Key Text: John 2: 13 – 25; Jeremiah 17: 5 – 10: Romans 13: 8 – 10; 1 John 4: John 15: 12
Additional Texts: John
2; Proverbs 21: 2; Proverbs 24: 12; 1 Samuel 16: 7; Psalm 40: 4; Romans 15: 13: Proverbs 3: 5 – 7; Psalm 146: 3 – 5: Matthew 7: 7 – 12, 21 – 23; John 3: 16: John 5
There are several references for this entry – it will be helpful if you read them prior to reading the article. As usual if time doesn’t allow you to do so or to do it in this suggested order, you may still read and grasp the essence of it.
This series delves into a few examples of God (through Jesus) telling us how He wants us to handle some circumstances we may encounter in life. As mentioned at the start of the series, ‘Show and Tell’ is based on examples of Jesus’ candid speech and His actions as He walked the earth.
In the key text, Jesus had just began His earthly ministry. He revealed His glory in increments throughout His ministry, beginning with the miracle at the wedding in Cana in the text which caused His core disciples to believe more deeply in His identity. The text also documents that shortly after, as the Passover approached, Jesus’ righteous anger at the commercialism in the Lord’s temple caused Him to overturn the money changers’ tables, and authoritatively expel those who used the temple for reasons besides glorifying God. This act sparked curiosity and questions about His identity amongst the observers. Jesus’ response when He spoke about His sovereignty (restoring the temple – His body – within three days when it is destroyed), was likely to also have sparked further interest in Him. Though it is not explicitly stated, perhaps some followed Him afterwards due to this display of authority. In addition to His miraculous provision at the wedding in Cana, and His eviction of the traders from the temple prior to the Passover, the key text proceeds to state that during the Passover Festival, Jesus gave further revelations of His identity through signs. He grew in popularity and many others believed in Him.
In a world such as ours where many clamour for followers and crave the limelight, perhaps such individuals would be enamoured by this attention. It is likely that there were those at the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry who would equally love this attention and popularity. We could debate at length the various reasons for attention seeking from psychological, secular or religious perspectives. Regardless of the reasons why some people may crave attention, Jesus, though He was on earth at the time in the flesh (Colossians 2: 9), was not such a man – He was not phased; in essence, Jesus did not care about man’s approval.
His response (or the lack thereof!) when people reacted positively to His ministry, provides us with an approach to relationships. Several versions of the Bible state that Jesus did not ‘entrust’ Himself to them despite their acclamations and belief in His identity. The New Living Translation says that He ‘didn’t trust them’. Either way, His refusal to allow His confidence in His identity to be determined by fickle people, or to entrust or commit Himself to their support and approval is encouraging to us.
Jesus did not alter His purpose (determined by God), grow in confidence because of their approval or do anything thereafter to encourage their support. We are told repeatedly in Scriptures (some of which are provided above), that God knows our hearts and thoughts; we are unable to hide from Him. In His deity, Jesus knew that they were inconsistent and ultimately incapable (even with the best will) of being affirmative of Him indefinitely. The text states that He knew every heart and needed no caution about them – He fully understood mankind – His creation. Additionally, as we explored in the entry in March: ‘Balanced Discernment – Flint-faced’, the cross was the reason He came, and He knew that these same people would perhaps resent Him and join the scoffers who shouted ‘Crucify Him!’ before His sacrificial crucifixion (Luke 23: 21). He was focused. He knew that in the near future they would perhaps, in contrast, be so eager to discredit His identity that they would go to the point of choosing a criminal above Him (Matthew 27: 15 – 26). Their praise did not make or break Him. Jesus knew that if He built His confidence and
identity on their approval, they could equally destroy it when their fickle minds changed and they followed the crowds who were against Him. His confidence was in His Father (John 14). It is evident that Jesus spent a lot of time with His Heavenly Father, and in those times He was instructed by God and affirmed by His love (Luke 5: 16).
Does Jesus’ lack of trust in these people mean He did not love them? Of course not. We are charged to fulfil our call to love in Romans 13, as in so doing, we will fulfil all commandments. Love is expressed in many ways, but ultimately, requires us, as commanded by Jesus, to love with a similar attitude to His (John 13: 34 -35). Knowing
fully the religious leaders’ desire to trap Him, in another text (John 5), Jesus knew their hearts were not filled with love for Him/God, and that they would reject Him. Yet, He purposed that He would not accuse them before the Father. That is loving, though He could not find any reasons to trust them. If we love like Jesus modelled (love for souls coming to know Him even in the absence of trust for them) – He was always concerned about souls (not necessarily comfort), we would ultimately be equally willing to put others’ souls at the forefront of our decisions.
I ended ‘Blots, Flaws and Revelations’ with the chapter: ‘Love is the Greatest’, and openly declared that I am aware of my own need to grow in love. In reality, it can be challenging to love people who are wicked, hurt us, or harm our loved ones. Regardless, it is still a command we have to fulfil. Does loving them mean we tolerate abuse? Does it mean we turn a blind eye to their atrocities? It doesn’t – as followers of Jesus, we owe love to everyone – we must desire for their souls to be saved as Jesus does. If you are like me, you will immediately ask, how can I possibly love someone who is hurting me or my loved ones? In response to that pertinent question, you may dislike their actions, but still want the best for their souls and still pray accordingly. That is difficult, but I’m a living witness that it is possible to pray for people who have offended you. Some do this more readily than others – that’s great if you never struggled in this area! For others, like me, the nature and frequency of the offence sometimes makes it more difficult to demonstrate love in this way. Nonetheless, it is possible, with intentionality, to take thoughts captive and decide that obedience to God and peace with Him are superior to holding grudges.
This is not romantic advice (though it is relevant in all areas), but fulfilling our command to love and ultimately care about others’ souls does not mean we have to trust them. Trust is earned, not an entitlement or a benefit we deserve because of mere association. I’m sure Jesus cared about the souls of those who were celebrating Him during His earthly ministry (and also those who didn’t!), but He was not gullible. He made the distinction between love and trust and so can we. I am in no way advocating that we distrust everyone – that is ludicrous and may damage our sincere relationships. I am saying that as Jesus showed us to stand secure in our identity regardless of how others perceived us, we should do the same. In preparing for this entry, I searched in my concordance for Scriptures about trust. I even searched for Scriptures in relation to trust in marriage (an institution approved by God). I found some Scriptures which indicated the need to be faithful in marriage and to be truthful to our word (being trustworthy), and I found a multitude of texts about the benefits of trusting God. The majority of Bible passages or verses about trust reinforce the need to put out trust in God. In no verse did I find a command to trust mankind! This again, does not mean that we will not find people who can be trusted – thankfully, I have the gift of people in my life who are trustworthy. However, the absence of this command and Jesus’ approach to those who only seemed to ‘love’ Him temporarily cannot be ignored. Jesus trusted His Father and had confidence in His relationship with Him, and did have an inner circle (Peter, James and John), closer than the 12 disciples. Even though they were in His so called inner circle, Jesus was ultimately most trusting of His Father. He qualified His relationships. Everyone who smiled and complimented did not become His close companions. Everyone did not get His trust – we are clearly not ungodly if we likewise discern who to trust.
Love versus trust? The two are not enemies or competitors; sometimes they coexist. Yet, there are times, as demonstrated by Jesus, when love has to exist without trust. Whether trust can exist without love is debatable, but that’s not the essence of this entry! Jesus’ model of managing people and relationships is an essential one. We save ourselves undue heartache when we appropriate discernment, whether we are followers of Jesus or like others, are curious about Him or even for now, resentful of Him. Jesus came to give us eternal life, but I love the ways in which He also showed us how to live life (on earth) whilst He ministered here. You may be criticised like I have been for being careful with some and refusing to trust in them simply because they are in a similar environment – even fellow pilgrims. I wish the best for their souls and pray accordingly, but previous and consistent behaviours do determine who we trust. I will live with such criticism, rather than being distracted from my purpose when untrustworthy people are given unmerited access to me, resulting in them having the ability to alter my emotions and wellbeing. I’m not a wise sage, but Jesus’ wisdom about quantifying who we trust has helped me.
Damaged trust is difficult to repair and relationships have the potential to build or even destroy us unfortunately. Likewise, it is often detrimental when we gain confidence in mankind’s approval and support; in light of this, it is not unwise to consider Jesus’ model in our daily interactions. As mentioned before, the main commands about trust in Scripture are for fully trusting God, and there are others which emphasise our need to be trustworthy (Proverbs 12: 22). He loves us and is pleased when we are trustworthy. He is mysterious, but encourages us to trust Him – He is worthy of our trust.
You may be struggling with trust in some area of your life, or you may have allowed yourself to erroneously gain confidence from trusting amiss (in people’s words rather than God’s). You may even think it’s ludicrous to trust a God you cannot see physically. You may even be struggling to trust God after disappointment, although you have a relationship with Him; I’m a living witness that it happens! When God doesn’t respond to prayers as we wish and in our time, it may cause our faith to weaken. Regardless, as it helped me, I offer the solution to such seasons – prayer; prayer helps you to reconnect with God, hearing His thoughts through the Word, and sharing you praise and concerns with Him. It may be difficult, but why not try, even for a few seconds, a minute or five today? You can trust Him to have your best interest, intended purpose and growth in mind, even if you cannot see evidence of it yet. He hears.
Heartfelt Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank You for the ways in which You used Jesus to model practical ways in which we may appropriate trust. I admit that I have struggled to trust You wholeheartedly at all times. Help me to overcome the issues at the root of the matter(s) and like You, to be more discerning of who to trust. I ask these mercies in Your Son’s – Jesus’ named Amen.
