John 2: 24
“But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people.”
As we saw in John 1, Jesus could see Nathanael before even meeting him. The inference is that Jesus is aware of all people. In this verse, John writes that Jesus “knew” all people. The kind of knowledge suggested by the Greek text is intimate and complete.
Q: What qualities would a person need to have in order to be trusted by Jesus?
A sinner with a repentant heart confessing that Jesus was, is and forever will be LORD,..there is a verse that comes to my mind,..2 Timothy 2:15,..from memory here,..Do your best to present yourself to God and receive His approval,.be a good worker one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth,..anyway,.. that’s my answer for today,..
Thanks John!
The answer that comes to my mind is that we have be be like Jesus, which is to say filled with the Holy Spirit! And isn’t it great that God sent Jesus to redeem mankind knowing that mankind would crucify his Son so that we could be filled with the Holy Spirit?! His love is amazing!!
Great question Jeff. You must have had to use every ounce of restraint you possess to maintain your control in group. Good Job!
Thoughts:
1.) The bible was written by created beings as they obeyed our Creator and wrote exactly what He conveyed to them by the Holy Spirit.
2.) The bible address’s man’s fall, sinful nature which separates us all from God, our inability to achieve righteousness through our own works, but only by faith, our Lord’s provision as He allowed the sacrifice of His own Son to pay the price for our sins, our ability to exercise free will and become reunited with God and receive eternal life when we repent from our sins and TRUST in His gift for our salvation, after which we are called to continue TRUSTING in God for our sanctification which will not be completed during this time we spend on earth. Or we are free to TRUST in ourselves, choose to reject God’s gift and receive eternal separation from God.
3.) Our God is all knowing, has total detailed knowledge of everything that ever will happen. and I don’t believe the bible says anything about God trusting any of His creation. He has and does allow specific people to perform specific tasks, such as allowing Mary to bear and raise His Son Jesus Christ, but this is the result of our all knowing God, knowing how His created being would exercise their free will. He leaves each of us here for varied lengths of time and to perform specific tasks which Glorify Him, demonstrate His Holiness, after we have received our salvation. This is with His foreknowledge of our obedience to His will as we exercise gifts He has given us. The moment we have completed His task(s) He will pull us off the line and being us home to be with Him.
Just thoughts.
I would suggest that it isn’t our qualities that allow Jesus to trust us. Jesus ‘knew’ Natanel before they met and he knew me before He and I met. The gift to know is his. The gift to be known is ours.
Our mutual knowing each other allows trust to exist.
An interesting question; one that I had not thought of: does Jesus trust me? Truthfully, I don’t even trust me. When I my attention is on God, and I approach life and people around me with a mindful sense of love, humility, gentleness, and patience I can trust me more. What qualities would a person need to have in order to be trusted by Jesus? I think these are the ones for me.
Love
1 John 4: 7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
Humility
Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Gentleness
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
Patience
1 Timothy 1:16 “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”
Chris,
I like your response: “Truthfully, I don’t even trust me.”
I am with you on this. I don’t trust me either.
I think for me this passage highlights the fact that our relationship with God is not based on our being trustworthy enough. It is based on God’s love for us. This passage helps us to keep this in mind.