21:24). He was one of Jesus' twelve apostles,
having previously been a disciple of John the Baptist (1:35). He and
his brother, James (also an apostle) were the sons of a man named
Zebedee (Matt. 4:21), and were fishermen by trade. He was one of the
three apostles that were among Jesus' "inner circle" (Matthew 17:1;
Mark 9:2, 14:38; Luke 8:51, 9:28), who also wrote I, II and III John
as well as the book of Revelation. Even though Jesus labeled him and
his brother James, "sons of thunder" (Mk. 9:38, Luke 9:54), he affectionately
referred to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23,
21:20). He was a pillar in the early church (Galatians 2:9, Revelation
1:9) and his apocalyptic visions made him a "new testament" prophet,
akin to those that Jehovah had sent to His people Israel.
Thus,
John, this richly endowed witness, is the person who relates the passage
of consideration. He understatedly affirms his purpose for so doing
to his universal audience: that they "might believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing (they) might have life
through his name" (John 20:31). This is the modus operandi of the
church as well.
Although
we know that John wrote his gospel sometime during his later life,
somewhere between A.D. 85-90, the exact date is uncertain. However,
the time of the events surrounding the passage is easier to pinpoint.
John is referring to the time that Jesus made his first Passover journey
to Jerusalem in the early part of His ministry. This would have been
the 14th day of the Hebrew month, Abib, A.D. 27 (A. T. Robertson),
during the feast day itself (John 2:23).
Since
Passover was a required holy day for the Jewish people (Numbers 9:2-3;
Deuteronomy 16:1-8), Jesus naturally partook of the ordinance, as
did his disciples, by going to Jerusalem which was the appointed "place"
(Deut. 16:6, 16), that being where the temple was located (John 2:13-15)
and previously where the ark had been located (i.e., God's presence).
It was the place where religious Jews assembled to fulfill the required
holy days. Subsequently, it was the religious center of the nation,
and those that traveled there for appointed holy days had their "best
(religious) foot forward." Doubtless, those inhabitants of Jerusalem
also "gussied" themselves spiritually for the onslaught of the descendants.
The
city had gone through several metamorphoses since the time of the
original temple construction by Solomon and David. Due to the Jews
disobedience, God allowed enemy nations and kingdoms to ransack, plunder
and destroy the city. These included the Philistines and Arabians
in the reign of Johoram (II Chronicles 21:16-17); and the divided
Northern Kingdom in the reign of Amaziah (II Chron. 25:21-24). Nebuchadnezzar
thrice took the city; his last attack leaving it thoroughly destroyed
(II Chron. 36). Divinely sanctioned, Cyrus, king of Persia had Jerusalem
rebuilt (II Chron. 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4), only to have it later captured
by Alexander the Great in B.C. 332, and later by the Syrian king,
Antiochus Epiphanes, in B.C. 170. The city was captured by the Romans
in B.C. 63, and Herod was appointed ruler of the Judean area. Nominally
a Jew, he had a beautiful temple constructed for the people which
entailed an ongoing process of adornment (John 2:20). Undoubtedly,
Herod's concept of religious worship had influenced Jerusalem and
its inhabitants.
The
occasion of John's statement was then in reference to events that
had occurred during this time of religious activity at the Jerusalem
Passover. Jesus had entered the city in obedience to the Mosaic command,
and upon his arrival, having seen the greed and commercialism rampant
in the house of worship commenced to eradicate the sin and hypocrisy
(John 2:14-16). The Jews, upon seeing his self-proclaimed authority,
demanded a sign from Jesus (v. 18), although they had already had
the witness of John the Baptist through their emissaries that had
been sent (John 1:19,24) to question John of his authority and identity
(John 1:19-34). Having not received John's witness of Christ, they
sought for a sign whereupon Jesus spoke of His death and resurrection
(vs. 19, 21). Amongst those who demanded Jesus credentials were others
who "believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did"
(v. 23). These are the "them" that the apostle John is referring to
in our passage of consideration.
The
aim of John was not only to convey the omniscience of Christ, but
also the exercising of that omniscience in the area of faith. That
Jesus, as God, could embody this attribute is awesomely wonderful
while being awesomely terrifying. Although the circumstances in consideration
convey the Lord's disassociation from a particular group of "believers,"
this timeless principle can be applied to all professors of Christianity.
The
literary form of John's gospel lends itself to an accurate rendering
of factual data, employing many sublime metaphors such as: "Lamb of
God" (John 1:29,35), "I am the bread of life" (6:48), "I am the light
of the world" (8:12, 9:5), "I am the door" (10:9), "I am the good
shepherd" (10:11), and "I am the vine" (15:1-5). It is probably the
most endearing account of Christ due to John's closeness to the Saviour
- closer than any other of the gospel writers.
The
time of the incarnation of the Son of God or the unveiling of the
Second Person of the trinity was the historical time frame of our
passage. The promised Messiah had appeared on the scene of human history
(John 1:14). It was the time directly after John the Baptist's identification
of the Saviour (v. 7-8, 15, 29-34, 36). It was the time of the most
important event in the affairs of man - the time for the antidote
that would rectify the malaise that had occurred in the Garden of
Eden (Genesis 3:15). Even though God's dealings with His creation
had experienced the cycles of judgment and favor, the culmination
of both were to be manifested in His Son, the epitome of truth and
righteousness - the Light of the world (John 1:7-9, 23, 29). This
manifestation of God Himself, dwelling amongst His creation, makes
the revelation of His mind so important. While He knew the minds of
men, man had the privilege of knowing the mind of God. Through Christ,
we have access to the mind of God (John 1:18). John, the disciples
and all seekers of the truth had the opportunity to "pick" the mind
of God and to inquire into the mysteries of life (Colossians 2:2-3).
What a privilege! What a responsibility.
Spiritually,
it was a very dark time (John 1:5). Israel, nationally, had more or
less lost its unity, not having the presence of God or a king in the
succession of David. They had suffered the ravages of God due to their
disobedience, although He had not forsaken them entirely - the appearance
of Christ confirmed that. Only a few looked for the hope of Israel,
such as Simeon, Anna, John the Baptist and a few others. Israel's
religion had degenerated to factious sects enlisting their followers
to various rules and regulations regarding their perverted beliefs
of the truth. Amongst them were the Pharisees, Saducees and Herodians.
Even when gentile wise men sought for the King of the Jews, few Jews
enjoined their excitement and anticipation, with the exception of
Herod, who diligently strove to eliminate any successor to his throne.
The religion of the day was powerless and hypocritical.
Prior
to the Incarnation, Israel had the oracles of God (Romans 3:1-2).
They were entrusted with His Word, and were accountable to obey it.
Jesus had come to them in fulfillment of God's promises of a Messiah
(John 1:11, 31). They were under law and grace simultaneously at the
time of the revelation of the Son of God (John 1:14, 16-17; Matthew
3:15, 5:17). Thus, it was a time of division. God had intervened from
eternity, dividing darkness from light, error from truth, wrong from
right, and death from life. The revelation of the Son of God was the
revelation of God Himself - the dawning of greater grace.
As
the text is considered in our passage, the rendering of "But Jesus
did not commit himself unto them" (KJV) or "But Jesus on His part,
was not entrusting Himself to them" (NASV) indicates a disassociation
on the part of the Lord to a group of people who "believed in His
name" (John 2:23) while He was in Jerusalem during the early part
of His ministry. "Did not commit" (KJV) or "was not entrusting" (NASV)
embody the Greek verb "pisteuo," which means "believe, have faith
in, be convinced of, trust, rely on, or have confidence in" (Complete
Biblical Library). Although it is the same Greek word used in verse
23 as "believed" its negation here requires careful consideration
which will be discussed later. It is the same word used in John 1:50,
where Jesus is asking Nathanael if it was due to the Lord's omniscience
that he had "believest" Him to be the Son of God and King of Israel.
"Because
He knew all men" (KJV) and "for He knew all men" (NASV) explain why
Jesus did not commit Himself to these Jerusalem "believers." The word
"know" is the key word in this passage. It is the word which describes
the omniscient attribute of the Lord. It is translated from the Greek
word "ginosko," which means "know, become aware, perceive, understand,
be conscious of" (CBL). W. E. Vine states that it also includes "to
be taking in knowledge, to come to know, recognize, or to understand
completely." He further adds: "ginosko frequently indicates a relation
(emphasis mine) between the person knowing and the object known; in
this respect, what is known is of value or importance to the one who
knows, and hence the establishment of the relationship." The CBL notes
that "a fundamental tenet of Johannine Christology is that the world
(kosmos) does not - cannot - know the Son or the Father apart from
the grace of God manifest in the Son (John 1.10...). The Son revealed
himself in His miracles...but his glory was made full known, and hence
the Father was made known, through the Cross... 'Knowledge' comes
through revelation of God through Jesus (17:6) to those willing to
believe. In this sense 'knowledge' approximates faith."
"And
needed not that any should testify of man" (KJV) or "And because He
did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man" (NASV) express
the sufficiency of Christ's knowledge. "Testify" (KJV) and "bear witness"
(NASV) are translated from the Greek word "martureo" which means "bear
witness, be a witness, testify" (CBL). It has a legal meaning and
in John's gospel denotes "the witness (a) of God the Father to Christ
(5:32, 37; 8:18); (b) of Christ (3:11, 32; 4:44; 5:31; 7:7; 8:13,
14, 18; 13:21; 18:37); (c) of the Scriptures, to Christ (John 5:39);
(d) of the works of Christ, to Himself, and of the circumstances connected
with His Death (5:36; 10:25); of prophets and apostles, to the righteousness
of God (1:7, 8, 15, 32, 34; 3:26; 5:33)...(f) of others, concerning
Christ (4:39); (g) of believers to one another (3:28);...(j) of unbelievers
concerning Christ (18:23), concerning others (2:25)...(Vine). This
important word describes "such testimony...predicated upon personal
experience" (CBL). Our Lord Who "testified" of God, Himself, His work
and others, and had God, Himself, His work and others "testify" of
Him, did not need anyone to tell Him anything: "for he knew what was
in man" (KJV) or "for He Himself knew what was in man" (NASV). This
closing phrase of our text, explains why Jesus did not need any one
to inform Him of anything.
The
omniscient aspect of Jesus' nature is clearly stated. "Knew" is translated
from the Greek word "eginosken" a cognate of "ginosko," a verb we
have already examined. Here this divine attribute ascribed to God
in the Old Testament in scores of passages is manifested in Jesus.
Jesus knew the miracle-generated believers in Jerusalem to the core,
and because of His knowledge he did not trust them.
In
viewing the structure of John 2:24-25 it can be concluded that the
subject involves Christ's knowledge of genuine faith in Him. Possible
outlines may include:
|
Faith
I.
Involves knowledge
A.
Of Christ by men
B.
Of Men by Christ
II. Involves commitment
A.
Of Christ to men
B.
Of men to Christ
or: Christ Knows
I.
All thoughts
II. All men
A.
Those having faith in Him
B.
Those not having faith in Him
|
True
faith involves a mutual knowledge, both of the recipient and of the
person believed in. A believer in Christ cannot have an incomplete
understanding of Jesus. It cannot be superficial or deficient in any
way. He must be seen as the Saviour. Just to see the miracles or signs
that He performed and attributing them to divine power only frustrates
His identity, since all persons in the Godhead have the same ability.
Since John the Baptist introduced Jesus as God's sacrificial Lamb,
he was looking beyond any miraculous tokens of the Godhead to the
essence of the person and work of Christ. Those that saw Jesus in
this manner, as the sacrificial Lamb exercising His grace and mercy
on their soul's behalf, would see Him in the proper context and therefore
commit their souls to Him. Anything less or other than this could
not be genuine faith.
In
return, due to His omniscience and foreknowledge of those that would
believe on Him in true revelation of His person and work, Christ would
commit Himself to them. This union, a relationship of the most intimate
nature, is the glorious salvation of sinful man. When Jesus commits
Himself to someone, He teaches them. They become His disciples. If
a person is not teachable, they are not committed to Christ, nor is
He to them. Many saw the power of Christ, but failed to see His omniscient
eye. Had they allowed themselves to experience such scrutiny, they
could have experienced His grace and mercy through conversion.
Since
Christ is salvation, His thoughts toward men would concern their redemption,
as was evidenced by His incarnation and sacrificial life. Christ's
omniscience plays an important part in the salvation of every soul.
He knows those who will believe on Him and those who will not. His
ability to know the thoughts of every heart should invoke fear and
dread in those that know that they have been "discovered," and are
worthy of righteous judgment.
If
a person just looks at the "signs" or "miracles" that Jesus performed,
they don't see Jesus as He truly is. Truly, only God could perform
the miracles He did, but they only revealed His omnipotence, not His
omniscience. His manipulation of the physical blinded people to His
spiritual prowess. Certainly, the miracles should have drawn people
to enquire of the Person performing the miracles, but the gaze of
many went no further than what had occurred before their eyes. Had
they encountered the Person of Christ, they would have encountered
His whole being which would have revealed His omniscience, their sin,
and their need to trust in Him.
When
we look at our passage in the context of John's gospel the meaning
becomes more clear. One of the themes of the book is the deity of
Christ as conveyed in the first chapter. The grand truth that the
Word became flesh is another. The importance of the ministry and witness
of John the Baptist further enriches the book. John's sole purpose
was to identify the Lamb of God and fade off the scene. Identification
of both John and Christ are big issues in the first two chapters.
The Pharisee were more willing to accept John's person as the Messiah
than Jesus Himself, even though John denied the title and performed
no miracles or signs.
Even
when people sought for a sign or miracle from Jesus he replied by
speaking of His salvific work on their behalf for their sin (John
21:8, cp. Matthew 12:38-41). Many saw the miracles that He did and
"believed" in Him, but never saw their need in having Him forgive
their sins. It was also necessary for His omniscience to be apprehended.
As
mentioned earlier, "ginosko" is a key word in John's gospel "frequently
indicating a relationship between the person knowing and the object
known. In this respect, what is known is of value or importance to
the one who knows, and hence the establishment of the relationship."
When Andrew and John were directed by the Baptist to the Lamb of God
(a sin-bearing, salvific title), they followed Jesus (John 1:37).
By perceiving His true identity, a relationship was established upon
value and importance. Jesus, in turn, committed Himself to them as
their teacher and Saviour. Their insight prompted their witnesses
to Peter and James, who also became disciples. Philip recognized the
identity of Jesus after he obediently responded to the Lord's calling
(1:43-45) and directed Nathanael to Him. Although Andrew, John and
Philip followed Jesus from either John the Baptist's or the Lord's
bidding, their obedience or commitment to Him revealed or unveiled
His true identity and thus His divine attributes, including omniscience.
Peter
and Nathanael on the other hand, although curious of the prospect
of Jesus being the Messiah, were not fully persuaded until
they experienced His omniscient gaze (1:42; 47-50). Up to this time
in our passage these were the only disciples that John mentions prior
to the beginning of Jesus' miracles. When miracles were performed
by Christ, beginning with the turning of water into wine at the wedding
in Cana, the faith of His disciples increased, though others seeing
the miracles did not believe in Him. Those that were willing to follow
Jesus received fuller revelation as to His true identity.
When Jesus
came to Jerusalem for the Passover during the first part of His ministry
the city was moved by His presence. Ironically, they were celebrating
the Passover but failed to see the Passover Lamb that God and the
Baptist had acknowledged. At that time of skepticism, some Jews "believed"
in the name of Jesus "when they saw the miracles that he did" (2:23).
They were shallow believers. Obviously, Passover was the height of
religious activity in Jerusalem - high holy days, just as the holidays
Christmas and Easter are to the "church" today. Everyone was religious.
Everyone is "holy." Everyone likes to acknowledge and claim Jesus
at such times - its getting into the "spirit" of the occasion. Doubtlessly,
many of those keeping the Passover were Jews who, like the Pharisees,
had a "works righteousness" type of religion.
But,
alas, it is too well known that such "acknowledgers of Jesus" fail
to acknowledge Him at other times or on a continual basis. Nor do
they follow Him and His teachings in a consistent way. As they are
not committed to Him, He is not committed to them. Although they claim
to believe in Him, to know Him - He is really the One who knows them.
The few disciples that Jesus had at that time were those whom He was
committed to, as well as all that have committed themselves to Him
across the centuries (John 17:20). But those that He committed Himself
to were those that knew Him and knew that He knew them. It
is one thing to know about a person: his life and his works, but it
is another thing to know him personally. The Jerusalem, miracle-seeing
"believers" had this knowledge of the Messiah without the "personal
touch."
The
reason why any person will witness or give testimony of Christ is
because their testimony is based upon personal experience, due to
the mutual, intimate knowledge of Christ knowing them and of them
knowing Christ. It was especially omniscience on the part of Christ
that greeted Simon (in renaming him Peter, 1:42) and that amazed Nathanael
in having his thoughts revealed (1:47-51). Peter gave clear witness
as to Christ's identity (John 6:66; Matthew 16:16) as well as did
Nathanael (John 1:49).
Subsequently,
there are the renown accounts in John's gospel of Nicodemus and the
Samaritan woman; the Nicodemus conversation being the very next issue
in John's train of thought, "...for He knew what was in man. There
was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus" (John 2:25-3:1). Here,
again, the display of Christ's omniscience was working in a salvific
manner to awaken a religious man's soul. By deflecting Nicodemus's
pretext of coming in a representative capacity ("we know," John 3:1),
Jesus dealt with the man's personal problem and desire to know, evidenced
by his being alone and coming under the cloak of darkness (3:1). Nicodemus
was among those that sent a delegation to enquire of John the Baptist's
(John 1:19, 24) and received the clearest witness possible from God's
witness (1:15-34; 3:11). Christ's miracles were interpreted properly
by Nicodemus as well, for they caused him to seek the true identity
of the one performing the miracles.
But Jesus did
not ignore Nicodemus's error (which is a sin for an instructor)
of being "the teacher of Israel" and not instructing the nation as
to the ways of the Messiah (3:10). What in tarnation had
he been teaching them? Nicodemus should have recognized Jesus because
of his familiarity of the Scriptures, but he did not. A blind man
leading other blind men. However, Jesus, the all-knowing Lord, saw
through Nicodemus' greeting to his true condition and need: that of
regeneration (3:3-8). He re-confirmed His salvific identity to one
who had properly responded to His miracles (3:14). Nicodemus' commitment
to Christ was evidenced by his defense of the Lord (John 7:50-51)
and participation in His burial (19:39).
Also
in John's gospel the omniscient attribute of Christ is seen in His
dealing with the Samaritan woman (John 4:17-18, 29, 39). Jesus could
have told the woman everything about herself as our text confirms
(2:24-25), but his all-seeing eye focused on her sin (4:17-18)
not her good works, name, age or anything else. Although modern day
"healing evangelists" may claim to be "omniscient" in proclaiming
much trivial information about their "patients", how refreshing it
would be if they proclaimed the sins of the people that sought
after them for physical healings! Someone could get saved then, but
who would want to follow after the first victim's exposure? Oh, how
revival is needed!
One
of the most eye-opening verses in the gospel of John to support the
text is in the sixth chapter and sixty-fourth verse where Jesus says,
"'But there are some of you that believe not.' For Jesus knew from
the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray
him." Here we see a Satanic force behind some "believers" in Jesus.
They were actually not believers at all. They had only followed Jesus
for food, not even because of the miracles (6:26), but to fulfill
their fleshly appetites. His omniscience revealed that they were the
group that would condone His death. When Jesus' discourse on the bread
of life was taught to them, they found the teaching as well as the
teacher offensive, and separated themselves from it and Him. They
were not committed to Jesus, nor was He to them.
From
Genesis to Revelation God has been reminding people of His omniscience.
He judged the world by the Flood, having seen "that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5). The writer
of the book of Hebrews tell us, "For the word of God is quick, and
powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the
dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow, and
is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is
there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things
are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do"
(Hebrews 4:12-13). Is not this Christ? When the Word was made flesh
(John 1:14) did He not embody this passage? In virtually every verse
where Jesus is said to know the thoughts or hearts of individuals,
it is in reference to the evil that is there, not the good
(Matthew (9:4; 12:25; Mark 2:8; Luke 5:22; John 5:42). The evil heart
produces the evil thoughts (Matt. 15:19).
Jesus
is aware of the true and false disciples. He chose His disciples,
Judas being one of them, knowing full well of his betrayal (John 6:64,
70-71) and affiliation with Satan. Constantly, false disciples were
being weeded out by Christ's teaching; by being confronted with the
truth. Constantly were His disciples thoughts being considered and
exposed. A continual purging was taking place and those that continued
were the true believers (8:31). As more of the Word was being applied
to their lives, sin was being purged and Jesus was becoming more fully
revealed (8:32).
The
same work of Christ through His Word is continuing today (Heb. 4:13).
There are many false disciples who stumble at the Word, i.e., reject
it, and maintain the outward veneer of religion while remaining the
same unchanged core. They will not allow the omniscient mind of Christ,
through His Word, to penetrate their thoughts, find them guilty, and
cleanse them; therefore they betray Him. If a person gets to the place
where they can say, "I am a sinner and God knows it" - it is then
that they can come to Christ. Rejected grace can only bring judgment,
as it has throughout redemptive history and always will.
What
a comfort it is for the true believer (and they are the only
believers) to know that Christ knows everything about us, including
our thoughts. His omniscience produces sanctification in His saints
(John 21:17). How glorious it is for them to know He is aware of the
minutest details of their lives and loves them. That He would choose
and commit Himself to their eternal well-being through His redemption
and sanctification are thoughts too wonderful to consider. David said
in the 139th Psalm, "O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandeth
my thought afar off...Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is
high, I cannot attain unto it...How precious also are thy thoughts
unto me, God! how great is the sum of them!" (Psalm 139:1-2, 6, 17).
