John 2:23

“²³ Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs that He was doing.”

            In the last passage we saw the religious leaders who were called the Jews not understanding what Jesus is saying when He referred to the temple as His body. They made this seemingly understandable mistake because of their temporal thinking. This was also something the disciples did not understand until after He died. In this passage we see people believing in His name because of what miracles He was performing. This relates back to the Jews in the previous passage asking Jesus what signs prove His authority. John was making a specific point about signs and belief at the end of this chapter that will then lead into a conversation as to the nature of true belief in the next chapter.

            John set the stage in this passage by showing where Jesus was so that there would be no confusion. Like the last couple passages, He was still in Jerusalem during the Passover feast which means this was probably close to when He was going to die. The logical assumption is that there would not be many people believing because the crowds turned against Him in the end. John was revealing how the crowds believed in Him at that time because of the signs that He was doing. These signs related to the miracles of healing the sick and casting out demons. We will see all of these later in the gospel. John was talking about this now, though, to put in context all the miracles that will be mentioned later in the book with the understanding that will come in this passage. Many people believed because of the signs He was doing. John wants this to sit with the reader, and this is why it is important to isolate and meditate on this verse. John is asking the audience, “Do you believe because of the miracles?”

            For Christians, this passage that we read allows us to reflect why we believe. It is not because of the miracles or that Jesus saved us from destruction. We believe because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and we cannot know the Father without knowing the Son. We believe and follow Jesus so we can have access to live with God—not to get to heaven in general but because heaven is where God is, who we want to be with. This also helps us understand that people may believe because of signs, but the question then comes—is that belief anchored in the correct spot? They believed in His name because of the signs, but what happens when the signs stop?

            For non-Christians, there is no sign or miracle that will make you believe truly in Jesus. It might convince you to believe in His name if He were to come down and perform the same miracles, but when it comes down to it, is that true belief? Believe in Him because you want Him to change your life and align it with God’s will not to do something magical. There is nothing magical about following Jesus besides the fact that Jesus can save us despite what we have done and bring us into a right relationship with God.