But Jesus Did Not Entrust Himself To Them
John 2:23-25
April 24, 2022
Abraham Hong
Sermon Script
We are going through the book of John and we are learning about Jesus. About who he is and what he did for your salvation.
Here’s a quick recap. Jesus was the Word and the Word became flesh. Jesus was welcomed by John the Baptist. Jesus began to call his first disciples. And then, Jesus began to show signs about who he was.
One sign was when Jesus changed water into wine. Another sign was when Jesus cleansed the temple and spoke about his resurrection from death. And in general, Jesus showed many other signs through his miracles and his healings. All in all, Jesus began to show signs that demonstrated that he was the Son of God.
And that brings us to today’s serious passage.
John begins by telling us that many people believed in Jesus’ name when they saw the signs that he was doing. Many people saw who Jesus was and what he did. And many people believed in Jesus. At first glance, this sounds like a good thing.
But there was a serious problem. Jesus did not entrust himself to many people who believed in his name. This means that while many people considered Jesus as their friend, Jesus did not consider them as his friend. Poetically speaking, you can say that while many people believed in Jesus, Jesus did not believe in them (the two translated English words “believe” and “entrust” are actually the same exact word in the original Greek for “believe”). Many people on their part, many people on their end, connected themselves to Jesus. But Jesus on his part, Jesus on his end, did not connect himself to them.
This is not a good thing. This is a bad thing. A very bad thing.
Why did Jesus do this? Why did Jesus not entrust himself to certain people? The answer is this. Jesus knows everyone. Jesus is God. The second person of the Triune God. And Jesus needs no one to bear witness about man. He does not need observation to know everyone. He does not require help. He cannot be wrong. Jesus is God, and he needs no one to bear witness about man.
So Jesus knew all people. And what did he know about them?
Listen carefully. Jesus knew that many people who believed in his name did not actually have true repentance and saving faith. Jesus knew that many people who believed in his name did not ultimately come to him for salvation from sin and death.
Jesus knew. He knew what was in them. He knew their hearts and minds. He knew their hidden reasons and secret motives. He knew their hypocrisy and deception. He knew their sin and their sinfulness.
Many people believed in Jesus because they wanted him to bring about political change. Many people believed in Jesus because they only wanted his food or his healing. Many people believed in Jesus because they wanted eternal life as an end in and of itself.
But Jesus knew. Jesus knew them. And so he did not entrust himself to such people.
Listen to the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15). A sower went out to sow. The seed is the word of God.
Some seeds fell along a path and birds came and devoured them. Some people do not truly understand Jesus’ kingdom and so they do not believe and they are not saved. They do not have true repentance and saving faith. Jesus does not entrust himself to them.
Other seeds fell on rocky ground and grew immediately but because the soil was not deep they had no root and were eventually scorched by the sun and withered away. Some people have immediate joy and endure for a while but when times of testing or persecution come they fall away. They do not have true repentance and saving faith. Jesus does not entrust himself to them.
Other seeds fell among thorns and the thorns choked them. Some people have the word of God choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of the world and so they bear no mature fruit. They do not have true repentance and saving faith. Jesus does not entrust himself to them.
But then other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Some people hear the word of God and understand it and hold it fast in an honest and good heart and bear fruit with patience. They do have true repentance and saving faith. Jesus entrusts himself to them.
Dear Highland, this is very serious. So be warned. And be encouraged.
Dear Highland, be warned. People can think that they are saved when they are really not.
This can happen because of self-deception. Listen to these words from Jeremiah 17:9. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” People can vainly deceive themselves with false hope. They think that Jesus has entrusted himself to them. They are wrong. Do not be such people.
What can we do to make sure that we are not self-deceived? What can we do to be truly assured that we are truly saved? Thankfully, God tells us what we are to do as Christians. According to 2 Corinthians 13:5, we are to examine ourselves. According to Philippians 2:12, we are to work our salvation with fear and trembling. And according to 2 Peter 1:10, we are to be all the more diligent to confirm our calling and election.
What do these Bible verses mean? It all means this. Ask tough questions about yourself. About who you really are and what you really do. Read the Bible and check yourself with it. Pray to God and ask him for help. Talk to other brothers and sisters in Christ whom you trust. Talk to us pastors. Take your life in Christ more seriously. Put off sin and put on Christ. Show that your faith is real by doing good works that are real. Put greater value upon holiness and obedience.
And be humble in all of this. Do not think that you are above this call to examination. Do not think that the command to work out your salvation with fear and trembling does not apply to you.
Make this one of the highest priorities in your life. Few things are more important than the question of whether or not you have true repentance and saving faith.
Take this seriously and heed today’s warning, lest you stand before Christ Jesus at the end on Judgment Day and think that you are saved when you are really not. Listen to these serious words from Matthew 7:21-23. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” You may think that Jesus is your friend. But what if you are not his friend? On your end, you may believe that you are connected with Jesus. But what if on Jesus’ end he is not connected with you?
Resolve this issue now. Do not wait or delay. Take this seriously and heed today’s warning before it is too late. Consider this your homework for this week. This is assuming that you will live through it. Fear and trembling.
Dear Highland, be encouraged. God has saved his people by giving them the gift of true repentance and saving faith. Salvation belongs to the Lord. And the Lord does not give counterfeit gifts. Be encouraged. God has made us into a new creation. Now we have new hearts and new minds that are being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Be encouraged. Jesus entrusts himself to his sheep. You belong to him; he belongs to you. Jesus knows you. The Good Shepherd will never leave you nor forsake you. Be encouraged. Praise the Lord.
And listen to these beautiful and encouraging words from Chapter 18, Section 4, of the Westminster Confession of Faith (you can read along on the worship webpage).
“True believers may have the assurance of their salvation shaken, diminished, or temporarily lost in various ways: as by negligence in preserving it, by falling into some special sin which wounds the conscience and grieves the Spirit, by some sudden or violent temptation, or by God’s withdrawing the light of his countenance and allowing even those who reverence him to walk in darkness and have no light.”
“Yet, true believers are never completely deprived of that seed of God and life of faith, that love for Christ and fellow believers, that sincerity of heart and conscience concerning duty, out of which — by the operation of the Spirit — this assurance may in due time be revived; and by which, in the meantime, they are supported from utter despair.”
In closing, Highland, know that Jesus knows you and loves you. Know why you believe in Jesus.
Be the good soil and bear fruit that is thirtyfold, sixtyfold, a hundredfold.
Be warned and be encouraged. Examine yourselves and confirm your calling and election with humility and with fear and trembling. True believers may lack assurance of salvation in their Christian lives. But true believers are never deprived of that seed of God and life of faith.
Soli Deo Gloria