He gets us

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, when they saw His signs which He was doing. But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He had no need that anyone bear witness concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.

John 2:23-25

Introduction

You might have noticed an advertisement that ran this year during the final NFL game of the post-season. Many people are happy to see the message, “There’s more to life than more. What if Jesus shows us how to find it?” As part of the “He Gets Us” ad campaign that grabbed national attention 3 years ago, these high dollar promotions are intended to encourage people to seek Jesus out and learn more about the faith.

But these ads have also drawn quite a bit of criticism, not the least of which being a total and complete lack of gospel attached to them. Yes, He understands our struggles. He can sympathize with our weakness since He, too, lived life as a man (Hebrews 4:15). But without knowing that He is the solution to our sin problem, sympathy can only take us so far. What is missed in so many failed attempts at evangelism is the omission of the gospel.

And what this passage shows us is that He does get us, but not merely in a sympathetic way. But He “knew what was in man,” which compelled Him not to entrust Himself to them.

He already knew

One of the most famous verses exposing the nature of man is Jeremiah 17:9-10, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can know it? I, Yahweh, search the heart; I test the inmost being, each to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” This is a hard truth for many of us to come to terms with: our own hearts are deceitful. And not just deceitful, but more deceitful than all else and desperately sick! What a far cry this is from the adage, “Follow your heart.”

This brokenness in man’s heart is a direct result of the fall. Because our first parents sinned, we became slaves to sin (1 Corinthians 15:22; Romans 6:20). This sorry state for mankind is the very reason we are in need of a savior. Being slaves to sin, we must do what sin demands. Being slaves to sin, we cannot make ourselves free. Just like the Israelites were forced to make bricks without the use of straw (Exodus 5:7), so we in our natural state are made to live a life in opposition to God.

Being God in the flesh, Jesus knew these things about man. Even as Psalm 14 teaches us, “Yahweh looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there is anyone who has insight, anyone who seeks after God. They have all turned aside, altogether they have become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” So if no one seeks after God, then why were these from Jerusalem believing in His name?

I will believe it when I see it

When did these men begin believing? They believed, “when they saw His signs which He was doing.” Knowing their hearts, Jesus also knew their motivation to believe was bound up in spectacle.

Now, there is nothing wrong with believing because you have witnessed the power of God. That happens all the time, in fact! Talk to a handful of professing Christians, and you are bound to hear how someone became a believer because of a miraculous healing, hopeless situation turned around, or some other earthly deliverance. These testimonies are good and genuine, and we should rejoice that God uses miracles to gather in His elect.

But the kind of faith we see at the end of John’s second chapter is the kind that is constantly in search of the next exciting moment. And those who have such a faith find themselves the target of traveling con-men like Simon the Magician of Acts 8. This man was so devious and self interested that he even believed he could buy the power of the Spirit to grow his own personal following.

This kind of faith is self interested. It is overjoyed by telling people, “you won’t believe what I saw today,” and nothing more. But the faith that saves is the faith that actually compels us to follow after Jesus. It is not a faith that shows up on Sunday morning, and is gone by Sunday Night Football. It is the result of a renewed heart, made whole by the eternal Son of God, no longer deceitful above all things, and no longer unsearchable.

We all struggle in this life. But the answer to sin is not more wandering. The answer is found in the sacrificial work of God made man in Jesus Christ who walked the earth, lived a sinless life, and died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. The answer is found in Him who was raised up on the third day, conquering death and granting eternal life to all who believe.

May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.