"Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast,
many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did
not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that
anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man." (vv.23-25)
Here in out text many people believed in Jesus for what He could do, not
for who He was. They were caught up in the many signs and miracles that He
performed, but did not believe in their hearts that He was the Son of God.
Therefore, seeing their hearts and knowing their motives He did not put His
trust in them nor commit to them. He acted cautiously and prudently concerning
them.
Thus, there
is a faith to which Christ will not unveil himself - will not give
himself to. Conditional faith in the Name of Christ, produced by
"signs," real or artificial, fictitious or sacramental, mystic, or
miraculous, is not comparable to the faith in Christ Himself. Saying we believe
that Christ existed, or that we believe in the signs and miracles He performed,
is not true faith in Him and who He was.
As Jesus
would later say to Nicodemus (who recognized that the signs He was performing
meant God was with Him), "no one can see the kingdom of God unless they
are born again" (John 3:3). In other words, believing in signs is not
enough, you must believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God. So while
you may be able to fool others by; playing church, living a moral life, or
saying you are a Christian, you can't fool God.
The Truth:
"for the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward
appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7b)
