Daily Devotions
John
The signs which Jesus performed
Text: John 2:13-25
THE SIGNS WHICH JESUS PERFORMED
Though Jesus did not give in to the demands of the Jews, nevertheless, John noted that Jesus did perform miracles that were rightly called “signs”.
“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.”
John 2:23
What were these signs? We are not told specifically what these signs were. John was very selective when he included only a very small number of sign-miracles in his Gospel. The Synoptic Gospels recorded a good number of the sign-miracles. Let us consider a typical day of the Lord Jesus. Mark wrote,
“At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him
all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.
And the whole city was gathered together at the door.
Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases,
And cast out many demons…”
Mark 1:32-34
Matthew agreed with Mark in his general description of the things Jesus did on a typical day.
“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing all kinds
of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.”
Matthew 4:23
Luke made the same observation concerning the sign-miracles of Jesus. He wrote,
“When the sun was setting, all those who had any
that were sick with diseases brought them to Him;
and He laid His hands on everyone of them and healed them.”
Luke 4:40
Were the Jews seeking signs from Jesus? He healed the sick. He cast out demons! Were these not suitable signs that proved that He was indeed the Messiah sent from God?
John made an interesting observation as Jesus healed many. He noted that “many believed in His Name” (John 2:23). What did he mean by that comment?
On the surface, the people appeared to have expressed that they now possessed faith in Jesus because they saw the signs that He performed. Did they really believe in Jesus? Did they have a faith that resulted in true salvation?
John made another observation that takes our breath away. He wrote,
“But Jesus did not commit Himself to them,
because He knew all men
and had no need that any should testify of man,
for He knew what was in man.”
John 2:24-25
A MERE PROFESSION OF FAITH DOES NOT EQUAL GENUINE FAITH
There was a play of words in the Greek text that does not appear clearly in the NKJV text. Let’s do a literal (free) translation of John 2:23-24.
“Many believed in His Name when they saw the signs…”
John 2:23
“But Jesus Himself did not believe them…”
John 2:24
Did they really believe in Jesus? For all wants and purposes, the multitudes appeared to have expressed faith in Jesus. On His part, Jesus who knew the hearts of men only too well, did not believe in their profession of faith!
Throughout his Gospel John made notes concerning people who professed faith. Did they truly believe? It is hard to know who truly believes, and yet it is so important that we are able to recognize genuine faith from false faith!
THE OMNISCIENCE OF THE MESSIAH
John quietly introduced another aspect of the power of the Messiah. He knew the hearts of men. Did He not look at Simon and call him Cephas (Cf. John 1:42)? Did He not look at Nathanael and recognize him as an Israelite with no guile (Cf. John 1:47)?
The Disciples of Jesus were close enough to Him to make these observations. It is likely that Jesus shared with His Disciples what He understood of the hearts of men. They must learn this lesson well. Many may one day profess that they have come to believe in Jesus, and yet they may not possess genuine faith.
DO SIGNS REALLY PRODUCE FAITH?
John’s observation must be carefully understood. He was seeking to bring home an important theological truth in this portion of the Word of God. Jesus may or may not perform signs. That was His prerogative, for He was the Messiah.
However, even if signs were performed, that did not necessarily result in faith. Jesus had performed many signs on this visit to Jerusalem. Many had professed faith in Jesus because they saw the signs that He performed. However, the solemn truth was that though they expressed belief in Jesus , He Himself did not believe them!
What a startling truth! Do we desire to see signs from the Lord? Do we think that if we had a sign or two, then we would have a stronger faith? We are challenged to rethink this approach. Signs do not generate faith! Signs do not necessarily confirm or strengthen faith.
How then is faith generated? John quietly maintains that genuine faith commences with knowing who Jesus really is, as the Scriptures reveal Him. A genuine faith in Jesus is necessarily word-centered! Check your faith. Is it Word-centered?