Jesus knows what’s in your heart
John 2:23-25
23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.
So far in John:
Jesus is the Word, He’s God in the flesh, He was in the beginning, He’s the embodiment of Grace and Truth. He asks us to “follow me” and knowing that we are to “do whatever he tells us to do”
In the “rush” to get to the sermon point, I don’t want us to miss the big picture here. Remember Jesus is in the midst of the Jews and they should see this…but they don’t. I don’t want us to do the same.
Remember grace and truth are what he’s bringing but they only know the law given from Moses.
Jesus is bringing the blessings of the Kingdom with his miracle of water into wine, and that’s better than the water in the jars that was used for ceremonial cleansing. (He’s looking at our hearts, he’s impacting our hearts, the inside, not the outside) —Believe!
He will re-emphasize that here again in the rest of chapter 2, that they are worried with the temple and who can get in and He’s telling them that He is the new temple (the way to God)
Now the rest of Chapter 2
John 2:13-25
[13] The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. [14] In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. [15] And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. [16] And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” [17] His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
[18] So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” [19] Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” [20] The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” [21] But he was speaking about the temple of his body. [22] When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
[23] Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. [24] But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people [25] and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.
————
Shallow Belief
Do you know why I asked the kids why they come down every week? Sure, it’s cute and fun. It’s nice to see us let our guards down. I see many smiles when they come and especially when they tell us a good story, right? The reality is their faith can’t come from you (momma and daddy) or from me. We can be examples and should be, we can bring them to church with us and we should; but they have to listen and understand and decide for themselves. We aren’t trying to coerce or brainwash, though that’s what the world does. We are trying to develop a deep understanding of scripture and in turn that will become a deep understanding of Jesus……or it should. As a reminder that should be the same for you.
Shallow belief is the topic today.
Let’s look back at our passage:
John 2:23-25
[23] Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. [24] But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people [25] and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.
He knows what is in man. What does that mean?
Let’s look back where we’ve been so far.
John 1 starts with telling us Jesus is God (and rightfully so) then we see John the Baptist and his ministry, then Jesus comes on the scene and some begin to follow.
John 1:47-51
[47] Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” [48] Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” [49] Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” [50] Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” [51] And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
——
So almost at the very beginning we see people looking for signs. I want to say….I understand, we don’t want to follow just anyone. We need to make sure we know, but it’s funny that we’ll follow almost anything else without much evidence right?
If you see something on the internet or even on the news today many people take it as fact though we know that it’s not all true, right.
Let me step back a second and help us see the big picture here and it might help.
If I had you define the circumstances that you want for yourself and your family for the rest of your life you might describe:
Great health
Good jobs or even wealth
Good relationships
Nice homes and cars
Opportunity to better yourself or your kids
Freedom to worship as you would like
I guess…Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness is a pretty good way to say it right?
In all of history, where do you think that is the most likely? In all of history and all of the world? Yes, regardless of what the detractors say. Right here in America.
No argument right? I mean I’ve been on the other side of the world and some of you have and you know the difference right? Just the ability today to go to a doctor or the store….it’s just not like that everywhere. NOTE: I’m not trying to make any of us feel bad or guilty, we were blessed to be born here and as far as I can tell we’re not all called to move to North Korea (although if He tells you to do it, you should “do whatever he tells you” right?)
So the environment is great. Opportunity is wide open. Our faith should be deep since we see the ‘signs’, the blessings of God everywhere but somehow we overlook it… we miss it. Despite the signs Christianity is declining. Why? Shallow or no faith
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The vast majority of U.S. adults believe in God, but the 81% who do so is down six percentage points from 2017 and is the lowest in Gallup’s trend. Between 1944 and 2011, more than 90% of Americans believed in God.
Gallup’s May 2-22 Values and Beliefs poll finds 17% of Americans saying they do not believe in God.
Gallup first asked this question in 1944, repeating it again in 1947 and twice each in the 1950s and 1960s. In those latter four surveys, a consistent 98% said they believed in God. When Gallup asked the question nearly five decades later, in 2011, 92% of Americans said they believed in God.
A subsequent survey in 2013 found belief in God dipping below 90% to 87%, roughly where it stood in three subsequent updates between 2014 and 2017 before this year’s drop to 81%.
Gallup has also in recent years asked other questions aimed at measuring belief in God or a higher power. All find the vast majority of Americans saying they believe; when given the option, 5% to 10% have said they were “unsure.”
Four in 10 Say God Can Hear Prayers, even Intervene
A follow-up question in the survey probed further into what Americans’ belief in God entails. Specifically, the question asked whether God hears prayers and whether God intervenes when people pray.
About half of those who believe in God — equal to 42% of all Americans — say God hears prayers and can intervene on a person’s behalf. Meanwhile, 28% of all Americans say God hears prayers but cannot intervene, while 11% think God does neither.
Bottom Line
Fewer Americans today than five years ago believe in God, and the percentage is down even more from the 1950s and 1960s when almost all Americans did. Still, the vast majority of Americans believe in God, whether that means they believe a higher power hears prayers and can intervene or not. And while belief in God has declined in recent years, Gallup has documented steeper drops in church attendance, church membership and confidence in organized religion, suggesting that the practice of religious faith may be changing more than basic faith in God.
———-
So what? Well if you want to know why we are where we are as a society there you have it. People don’t believe in God as much. Hard to have moral underpinnings overall without that. I’m not saying there aren’t people out there with morals, but it’s pretty easy to see the parallels. So either no faith at all or shallow faith right?
So if we had more believers in the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, & 60s. What happened? Man doesn’t drift toward God. The natural man’s tendency is to drift away. That’s what we’ve done. Who’s fault? Well the material success has never been higher right? I mean we have people in here who can tell you what it was like to get fruit for Christmas, but we are deciding which electronic device. Again, I’m not trying to guilt you today. It’s okay, I’m not looking under your Christmas tree, nor judging you by your house or car. There’s nothing wrong with those things (as long as God is first). Our problem in America and in our homes today is that He’s not first, and I don’t think even second or third. And if you want my harshest answer as to why…. it’s that families and the churches have failed or are failing (not all). The world is winning. Satan is rejoicing. Shallow or no faith is the deal.
Look at the temptation of Christ…what’s offered.
Matthew 4:1-11
[1] Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. [2] And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. [3] And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” [4] But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
[5] Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple [6] and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
[7] Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” [8] Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. [9] And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” [10] Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”
[11] Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
———-
Verse 7…you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.
That’s what we’re seeing all through John 1 and 2 thus far.
John 2:23-25
[23] Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. [24] But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people [25] and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.
“Though many “believed” in him, Jesus would not entrust himself to them. So in 23 many believed, but in 24 Jesus did not entrust himself to them. The word for “believed” here in 23 in Greek sounds like the word for “entrust” in 24. You see their trust in him was not of a sort to make Jesus entrust himself to them. Evidently, the belief of these people, based upon witnessing the signs Jesus performed, was shallow and inauthentic. Perhaps it stopped at wonderment and did not progress to commitment.” – Colin Kruse
Is that how we are? Do we only believe with miracles or signs? Is he only Savior if he does what I need? Heals me, blesses me, fixes something, gets me a new something? Is that how you want your kids to know and love you? Because of what you can get them? How about your spouse?
Pretty hard on us today Bro. John……
In the NT Pastoral epistles (specifically those that instruct pastors what to do, listen to what it says)
3 most-repeated commands:
1) Preach/teach the Word (14xs)
2) Set an example with your life (7xs)
3) Avoid foolish talk/controversies (7xs)
Preach/Teach the Word. That’s what I’m doing here. This passage says that you better not base the depth of your belief on what you think God has done for you in the way of miracles. You’d better see Him for who He is and follow him and do what he says because He knows what’s in your heart!!! You are not going to fool him. You can fool others, you can play act at home, work or church, but you can’t do it with God. He knows everything. Don’t pretend he doesn’t. He knows everything and is trying to help you today. He loves you.
Romans 5:6-8
[6] For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—[8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This isn’t just a salvation message for the unsaved today. It’s for you Christian, whether you walk is strong or weak….you and I are to obey Him and trust Him. Let’s live rightly. Listen to what He tells his true believers near the end of his earthly ministry at the Last Supper.
He trusts them because he knows what’s in their hearts.
John 15:12-15
[12] “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. [13] Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. [14] You are my friends if you do what I command you. [15] No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
