Sunday Gathering - John 2 : 23-25 - Chris Simpson - Sermon Only

Chris Simpson preaches on John 2:23-25 — three verses, the shortest passage he has been asked to speak on. He reads it with the congregation repeating each line: because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover, many began to trust in him. But Jesus did not trust them, because he knew all about people; he knew what was in each person’s heart.

He sets the scene first. Jesus’ ministry ran about three and a half years from his baptism to the resurrection, and for most of it he was based in Galilee, a five-to-seven-day walk over hills from Jerusalem — his first visit there since the Jordan. The signs were not random displays: they carried information about God’s character, and they pointed at Jesus, asking who he really is. Coming to faith had a personal dimension too — many translations say they trusted in his name, and a name meant who someone actually was.

Then comes the jolt, because the second sentence undercuts the first. People trusting in Jesus is wonderful, and John says Jesus did not trust them. A friend who read it told him it sounded negative, and he agrees: trust feels basic to relationship. The traditional explanation is that they were not genuine disciples, supported by Jesus’ warning about those who cry “Lord, Lord” but are unknown to him. But he thinks there is more, and asks how we handle the difficult parts of Scripture. Not by picking out what we agree with — God’s word interrogates us, not the reverse — nor by hurrying past, nor by grabbing the first explanation going. Instead, sit in the discomfort and read the hard part against the whole Bible: the best commentary on the Bible is the Bible.

Why it is not negative. The Traitors, which he confesses to finding gripping, only works because people are very poor at knowing what is in someone else’s heart — even experienced barristers and police officers misread it. So Jesus knowing what is in each person’s heart is a pointer to who he actually is, a knowledge Scripture reserves for God alone. Hagar, a young single parent fleeing abuse, called him “the God who sees me”, : there is real comfort in being fully known, in having no secrets, in nothing passing him by. Peter is the worked example: Jesus would not flatter him when he vowed never to deny him, because he knew Peter better than Peter knew himself. Peter was devastated; Jesus was not surprised, and still loved him. And that is not the whole story — Jesus is not only in the forgiveness business but in the construction business, building a new you, so that we are God’s masterpiece.

Bible passages

• John 2:23-25 — the passage for the morning, read with the congregation repeating each verse
• John 2:1-11 — the water into wine at Cana, the one sign so far, and it was in Galilee rather than Jerusalem
• John 20:30-31 — John’s note that Jesus did many more signs than are recorded (alluded to, not quoted)
• Matthew 7:21-23 — “not everyone who calls out to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom” and “I never knew you”
• 1 Samuel 16:7 — “people judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”, at the anointing of David
• Jeremiah 17:9-10 — the heart is the most deceitful of all things; “I, the Lord, search all hearts”
• Genesis 16:13 — Hagar names God “the God who sees me”
• Psalm 56:8 — our tears kept in a bottle, cited as God knowing the details of our lives
• Matthew 26:33-35 — Peter’s vow that he would never desert Jesus, and Jesus’ prediction of the denial
• Mark 14:72 — Peter broke down and wept bitterly (quoted)
• Ephesians 2:10 — “we are God’s masterpiece… he has created us anew in Christ Jesus” (quoted)

Key points

• Jesus’ base was Galilee; Jerusalem was a five-to-seven-day walk over hills
• Coming to faith was personal — trusting in his name, meaning who he really is
• The jolt: many trusted Jesus, but Jesus did not trust them
• One explanation is that they were not genuine disciples, echoing “Lord, Lord” and “I never knew you”
• Difficult passages are not ours to edit: God’s word interrogates us, not the reverse
• Read the hard part against the whole Bible — the Bible is its own best commentary
• Only God knows the heart, so Jesus’ knowledge of it points to who he is
• Hagar called him “the God who sees me”: being fully known is comfort, not threat
• Jesus would not flatter Peter; his failure deepened rather than ended his grasp of that love
• No hidden sin can derail God’s love — there are no shock surprises in heaven

Calls to action

• Face up to your own untrustworthiness; you will not properly grasp God’s love until you do
• Don’t pick and choose in Scripture, and don’t hurry past the parts that jar — sit with them
• Take comfort that God knows you completely, and let that reshape how you come to him
• Choose to be among those who really choose him, and live as his workmanship

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/M_nXB8lYtZA