Interpreting John 2:23 in Light of John's Gospel

"Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, beholding His signs which He was doing. But Jesus on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man for He Himself knew what was in man." (John 2:23-25, NASB 1977)

Although most Bible commentators say that John 2:23 refers to those who had less than saving faith, is this the best way to understand the verse in context?[1] If we look at John 2:23 in the context of John's Gospel, we see a parallel passage in John 6:14-15. In this passage, John describes the miracle of Jesus feeding over five-thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish! John says: "When therefore the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, 'This is of a truth the Prophet who is to come into the world.' Jesus therefore perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force, to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone" (6:14-15). While John doesn't use the word "believe" in 6:14-15, it's nonetheless implied in that the crowd said, "This is of a truth the Prophet who is to come into the world." The crowd no doubt had in mind the words of Moses from Deuteronomy 18:15, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him." This is a prophecy of the coming Messiah, and is interpreted by the apostle Peter as referring to Jesus (see Acts 3:22-23). But although the crowd believed in Jesus as the promised Messiah (= "the Christ, the Son of God," Jn. 20:31), Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them because He knew that "they were intending to come and take Him by force (in their zeal), to make Him king" (Jn. 6:15). So here we see that Jesus did not entrust Himself to these believers, not because He doubted the genuineness of their faith, but because the crowd wanted to make Him an earthly king before the appointed time! 

John 6:14-15 sheds some much needed light on the parallel passage in John 2:23-25. When the diligent student of God's Word (2 Tim. 2:15) compares Scripture with Scripture ("The Analogy of Faith" principle of Bible interpretation), it becomes clear that those who believed in Christ in John 2:23 were zealous to make Him king! Such zeal is even more likely in 2:23 in view of the fact that Jesus was in Jerusalem itself, the center of the Jewish religion; the people being therefore all the more zealous for a Jewish king "from among you, from your countrymen" (Deut. 18:15) to free them from the overbearing yoke of Rome. Commenting on John 2:24, Matthew Henry explains it well when he says: "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."[2]

And in reference to John 6:1-15, for those who may think there's no possible way that these people are saved, John's Gospel actually indicates otherwise! Commenting on Jn. 6:12-15, C. K. Barrett writes the following:

"12, 13. The gathering up of the left-over fragments, again, may reflect only a characteristically Jewish respect for food; but the word used, and also the word for 'be lost', are Johannine words used for the gathering and perishing of men (see e.g. 11:52, 17:12), and it is possible that Jn means to represent this gathering symbolically.

The onlookers draw from the miracle the conclusion that Jesus is the Messiah. This belief is plainly visible in the attempt to make him a king (15), and is probably expressed also in the words, 'This is indeed the prophet' (14), 'prophet' being understood as a designation of the Messiah (cf. Dt. 18:15; and contrast 1:21, where 'the prophet' is not the Messiah). But Jesus' kingdom is not 'of this world' (18:36), and he cannot submit to be made a king by men. He withdraws to the hills (15); yet the thought of Messiahship lies in the background of the great discourse of 22-59."[3]

Barrent summarizes by saying, "It seems not impossible that John is here speaking symbolically of the gathering of Christian disciples, with special reference to the eucharist, and of the will of Christ to preserve them from all destruction (17.12; on apollunai see 3.16)."[4]

What Barrett insightfully points out is that when Jesus says, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost" (Jn. 6:12, NKJV), this is likely Johannine symbolism: symbolic of Jesus gathering people into His kingdom (cf. Jn. 11:52) in order that none of them perish (cf. Jn. 3:16, 17:12, 18:9). This symbolism would seem quite strange if none of those in the crowd were saved! 

The Free Grace view of John 2:23-25 is consistent with the parallel passage in 6:1-15: in both passages John describes people who have believed in Christ as the promised Messiah! Their misguided zeal "to make Him king" (6:15) is not evidence of lack of salvation; rather, their zeal can be compared to Peter's impetuous action of cutting off the ear of the high priest's servant (see Jn. 18:10). Like Peter, the crowd in John 6:14-15 had zeal, but it was not according to God's plan. 

 

References:

[1] Note that even Wayne Grudem rejects the standard view in that he says: "It seems to me that there is room for disagreement over the meaning of 'many believed in his name' in John 2:23, but I would take it to refer to genuine trust in Christ, because believing 'in his name' is believing in him, in biblical usage [cf. Jn. 1:12; 3:18; 20:31]." (Grudem, "Free Grace" Theology: 5 Ways It Diminishes the Gospel, p. 110, footnote 14.)

[2] Matthew Henry Bible Commentary (complete), see commentary on John 2:23-25, www.christianity.com/bible/commentary/mh/john/2 (accessed April 29, 2023).

[3] C. K. Barrett, Matthew Black, General Editor and New Testament Editor, Peake's Commentary on the Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1962), pp. 851-852, emphasis his.

[4] C. K. Barrett, The Gospel According to St John (London: SPCK, 1962), p. 231.