John included another summary of Jesus' activities (cf. v. 12). It enables the reader to gain a more balanced picture of popular reaction to Jesus than the preceding incident might suggest.
2:23 Jesus did many signs (significant miracles) while He was in Jerusalem this time. These were probably healings and perhaps exorcisms. The Synoptics record that Jesus ministered this way virtually wherever He went. Consequently many people believed on Him. As we have seen in the Synoptics, this does not mean they they placed saving faith in Him as the Son of God, however. Often the people who observed His miracles concluded that He was a prophet, but they were not always willing to acknowledge Him as deity.
John usually used the dative case when he described faith in a thing (e.g., "they believed the Scripture,"v. 22; cf. 4:50; 5:47; 10:38). When he described faith in a person, he did the same or used the verb "believe"(Gr. pisteuo) plus the preposition "into"or "in"(Gr. eis) and the accusative (e.g., "believed in His name,"v. 23; cf. 8:30-31). These are synonymous expressions in John. Some interpreters have incorrectly argued that the former case indicates spurious faith and the latter genuine faith. The context must determine this in every case.129
2:24-25 Jesus' response to people, in contrast, was not to put His trust (Gr. pisteuo) in them. He knew people to be essentially untrustworthy. He knew that the initial enthusiasm and faith based on miracles that some people manifested would evaporate.130Some who initially believed on Him turned against Him later (6:15, 60, 66). He did not place His destiny in the hands of any others, though some of the Jews in Jerusalem were willing to place their lives in His hands (cf. 10:14-15). Moreover He did not commit Himself to anyone, in the sense that Jesus was not dependent on human approval.131
John may have meant that Jesus knew the nature of human beings (cf. 1 Sam 16:7; Ps. 139; Jer. 17:10; Acts 1:24), not that He knew the thoughts of every person He encountered. The Great Physician could read people better than any human doctor can diagnose symptoms.132On the other hand, he could have meant that Jesus, as only God can, knew the hearts of all people (1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Kings 8:39). The following two chapters particularly illustrate the truth of both of these statements.
