2:23-25 Why did Jesus not commit Himself to those who believed in His name here?
2:23-25 Why did Jesus not commit Himself to those who believed in His name here?
Jesus perceived that their faith was only superficial. They believed in Him to work miracles, but not that He was from God, sent to save them. They did not believe in Jesus for who He was, but for what He did.
That is not saving faith. Demons believe in Jesus too, but that will not save them on Judgment Day (CP Jas 2:19). Believing in Jesus for salvation involves much more than mere intellectual assent. It calls for total consecration to the service of God, and complete surrender to the authority of Jesus and His word (CP Mt 7:21-27).
This in no way detracts from the importance Jesus placed on signs and wonders to awaken unbelievers to a consciousness of the presence and the power of God, and to raise their faith in Jesus (CP Jn 5:19-20, 31, 34, 36-37; 9:1-4; 10:24-25, 37-38).
However Jesus does not want us to see signs and wonders as ends in themselves. They are simply intended to bring the recipients of them into a faith relationship with Jesus for who He is, not for what He does (CP Jn 4:46-53).
At first, the nobleman here simply believed in Jesus to work miracles, but after Jesus gave Him the promise that his son would live, and then healed him, the nobleman's faith in who Jesus was grew and he and his whole household got saved (CP V50, 53).