A Study of John's Gospel

John 2:23-25: Jesus Knows What Is In Man

Jesus Knows What is in Man

A study of John 2:23-25

"Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man."

‭‭John‬ ‭2‬:‭23‬-‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-Passover: "pascha", "πάσχα"; neuter noun - the paschal festival, the feast of Passover, extending from the fourteenth to the twentieth day of the month of Nisan.

-(At The) Feast: "heortē", "ἑορτή"; feminine noun - to be engaged in celebrating the feast.

-Many: "polys", "πολύς"; adjective - many, much, large, many people.

-Believed: "pisteuō", "πιστεύω"; verb - the creedence given to God's messengers and their words.

-Name: "onoma", "ὄνομα"; neuter noun - the name of God in the N. T. is used for all those qualities which to his worshippers are summed up in that name, and by which God makes himself known to men; it is therefore equivalent to his divinity; used in the N. T. of all those things which, in hearing or recalling that name, we are bidden to recognize in Jesus and to profess; accordingly, of "his Messianic dignity, divine authority, memorable sufferings, in a word the peculiar services and blessings conferred by him on men,".

-When They Saw (Observing): "theōreō", "θεωρέω"; verb - to be a spectator, look at, behold, the majesty of the Father resplendent in the Son.

-Signs: "sēmeion", "σημεῖον"; neuter noun - of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God's.

-He Was Doing: "poieō", "ποιέω"; verb - joined to nouns involving the idea of action (or of something which is accomplished by action), so as to form a periphrasis (use of multiple words to express what could be said in fewer words) for the verb cognate (verb's object) to the substantive, and thus to express the idea of the verb more forcibly.

-Entrusting: "pisteuō", "πιστεύω"; verb - to entrust a thing to one, to be entrusted with a thing.

-Knew: "ginōskō", "γινώσκω"; verb - to know one, his person, character, mind, plans.

-All People: "pas", "πᾶς"; adjective - all people in every time and place.

-Man: "anthrōpos", "ἄνθρωπος"; masculine noun - all human individuals.

Observation/Summary(short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

As Jesus stayed in Jerusalem during the Passover feast, many believed in Him when they witnessed the signs He performed. Evidently, the "sign" asked for by the Jewish leaders after Jesus cleansed the temple was provided in the following hours and days if only they would stoop from their lofty perch to look. And we know from what comes next in chapter 3 that at least one Jewish leader named Nicodemus did take notice of His signs. We are also told that while Jesus performed signs and people believed in His name, He did not "entrust" Himself to them because He knew all people and knew what was in them, in other words, the content of their heart, mind and character.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

In the previous verses we read of how Jesus traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover feast, and then cleansed the temple of the greedy merchants and money changers who should not have been buying and selling in a place of worship. After this first cleansing of the temple, the Jewish leaders who should never have allowed the market to be set up in the first place, questioned Him, asking for a miraculous sign as a symbol of His authority to cleanse the temple and He told them that if they destroyed the temple of His physical body, He would raise it back up in three days. They did not understand and thought He meant the temple building complex, but even in spite of all this, Jesus was not arrested, and He stayed in Jerusalem for the multiple days long celebration of Passover.