John 2:23-24 (KJV)
23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.
24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,
25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
Why would Jesus not commit Himself to these particualr followers? Were they not "believers," and had they not seen miracles? What was it about these people that Jesus knew? Listen to what Mathew Henry says about these believers.........
"They were tumultuous, and wanted discretion and management. These in Jerusalem perhaps had their expectations of the temporal reign of the Messiah more raised than others, and, in that expectation, would be ready to give some bold strokes at the government if Christ would have committed himself to them and put himself at the head of them; but he would not, for his kingdom is not of this world. We should be shy of turbulent unquiet people, as our Master here was, though they profess to believe in Christ, as these did.
IV. That the reason why he did not commit himself to them was because he knew them , knew the wickedness of some and the weakness of others. The evangelist takes this occasion to assert Christ's omniscience. 1. He knew all men, not only their names and faces, as it is possible for us to know many, but their nature, dispositions, affections, designs, as we do not know any man, scarcely ourselves. He knows all men, for his powerful hand made them all, his piercing eye sees them all, sees into them. He knows his subtle enemies, and all their secret projects; his false friends, and their true characters; what they really are, whatever they pretend to be. He knows them that are truly his."
Matthew 12:39 (KJV)
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
The Lord will not commit to those who are not committed to Him. This present generation of loud and "tumultuous," believers are seeking to establish the Lords kingdom here on earth. The sign the Lord gave them is not good enough for them. What sign did the Lord give them? He gave them the sign of the Prophet Jonah. When all aboard the ship knew that they were lost, Jonah was sacrificed to save them. He then spent 3 days in the belly of the whale.
All of mankind was and is caught up in a great storm of darkness and tumult. The sacrifice of Jesus is the great sign. It is to Calvary that one must look. In the quiet of faith, the Lord will respond to His own, He always has and He always will, but He will not respond to a crass church which seeks to gratify their own corrupt lusts.
So all of the church's that cry out for miracles, the Lord knows the motivations of your heart. Signs and wonders would follow. Follow what? The preaching of Calvary. The proclamation of the Truth. The bold witness for Christ. The unashamed stance of the one truly committed. The genuine love of the lost, expressed in practical terms. So, those who place the cart before the horse do so for a reason. And in doing so, they expose the fragile nature of the faith that they claim to have.
The Lord will not commit to those who have built their houses on sinking sand. This is why we see the "house," of "believers," come tumbling down when faced with "unanswered prayers." For they are not established on the solid Rock of Jesus Christ and the cross of Calvary. "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand." Does your faith depend upon you seeing a miracle? Or does your faith stand upon the finished work of the cross of Calvary?
So, who are today's "John 2," believers? Who is it today that the Lord will not commit too? Who today run after signs and wonders? How many churches today, have as their main focus, signs and wonders? Show me a church whose main focus is on signs and wonders, and I will show you a church that neglects the central tenant of Christianity, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Show me a church whose main focus is on signs and wonders and I will show you are church where the majority reject "dying to self."
Show me a church whose main focus is on signs and wonders and I will show you a church with pseudo fellowship. The sinking sand of the modern Pentecostal church is their inordinate love of external signs. This love of extraordinary manifestations, is a compensation for a lack of a true faith which would lead to the death of self. The end results of those who follow this path is a life of self-indulgence, an inability to adhere to sound doctrine, no change in their lives, and no fruit of the Holy Spirit. And so the few converts that they may see are converts after their own likeness, after there own shallowness. Tozer says that anemic Christians produce anemic converts.
Bloodless Christians producing bloodless converts. Only by returning to the foot of the cross can the church find its way back to God. This evil and adulterous generation, that is without Lordship, needs to come to the cross of Christ and commit themselves to death. Only by adhering to this sign, the sign of Jonah, can the Church of Christ hope to see a reformation of its powerless state. The Church today is caught in a great storm, and it is sinking. There is much noise as the Church thrashes in the heavy seas. As the Church began to sink, tossed from a boat carrying them in the wrong direction, they suddenly have found themselves enveloped in a great darkness that is devoid of light.
Here is the answer to the current crisis that the Church is in. When we realize that "I am cast of from your eyes," we will finally ," look towards your Holy Temple."
If we as a Church will follow these words, we will live again in His presence.........
Jonah 2:1-10 (KJV)
1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,
2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
5 The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.
7 When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
10 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.