The Standard July 27, 2024
Eighty-four times in his gospel, the Apostle John uses some form of the word “believe.” His central goal is to convince readers to believe the good news that our loving God sent his divine Son to earth as a perfect man, in order to pay the ultimate price for our sin. Sadly, not all who heard the words of Jesus and saw his power responded with genuine, saving faith.
“Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about humankind, for he knew what was in each person.” John 2:23-25
John describes those who believe in the name of Jesus in some superficial sense. They seem fascinated by the miracles he performs, but this surface understanding does not lead them to put their lives under Christ’s authority. Perhaps they believe he is a great prophet, or even the Messiah, yet miss the most important part about the call to submit to and follow God.
Even the brothers of Jesus enjoy the novelty of public displays of power while failing to receive him as Lord. “After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him, ‘Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.’ For even his own brothers did not believe in him.” John 7:1-5
In his commentary on the second chapter of John, John Calvin writes, “Besides, that faith depended solely on miracles, and had no root in the Gospel, and therefore could not be steady or permanent. Miracles do indeed assist the children of God in arriving at the truth; but it does not amount to actual believing, when they admire the power of God so as merely to believe that it is true, but not to subject themselves wholly to it. And, therefore, when we speak generally about faith, let us know that there is a kind of faith which is perceived by the understanding only, and afterwards quickly disappears, because it is not fixed in the heart; and that is the faith which James calls ‘dead;’ but true faith always depends on the Spirit of regeneration.”
So, how can we receive this saving faith? “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:9-15
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