John 2:24 Trusting man_

But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man. John‬ ‭2:24-25‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Where does identity originate: from the Holy Spirit who tells me who I am, or from the consensus of those around me? John makes this insightful comment about Jesus’ determination to not entrust who he is to public opinion. For those whose heart and attention are inclined to hear the Father’s voice, they would would recognize there is something unique about this man Jesus. Is he the Messiah, the one coming to save the world? From birth, Jesus was saturated in conversation and relationship with his dad. He heard his voice in his spirit, in scripture, in his family, in life, — he was immersed and in a constant flow. Who he was, what he would do, and the place he held in the kingdom were the topics of those early lessons with his dad. Would Israel recognize him? He was sent to a nation that was on the brink of extinction. The same faithlessness within the Jewish leaders that John the Baptist referred to when he said “the axe was already laid to the root of the tree” was still influencing those early believers. These leaders were not men trained to listen or value the Spirit’s voice. The validity of the kingdom would not be established on the early followers’ personal faith nor upon that of the faithless leaders.

When John writes that Jesus was “not entrusting himself to man” it was a comment on where the proof or confirmation would come of him being the Messiah – or rather, where it would not. The Jews had just confronted him after he cleared the temple of the money changers asking, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” Convincing the Jews to believe that he was the Christ — the one coming to offer salvation and the acceptance of God to the world — would not be based on the unpredictable testimony of man. Rather, it would be based on the miraculous signs and the testimony of the Father. Thus the catch… to see that he was the Messiah, one must be hearing what the Father is saying.

It is easy to pull other meanings from this verse, but certainly John is not encouraging us to avoid vulnerability in connecting with others. Relationships are the core of our link with God and the body of Christ. It’s impossible to have meaningful relationships without being vulnerable and deeply affected by them. His comments were to contrast the difference between Christ and fallen man: the validation we need in order to believe on him would not come from opinions that go up and down. One day he was being welcomed to Jerusalem as a king, the next they were shouting “Crucify!” He knows man. Yes, he knows our thoughts and details, but this more of a comment on the nature of man. The one needing redemption. More on that in the following verses…