The Importance of Trusting the Right Person

Today's sermon is the importance of trusting the right person, the importance of trusting the right person,

John, chapter two, and we'll look at verses twenty three through twenty five this morning.

Please stand with me for the reading of God's word, the importance of trusting the right person,

John, chapter two, starting in verse twenty three. 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.

You may be seated. This passage tells us about Jesus as the creator, knowing the hearts and intentions of mankind.

The son of God knows all about human nature as the son of man,

God incarnate. Jesus definitely saw the intellectual dishonesty and just the deceptive hearts of his opponents, the religious elite of the day.

Jesus was well aware of the truth of Jeremiah, chapter 17, verse nine.

Thus says the Lord to the prophet. Of course, we know Jesus was doing the talking. Jeremiah 17, a pretty well -known verse.

The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick.

Who can know it? Or another way to say it, the human heart is the most deceitful of all things and desperately wicked.

Who really knows how bad it is? A famous passage that most of us know very well, it's probably not going to be one that's on like your fridge, but it is an important passage.

It lets us know what is going on inside. The full context of the passage applies more to us this morning in correlation with what

John is pointing out by reviewing the events of chapter two for us. In the full context of the

Jeremiah passage, it says 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, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.

Besides being the son of God and knowing the heart of man, Jesus was discerning.

Of course, he knew that the faith of some professing believers was superficial. Think about it like this, some of the people claiming to believe in Jesus at this time would later yell, crucify him.

Later in the gospel accounts, we see as Jesus entered into Jerusalem with cries of triumph and adoration, later in this very gospel,

John chapter 12, on the next day, the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet him and began to shout,

Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the king of Israel, and Jesus finding a young donkey sat on it as it is written, fear not daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming seated on a donkey's colt.

These things, his disciples did not understand at the first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him and that they had done these things to him.

So the crowd who was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness about him for this reason.

Also, the crowd went and met him because they heard that he had done this sign.

So the Pharisees said to one another, you see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.

And some of these same people a week later yelled the same way in a strong enthusiasm, crucify him, the same way they had yelled in adoration, they yelled for his murder, his destruction.

Well, if you look at this passage, even thinking about witnessing these signs and miracles, we can understand that it's easy to believe when it's exciting.

It's easy to believe when everyone else believes the same thing or the same way. John's gospel is helpful for us to think about this reality as he points out

Jesus's omniscient understanding that not all who believed were actually his true disciples.

This reality is a warning for you to keep your faith firm, even when it is not popular to follow

Christ, which seems to be increasing and increasing in our culture. In other words, easy beliefism does not equate to genuine conversion.

Some of the most popular stadium evangelists of our contemporary time later in life admitted that they thought 80 to 95 % of the people that had responded to a call were not actually genuine conversions.

They respond to the call, and I didn't want to share all the statistics because some of them are a bit anecdotal and I don't have a good reference site, but they were talking about a stadium filled with like 30 ,000 people where there was, you know, like 29 ,000 professions of faith.

And then the next week or week after trying to follow up with those people, in some cases, they couldn't find one, one out of that group of 30 ,000.

But I think that number 80 to 95 % of people that respond were not actually genuine conversions.

And those are by the popular evangelists that are actually doing the converting. Later in life, being convicted and saying,

I think it was just, I don't think it was real. Very sobering for us to think about that.

In verses 23 through 25, the apostle explains the outcome of Jesus's first sign wonder and his cleansing of the temple so that you can understand that believing in Jesus for the wrong reasons does not equal genuine conversion.

And really, we can think about it just a verse at a time. John's explanation of the outcome, the context in verse 23, the context and the contrast in verse 24, the contrast.

And then finally, the conclusion in verse 25. John's explanation of the outcome, as he describes this first sign wonder and points us back to the beginning of the chapter so that you can understand that believing in Jesus for the wrong reasons does not equal genuine conversion.

John's explanation of the outcome, the context or the context, rather, the contrast and the conclusion.

In verse 23, we see the context. So here's a review of this chapter. Let's read verse 23.

John writes, 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.

This section of chapter two serves both as a transition to something new in the eyewitness account, but also a review of the previous events, the context.

John uses verses 23 through 25 really as a springboard into the next setting, the conversation between a

Pharisee named Nicodemus and Jesus. Really, in these verses, we have two quick sentences that summarize the outcome of the previous events while directing our eyes onto a new horizon, the conversation between the

Messiah and a teacher of the law in which Jesus explains salvation and true conversion.

Notice the order here. The true conversion explanation starts in chapter three, but John helps us here to gain some insight into the attribute of omniscience of our

Savior. I believe the English Standard Version translation includes the heading, Jesus knows what is in man.

So nestled in between the accounts of Jesus's first sign wonder, cleansing the temple, and then the conversation with Nicodemus, that takes place after is this profound theological truth in our verses this morning.

Jesus knows what is in man. And John starts this section with a simple sentence, a simple statement explaining the outcome of the previous events, really two events.

John gives the review in reverse order as he mentions the Passover, when he was in Jerusalem at the

Passover. Well, when was Jesus in Jerusalem at the Passover? Look at chapter two, verse 13.

And the Passover of the Jews was near and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the first part of verse 23,

John is referencing Jesus cleansing the temple, but also connects the feast to the outcome during the feast when they saw his signs, which he was doing.

Well, when was the feast and the signs? Well, you can look back at chapter two, verse 11.

Jesus did this in Cana of Galilee as the beginning of his signs and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him.

John's point in review was the outcome. And what was the outcome?

Many believed in his name. At the temple in Jerusalem during Passover, at the wedding feast in Cana, many believed in his name.

John now sets up the previous scenes and reiterates the outcome. In this one verse, we have the chapter two recap, which makes

John's following statement of Jesus not entrusting himself to the ones who believed even more profound.

We need to pause and look at these verses before we continue on to chapter three. The wedding feast in Cana, and let's start again.

Let's read chapter two, starting in verse one. On the third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there and both

Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding. And when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine.

And Jesus said to her, woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come.

His mother said to the servants, whatever he says to you, do it. Now, there were six stone water jars set there for the

Jewish custom of purification, containing two or three measures each. Jesus said to them, fill the water jars with water.

So they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, draw some out now and take it to the head waiter.

So they took it to him. Now, when the head waiter tasted the water, which had become wine and did not know where it had come from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew, the head waiter called the bridegroom and said to him, every man serves the good wine first and when the people have drunk freely, then the inferior wine.

But you have kept the good wine until now. Jesus did this in Cana of Galilee as the beginning of his signs and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him.

After this, he went down to Capernaum and he and his mother and his brothers and his disciples.

And they stayed there a few days. In verses one through 12, the apostle John recorded the first sign miracle of Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus turned water into wine so that you can know that as the Messiah, Jesus is the source of life.

Jesus has divine power to create. And it seems best to take the first five verses of chapter two, referring to the last narrated event in the calling of Philip and Nathanael.

Cana was about three days journey from where John the Baptist was baptizing their Bethsaida. The suggestion is that Jesus would take two days to reach

Galilee, and this was the third day from calling Philip and Nathanael. The reference in verse one in connection with the other mentioned days in chapter one means that there is a strong possibility that the miracle at Cana took place at the conclusion of a seven day period.

So he's recapping the first events, even going back to the eyewitness of John the Baptist. That would mean that the apostle

John was recounting the events in the first week of Jesus's earthly ministry.

The time was seven days since the witness of John the Baptist. The place was Cana of Galilee, the hometown of Nathanael.

Mary and the disciples didn't know and couldn't know that Jesus was about to do his father's will.

Jesus was about to reveal or authenticate the messianic claims that his disciples had rightly made about him and that he himself had made.

And then Mary understood. You can see how she responds in verse five. We understand at this point in her life, her husband

Joseph was dead and Mary was likely used to asking Jesus for help in different situations.

But it doesn't mean we shouldn't take it that she was asking him to do a miracle on demand.

Even if Mary didn't understand what Jesus was going to do, the point is that she knew to listen to him and then directed others to listen to him.

So although Mary did not understand what Jesus was going to do, she trusted him to do what was right in the situation.

For us, those who believe in Jesus, but, you know, we run into situations that we cannot understand.

We must continue to trust that he will work in the best way. You know, in verse five, she essentially says, do whatever he says, listen to him.

And we know that Mary is more than just the mother of Jesus. Jesus is her savior.

And considering his birth, the angelic encounter at conception, Mary knew who

Jesus truly was. She would have recognized that Jesus was more than her biological human son.

Jesus was about to show in this first sign wonder that he was the son of man. He's the son of God.

He's the Messiah. I am the Messiah. He's the king of Israel. The circumstances of the sign show that Jesus knows exactly what he is doing and does not act without intention and purpose.

The six stone water jars were normally used for ceremonial washing. So at this point, it would make sense that the water had been used for cleaning the hands and even feet of those in attendance.

Jesus simply tells the servants to fill the water jars with water. The empty water jars fill them with water.

And as Jesus instructs him to pour some out for the head waiter, the servants also did as he asked.

And in an instant, from the pouring to the drawing and from the tasting by the head waiter, a miracle had happened.

The water had become wine. Jesus manifested his glory. Jesus caused to become visible, to reveal or expose publicly his glory.

He showed or caused to become known his glory. The condition of being bright, shining.

The idea of brightness, splendor, the radiance of God's glory, the radiance of God's character.

Beyond just a physical phenomenon, this is transcendent circumstances, also transcendent beings.

Think angelic, divine glory. The concept has been widened to denote the glory, the majesty of God himself.

So Jesus demonstrated his oneness with the father. And then

John links this revealed glory back to the start of his gospel. Look at chapter one, verse 14.

And the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the father, full of grace and truth.

The consequence of the sign is that the disciples witnessed his revealed glory, the power of God, and believed in their hearts, his disciples.

In verse 23, John also reminds the reader of Jesus at the Passover in Jerusalem.

Go back to chapter two, starting in verse 13. And the Passover of the

Jews was near and Jesus went up to Jerusalem and he found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves and the money changers seated at their tables.

And he made a scourge of cords and drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen.

And he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. And to those who were selling the doves, he said, take these things away.

Stop making my father's house a place of business. His disciples remembered that it was written, zeal for your house will consume me.

The Jews then said to him, what sign do you show us as your authority for doing these things?

Jesus answered them, destroy this sanctuary and in three days I will raise it up.

The Jews then said, it took 46 years to build this sanctuary, you will raise it up in three days.

But he was speaking about the sanctuary of his body. So when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he said this and they believe the scripture and the word which

Jesus had spoken. In verses 13 through 22, the apostle John described

Jesus's cleansing of the temple and his prediction of his death and resurrection so that you can remember the resurrection and believe in the

Bible. This scene is the first of three Passover scenarios recorded in John's gospel.

The celebration of Passover took place once a year. It's every year and it was at the temple.

It's located in Jerusalem. The Jewish people would have selected the sacrificial lamb on the 10th of the month.

Their lunar month or calendar is called Nisan. For us, it's in March or April. So they would have celebrated about four days later through this time period.

Passover commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from bondage and slavery out of Egypt when the angel of death passed over the homes of the

Israelites. Now, according to the custom of the Jews in the command of God, Yahweh, Jewish males were expected to make the trip to Jerusalem every year at this time.

Although Passover was one day, this would have been a week -long festival with Passover being the start. So the religious leaders allowed money changers and merchants to set up booths in what would have been known as the court of the

Gentiles, the area before the entrance to the temple. The setting of this historical account helps us to understand that these events actually took place, and it gives added weight to John's gospel.

Jesus' response, as you can see, is immediate and purposeful. Jesus took a whip made of strong rope.

This is a weapon of discipline and punishment. The passion for God's reverence and the zeal for God's holiness and worship is on display here from the

Lord Jesus Christ. What he saw sickened him, and he immediately acted. He took a lash made out of ropes.

These are the ropes that are really used to hold up a boat on the side of a larger vessel, strong rope.

He went into the court of the Gentiles and he drove them out. And John said that he drove them all out along with all of the animals that were on sale.

He poured out the coins of the money changers. He demonstrated his extreme zeal and righteous anger for their lack of reverence towards God.

Towards Yahweh. The zeal for Yahweh's holiness and honor and worship displayed by Jesus is a pattern of example for every true worshiper of God to follow.

A zeal for God's honor. And the very next thing we see in the account is what the Jews ask him.

What sign do you show us? A lot of sign kind of language here. John details the response to their scoffing.

Really, it's not a question, it's an accusation. Jesus doesn't explain what he had just done at the wedding.

No, as God, Jesus knew the heart of men and he knew that you don't answer a scoffer.

There may be some clue to his response and knowing their hearts with the intention of their scoffing.

It seems there was some kind of an evil intent in their question and then their response to what they had just witnessed in actually

Jesus's righteous indignation towards them. He simply answered and said, destroy this sanctuary and in three days

I will raise it up. He answered them with a prophecy. He gave them a sign.

The prophecy of the Messiah's death, his death is actually a sign. The Bible doesn't describe it in that way, but the prophecy was a sign in and of itself and it went right over their heads.

Imagine that. What sign do you show us? And then he predicts his own death prophetically telling the future, but they just didn't get that.

They asked, you're going to raise it up in three days? Totally lost, not tracking. They weren't tracking at all because he was answering scoffing arrogance, not genuine truth seeking.

The scoffing shows a resistant and defiant attitude that is not genuinely seeking the truth.

You know, later these same folks, they don't seek the truth. What do they seek? They seek a sign.

They want proof. They want, show me something. We know from the facts of history, including the revelation of the

New Testament with the gospel eyewitness accounts, that Jesus was not talking about the temple. He wasn't talking about the makeup or what made up a physical building.

He's talking about the temple of his body. Jesus is obviously greater than the temple mount.

No, the words of Christ are for his lost sheep. These words were for those that would believe in him by faith and truly follow.

His words had a specific meaning for his disciples after his death and resurrection, not for those who were just seeking a sign.

We know that Jesus of Nazareth, as the Messiah, completely, perfectly fulfilled this prediction.

The statements that Jesus made about his own death and resurrection have become some of the strongest evidence for his claims to be the son of God, that people would believe and follow, not just in the resurrection, but in the perfect accuracy of God's word.

The so that of Jesus's prediction is to cause his sheep to believe in the resurrection and trust completely in what the

Bible says. And if you're trusting in what the Bible says, the next logical conclusion is that you do what the

Bible says, that you believe and follow. And that's where we now find ourselves in verse 23.

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.

John's point in the review and pointing the reader back to the events described in chapter two is the outcome.

Many believed in his name. The question for us this morning is what or why they believed?

Was their belief genuine? What is this insert doing here before the conversation where Jesus explains true conversion?

The contrast and conclusion of verses 24 and 25 show us that the

Lord knew better. And the immediate context is important. We need to do that review.

John points us back to that review and the reality that there are some who look upon Jesus and all of the promises and they look at the good things that he does and they want to attach themselves to that.

But that doesn't mean in their hearts they genuinely accept him as their

Lord and savior. It's wanting to believe but not wanting to follow.

They had responded to the miracles they saw. They had responded to these things they witnessed.

Even thinking about that passage about Lazarus, some of those same people who saw,

I mean, you could say, let's put the signs in a certain order. Seeing a dead man come back to life, some of those same people didn't actually accept him as their

Lord. They didn't follow him. And a week later, after he enters Jerusalem, they're screaming out loud for everyone to hear, not privately behind a closed door, publicly crucify him.

The same ones that saw these signs. The immediate context is important.

In today's passage, the apostle John explains the outcome of Jesus's first sign wonder and his cleansing of the temple so that you can understand that believing in Jesus for the wrong reasons does not equal genuine conversion.

John's explanation of the outcome, the context. The context sets the stage for Jesus's discerning reaction to those who merely profess belief outwardly in response to the good things he does.

And then the contrast. The contrast in verse 24. But Jesus, on his part, was not entrusting himself to them, for he knew all men.

In what or why did they believe? Well, the clue to the answer to this question is the stark contrast of verses 23 and 24.

The start of verse 24 begins with an adversative conjunction. It may be a marker connecting a series of closely related even data or lines of narrative.

So we can see that here that this account is being given. It's often translated as and or as for.

We don't see that here. It may be a marker linking narrative segments as in now, then, and so that is.

Those uses are not as common because there is a Greek word for the conjunction and, and that is not what we see here in the text.

John uses the conjunction here in its most typical way, a marker of contrast, a stark contrast between what was just said, what's being said now.

And then you'll notice what the direction we're going in verse one of chapter three, a new narrative is starting.

We have a false conversion. And then the very next thing John records is

Jesus explaining true conversion. So verse 24, this is a strong contrast.

This is a strong adversative functioning to contrast with the context that was just reviewed in verse 23.

Verse 24, we could literally read it like this, but on the other hand,

Jesus himself was not entrusting himself to them for he knew all men. So what does it mean to entrust yourself to someone, to entrust, to consider something to be true and therefore worthy of one's trust?

It's the idea of believing, this is belief, or to entrust oneself to an entity in complete confidence, to believe in, to trust, but that is not how

John is using the term here in verse 24. In the literature of the time in Greek writings, this word conveys the idea of entrusting yourself to close friends or the idea of entrusting yourself to a good man rather than a bad man or a good teacher rather than a bad teacher.

The idea is a person who did not trust himself to casual friends.

No, I'm not trusting anybody. John is saying Jesus did not recognize them as those who he would count as his true disciples.

But why? Why do we have this? Why is this statement made?

Why doesn't he count them as his true disciples? Well, John tells us, for he knew all men, for he knew all men.

And we can read the preposition for is because. Why did Jesus not consider the ones who believed his signs as genuine disciples?

Because he knew all men. He knew their hearts. He knew.

You know, think like arriving at a knowledge of someone or something. We can all know things. We can acquire information through some means.

We can learn of, ascertain, we can find out, or we can grasp the significance or meaning of something.

Think understand or to comprehend. This can even describe the idea of discernment, discernment, to be aware of something, perceive, notice, realize.

Specifically here, John is describing to have come to the knowledge of, have come to know, to know the importance of trusting, the importance of trusting the right person.

I think it's helpful for us to consider this in two ways. So this is, this is the first and most important.

This is what clearly that John wants us to understand. Jesus is deity. Jesus is deity and attribute of omniscience.

He knew the heart of man. In Christ's deity, he demonstrated that he was all knowing.

When the apostles were choosing who would replace Judas Iscariot, we see this in the acts of the apostles.

Just a small phrase in the, in the, in the middle here, very helpful. Acts chapter one, thinking of replacing

Judas, it says this, Acts chapter one, therefore, it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the

Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning with the baptism of John until the day that he was taken up from us.

One of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection. And they put forward two men.

Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justice, and Matthias.

And they prayed and said, you Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place of this ministry.

An apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place. And they cast lots for them.

And the lot fell to Matthias and he was added to the 11 apostles. You Lord, speaking to the ascended, the resurrected, ascended

Christ, you who know the hearts of all men. And again, when the early church was meeting to discuss whether newly converted

Gentiles had to follow the Jewish right of circumcision or not, this is known as the

Jerusalem Council. Also from the acts of the apostles, we see a similar statement from the apostle

Peter. Acts chapter 15. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up saying it is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

Both the apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter. And after there had been much debate,

Peter stood up and said to them, brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the

Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, testified to them, giving them the

Holy Spirit, just as he also did to us. And he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

God, who knows the heart. The apostles, upon living with Christ in his earthly ministry, seeing him resurrected, witnessing the ascension, understand that Jesus is

God and they are ascribing to him God, divine deity, who knows the heart.

Of course, as the eternally existing one and creator of all things, including mankind,

Jesus is all knowing, omniscient, omniscient. The omniscience of God deals with what

God knows. The term literally means all knowing, understanding

God's knowledge to be exhaustive in both the past, present and future.

Here's a helpful definition I found, omniscience. Omniscience is defined as the state of having total knowledge, the quality of knowing everything.

For God to be sovereign over his creation of all things, whether visible or invisible, he has to be all knowing.

His omniscience is not restricted to any one person in the Godhead. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all by nature omniscient.

God knows everything. He knows not only the minutest details of our lives, but those of everything around us.

For he mentions even knowing when a sparrow falls or when we lose a single hair.

Not only does God know everything that will occur until the end of history itself, but he also knows our very thoughts.

Even before we speak forth, he knows our hearts from afar. He even saw us in the womb.

King Solomon expresses this truth perfectly when he says, for you, you only know the hearts of all the children of mankind.

1 Kings chapter 8. And we can think of this reality and how John starts his gospel eyewitness account.

John chapter 1, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was

God. John chapter 1 verse 14, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the

Father, full of grace and truth. And who is the word? The word of God, it's

Jesus, Jesus. And we have many, many, many testimonies in the scripture that talk about this all knowing aspect of Christ, but also talks about the probing understanding of the word of God for the human heart.

Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12, the word of God is what?

Living and active. It's sharper than any two edged sword. It's as piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow.

And what is it able to do? This word to judge the thoughts and intentions of the human heart, all things under the word, it just revealed there's nothing hidden here.

The word of God. Now, that's the that's the deity of Christ, but the other thing we do need to consider is

Jesus's humanity. Of course, he had discernment. He had biblical discernment again and again.

What does Jesus do when he's talking to people, especially when he's answering accusations? He's referring them back to the scripture, pointing them back to the

Old Testament. Jesus as a in his humanity clearly had biblical discernment.

Remember the scene from Jesus's childhood when Mary and Joseph had inadvertently left

Jesus behind after celebrating Passover in Jerusalem? You know, they're they're they're worshiping and then they go away and they're gone for a little while in the caravan and then they notice.

I mean, this isn't like leaving your kid at the mall or something. They're gone. And then they realize he's not there.

So returning to Jerusalem, I've never left my kid at the mall, by the way. So I just want to be clear,

Laura has, though. You know, they realize, wait a minute, where where's our son?

Where's Jesus? And returning to Jerusalem, once they realized he wasn't with them and the caravan, where do they find

Jesus? They find him in the temple. This is in chapter two of Luke. When they saw him, they were astonished.

And his mother said to him, child, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I've been anxiously searching for you.

And he said to them, why is it why is it that you were searching for me? Did you not know that I had to be in my father's house?

But they did not understand the statement which he had spoken to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and he continued in subjection to them.

And his mother was treasuring all these things in her heart. But what does this say? It says

Jesus was advancing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men in his humanity, he grew in wisdom.

In his humanity, he would have had discernment. Discernment.

Discernment is the mark of mature believers, that we discern things according to what the

Bible teaches. I know of a Christian brother who's going through a pretty significant trial right now, who's in an isolated area, more of a rural area where they don't have a lot of options to pick your church.

He's not picking church based on whether they have a exciting worship team or the fog machine and the laser show and all of that kind of silliness.

No, there's only so many options where he lives. He found a faithful church, a reformed church.

He's attending there. And there was a mission organization that had visited and were allowed to speak.

And the man is speaking and he's introduced his pastor so and so. And then his wife is speaking and she's introduced his pastor so and so.

He's like, hey, that's weird. So she's a pastor too. And in this mission organization is very into charismatic weirdness.

So they're telling the people that if you don't speak with tongues, then it's proof that you're not saved.

The evidence for your indwelling of the Holy Spirit comes whether you speak in tongues or not.

You're not speaking in tongues? Sorry to tell you, you don't know Christ. He's like, what? We're allowing this to be taught at our church?

And so upon approaching the elders and the pastor, they did not respond.

We're going to keep doing this. So we're going to fund that mission organization and we're going to allow that kind of really false gospel to be promoted in this church body.

So what are his options? To stay there and listen to heresy? So now this brother doesn't have a home church.

He's looking for a home church. And there's no options. Opening his home Wednesday nights to do

Bible study. And maybe the Lord would graciously plant a church through this. This is a man who has strong convictions and he has biblical discernment.

So he's going to follow Jesus, not whatever is popular in the congregation or popular in the local setting of other pastors.

And when the pastor had got back to him, he said, well, I have friends in the community. So some of the other pastors in the community believe all this stuff.

So rather than standing up for the truth in the Bible, he doesn't want to offend his other pastor friends.

And in reality, probably many of those men, if not all, aren't pastors. They actually don't believe the

Bible and they're not teaching what the Bible says. This is an example of a Christian brother who is discerning.

It's what the Bible says is the truth. To follow the Lord Jesus Christ means you follow what the

Bible says, whether it's popular in the culture or not. Guess what?

If you're waiting for a time for the Bible to be popular in the culture, don't hold your breath because we'll be wheeling out a corpse.

It's not going to happen. There's a point in your life as a mature Christian that you are going to have to pick whether you're going to follow what the

Bible says or whatever is popular in the culture. And those two things are not the same thing.

They just aren't and they're not going to be. John's explanation of the outcome, the contrast, the contrast shows that outward profession of belief does not equal genuine heart conversion because Jesus's disciples follow his way, not their own.

You follow Christ, not your own. And then the conclusion, verse 25, the conclusion, and because he had no need that anyone bear witness concerning man, for he himself knew what was in man.

Jesus knew the ones who believed and had responded witnessing the miracles. That's what they responded to.

Their belief was superficial and he didn't count them as his disciples. They believed in the spectacle, not the man, in his name, in what they witnessed, not him as their

Lord, the importance of trusting the right person. And you don't have to be omniscient to discern the truth because we have the word of God.

You have to entrust yourself to the right person. And who did

Jesus entrust himself to when he was here on earth in his humanity? Who did he entrust himself to?

Jesus, again and again, throughout his earthly ministry, was entrusting himself to God the

Father. We see that in 1 Peter 2, for to this you have been called since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps, who did no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth, who being reviled was not reviling in return, while suffering he was not uttering threats, he was uttering no threats, but kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously, who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree so that having died to sin, we might live to righteousness.

By his wounds you were healed, for you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

He shepherds you, he gives oversight, you follow him and you follow the example that he had in his life.

It says even being reviled against, he didn't revile. Christ, our example, in the midst of trials or persecution, we can follow our

Lord's example and entrust ourselves to God. Proverbs 21, 2, every man's way is right in his own eyes, but Yahweh weighs the heart.

The point that John is making in verse 25 is that Jesus didn't need to have any other person explain to him what the others were truly thinking about him.

If one could ask of the Apostle John, how did Jesus know the superficial followers were not his true disciples?

John concludes that Jesus perceived the things in man's heart that are concealed from our perception.

Jesus, as truly God in the authority of his divine nature, made the distinction among men.

Jesus didn't need to have man explain to him what man was thinking about him. He had no need that anyone bear witness concerning man for he knew what was in man.

Matthew chapter 15, the words of our Lord, you hypocrites,

Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you. These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

They worship me in vain. Their teaching are merely human rules, human rules.

Jesus knew that even those who had responded to the miracles had such a disposition.

He knew their true feelings, and he divinely regarded them as persons who did not belong to him.

In Luke chapter six, we hear these words that should cause us to pause and take note of our own hearts.

Luke chapter six, verse 46, the words of our Lord at the end of the age, why do you call me

Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? I hope you don't call

Jesus your Lord and you're not doing what he says. John's explanation of the outcome, the conclusion is that Jesus knows the heart and whether a professing believer truly desires to submit to him as a follower and disciple, working out your own salvation and fear and trembling.

We can think of the words of Paul from Philippians. He says, take note, test yourself.

Are you really in the faith? A sober reminder, those words were written to a church of Christians.

It was not an evangelistic outreach gospel message to a bunch of unbelievers.

Paul, to the Christians who are assembling in the local church in Philippi, work out your salvation, professing

Christian, with fear and trembling, take pause, ask yourself this this morning, are you more in agreement with cultural positions than clear biblical teaching?

Are you more in agreement with the positions of our current culture than you are with what the

Bible teaches about that specific topic? The problem we see today is that people want to be converted without being a disciple of Jesus, without counting the cost of discipleship, false converts are entrusting themselves to men in the pulpit who disagree or withhold the full counsel of Jesus's teaching.

The 19th century pastor and preacher Charles Spurgeon said this one time, he said, a time will come, remember 19th century, a time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats.

The time is here. The time is now, 2nd

Timothy chapter 4, in the presence of God in Christ Jesus, this is the charge from the apostle

Paul to the young pastor of Ephesus, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who will judge the living and the dead and in view of his appearing and his kingdom,

I give you this charge, Timothy, preach the word, be prepared in season and out of season, correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and careful instruction for the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear, they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths, to just manmade stuff.

You know how you can tell if a man in the pulpit has truly entrusted himself to the

Lord? He'll agree with the Bible and he'll teach and preach what the

Bible says. 2nd John, God's elect will agree with the teachings of the apostles.

1st John, the one who says he lives for Christ ought himself live in the same manner that Christ lived.

1st John chapter 2, these things I have written to you about those who are trying to deceive you and as for you, the anointing whom you receive from him abides in you and you have no need for anyone to teach you but as his anointing teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie and just as he has taught you, abide in him.

It means to act in accordance with him, to live in him and now little children abide in him so that when he is manifested, we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame at his coming.

If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone else also who does righteousness has been born of him.

The problem is we have a generation of false converts pretending who want the visible virtue but not the private willing submission.

They claim to be followers of Christ but they agree more with the woke pastor who refuses to call them to repentance.

Sin and repentance is for someone else, not the virtue signaling pretender who secretly disagrees with clear biblical teaching.

The false convert does not want the sin of the heart brought to the surface to bear and to be revealed so the superficial believer will find men that don't give exhortation when preaching.

A friend of mine from the Master's Seminary posted this on his social media. He said, a strong sense of survival plagues evangelical so -called men.

They turn to virtue the vice of cowardice by calling it wisdom.

And he was referring to pastors who disagree or withhold the full counsel of Jesus's teaching.

They will claim wisdom or virtue in it being unloving to bring up sin or to openly calling the

Christian to continual daily repentance. I'm talking about pulpits filled with men who want to have big churches and count their success by the size of their church.

Men who pick and choose what to leave out in order to avoid offending and they'll have their reward in full, a large congregation, not churches filled with sheep, large congregations filled with goats who hate

Christ and hate the word of God while pretending they are his disciples. The reformer

John Calvin said this on false converts and giving commentary on this specific passage from Calvin, quote, he says, observe that all do not derive equal profit from the works of God for some are led by them to God and others are only driven by a blind impulse so that while they perceive indeed the power of God still they do not cease to wander in their own imaginations.

Christ did not reckon them to be genuine disciples but despise them as volatile and unsteady.

It is a passage which ought to be carefully observed that not all who profess to be

Christ's followers are such in his estimation. Here we are reminded how widely his judgment differs from ours for he sees clearly those things which we cannot perceive because they are concealed by some disguise and he estimates according to their hidden source that is according to the most secret feeling of the heart those things which dazzle our eyes by false luster.

Let us remember therefore that none are the true disciples of Christ but whom he approves because in such a matter he alone is competent to decide and to judge.

There is a wide difference between him and us for Christ knew the very roots of the trees but except from the fruits which appear outwardly we cannot discover what is the nature of any one tree.

We have no right to entertain unfavorable suspicions about men who are unknown to us but that we may not always be deceived by hypocrites and that the church may not be too much exposed to their wicked impostures.

It belongs to Christ to impart to us the Holy Spirit of discretion.

He's talking about discernment discernment. We need to remember something.

Jesus is God. Jesus is God. Be careful.

Be careful. Jesus knows the heart and knows what every professing believer truly believes about him.

Think about it like this. If the living had the knowledge of the dead the whole world would follow

Jesus. If the living had the knowledge of the dead the whole world would follow

Jesus. If we follow his example of entrusting ourselves to God the father we do well both to be protected from popular false teaching and to gaze upon Jesus as the one who was sent from the father that we may know him and have eternal life.

In verses 23 through 25 the apostle explains the outcome of Jesus's first sign wonder and his cleansing of the temple so that you can understand that believing in Jesus for the wrong reasons does not equal genuine conversion.

John's explanation of the outcome the context sets the stage for Jesus's discerning reaction to those who merely profess belief outwardly in response to the good things that he does.

The contrast shows that outward profession of belief does not equal genuine heart conversion because Jesus's disciples follow his way not their own.

And the conclusion is that Jesus knows the heart and whether a professing believer truly desires to submit to him as a follower and disciple we would all do well to place our trust solely and firmly in Jesus alone his way not our way.