Wrong Understanding

Lesson #31

Our lesson today will cover the text from John 2:23 – 25. “Now when [Jesus] was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.” People were drawn to Jesus, not because of who he was, but because of what he was doing. It is the same today. People are drawn to a good performance or something spectacular. Through the signs he was doing, people began to see him as a possible deliverer and began to associate him with the Messiah, but their concept of Messiah was not the same as that of Jesus. Today the concept of who Jesus is in the minds of people is very different from who he really is. Only Jesus who is accepted as God in flesh is the true savior and Messiah.

There is growing tension between Jesus and the Jewish leaders and there is a growing desire by the people to have Jesus take charge and set them free from the Roman oppression. Jesus has to act cautiously and prudently to be sure neither group gets out of hand or join forces against him. Jesus has much work to do before it is time for his death. As a result “Jesus would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people” (John 2:24 NET). Jesus needed to maintain a balanced relationship with those around him to allow him time to do the work given to him by his Father.

“[Jesus] did not need anyone to testify about man, for he knew what was in man” (John 2:25 NET). No one had to explain to Jesus what man was like. “He knew what was in man” because “All things were created by him” (John 1:3 NET) and because he was God (John 1:1). Their belief in him was not true belief. What they believed he could accomplish would satisfy their desires, but it was definitely not according to God’s plans. The tension between what they wanted Jesus to do and what God’s plan was for him would eventually cause them to join the Jewish leaders and turn against Jesus for claiming to be someone they believed he was not.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, what an awesome thing it is to think that you could create the universe and then enter into it through a woman to demonstrate to a sinful people what God is like and then show through your death and resurrection how much God loves us. Lord, as I watch you carefully spend time with people I see the importance and caution that should guide me as a witness. Father, I pray for my brothers and sisters in locations where they don’t know if they will live another day because of their faith in Jesus.