Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man (John 2:23-25).

The Greek word for believe is pisteuō. In verse 23, we read that “many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.” But that same word is used in verse 24. There it is not translated as believe. It is translated as commit: “Jesus did not commit Himself to them.”

Is John more or less saying that Jesus did not believe that they were genuine believers?

That is what many commentators say.

In The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Ed Blum wrote, “Jesus knew that a temporary excitement or a faith based on signs was not sufficient” (p. 280). Leon Morris agreed, “He did not trust himself to them. He looked for genuine conversion, not enthusiasm for the spectacular” (John, p. 182).

D. A. Carson expressed the same sentiment:

Sadly, their faith was spurious, and Jesus knew it. Unlike other religious leaders, he cannot be duped by flattery, enticed by praise, or caught off-guard in innocence. His knowledge of men’s hearts is profound and accounts in part for the diversity of his approaches to individuals in the Gospels. He, therefore, did not entrust himself to these spurious converts (John, p. 184).

Gerald Borchert sang the same song: “Because Jesus knew (ginōskein) what human beings are like, he was not confused about what was authentic or unauthentic believing” (John 1-11, p. 168).

Famed Catholic scholar Raymond Brown is yet another voice for this view: “Verses 24–25 show us that the faith produced by Jesus’ signs in vs. 23 is not satisfactory” (John 1-12, p. 127).

However, Zane Hodges took precisely the opposite view in his commentary on John 1-6. Concerning John 2:23-24, he wrote:

2:23-24. During this visit to Jerusalem that John is describing, many people believed in Jesus’ name. They did this because of the signs they saw Him do. This, of course, was precisely the aim of those signs as is stated in 20:30-31. As a result these people obtained eternal life (p. 50).

Hodges explains John 2:24-25 in this way:

However, Jesus did not commit Himself to these believers. This does not mean they were not really saved, as many have suggested without the slightest warrant from John. On the contrary, the writer states plainly that they “believed in His name” (see 1:12-13). But John’s words do indicate that the level of their knowledge of Jesus remained rudimentary. He did not “disclose” Himself to them more fully (pp. 50-51).

There are three compelling reasons that we know the new believers of John 2:23 were born again.

First, John said that he reported signs so his unbelieving readers would believe and have everlasting life (John 20:30-31).

Second, John reported that many believed in His name when they saw the signs He did. The signs accomplished their purpose. They gained everlasting life, as promised.

Third, according to John 1:12, to believe in His name is the same as believing in Him. All who believe in His name are children of God (v 12) and born of God (v 13).

These new believers had a problem. They were not willing to confess their faith in Christ. We know this because John 2:23-25 ends with the word man (anthrōpos), and John 3:1 begins with that word. Nicodemus was a man (3:1) who came to Jesus under the cloak of darkness (by night) because he did not want anyone to know that he was interested in Jesus. When he came to faith (probably when he heard John 3:14-18), he still did not come out of the darkness. He did not confess his faith in Christ. See John 7:50-51 and John 19:38-39.

If a new believer is unwilling to acknowledge his faith in Christ, the Lord will not entrust him with the life-transforming truths that would so benefit him (Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 3:18). Every believer has everlasting life, but only believers who walk in the light of God’s Word receive transformation by the renewing of their minds (cf. 1 John 1:7).

There are 246 uses of pisteuō in the NT. John 2:24 is one of only eight places in which it is translated as commit or entrust. In Part 2, we will consider the other seven places.