Jesus, The Heart Reader
John 2:23-25
Thus far we have seen some truly amazing truths about Jesus.
He is enough God to create the world
He is enough Savior to light the world
He is enough Man to be God incarnate
He has enough humility to become flesh
He has enough wisdom to follow
He has enough compassion to save a wedding
He has enough zeal to cleanse a temple
Jesus is truly amazing, and Jesus is truly enough
This morning we are reminded yet again
Of another vitally important truth about Jesus,
It is how Jesus reads people.
I find this fascinating and vitally important for the world today.
1 Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Jeremiah reminded us of this penetrating truth.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.”
And it was David who taught us how to accurately apply this truth.
Psalms 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”
The truth is that when God looks at a person
He does not look at the outward appearance.
God looks much deeper.
This is also the way that Jesus looks at man.
Perhaps no story illustrates this better than the healing of the paralytic.
Matthew 9:1-7 “Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city. And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.” And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? “Which is easier, to say, ‘ Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” — then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” And he got up and went home.”
Jesus didn’t evaluate anything by face value, Jesus looked deeper.
He always does.
In our world of hypocrisy and phony religious antics,
It does us good to remember that we can get caught up in outward religion all day long, but it will not impress Jesus in the least.
No amount of fancy singing, no amount of fancy preaching,
No amount of religious excellence will ever do a thing to impress Jesus.
There is only one thing Jesus looks at, and it is the heart.
Leo can sing like a canary…
I can preach like I really know something…
You can be involved continually…
But if our heart isn’t right, Jesus isn’t impressed.
Jesus doesn’t look at the outward appearance,
Jesus looks at the heart.
We have already seen this to some degree.
When Simon approached Jesus…
John 1:42 “He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
When Nathanael approached Jesus…
John 1:47 “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”
It was this that caused Jesus to continually reject
The Pharisees, the Scribes, the Priests, the Rich Young Ruler,
Yet continually accept the prostitutes and tax collectors.
Jesus looked deeper than the surface and saw the heart.
IF YOU DESIRE TO PLEASE JESUS,
YOU MUST SOLIDIFY THIS TRUTH IN YOUR MIND
Jesus isn’t looking for you to be religious, Jesus is looking for you to be righteous.
I want you to see this morning the reason many people fail to truly come to Jesus.
There are 3 truths I want you to see this morning.
#1 THE FASCINATION THAT SURROUNDS JESUS
John 1:23
“Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.”
Here again, we find Jesus ministering in Jerusalem.
He is doing so during one of the most popular times in Jerusalem.
He was ministering during the Passover.
Again we see that Jesus was not dodging confrontation,
He had nothing to hide, He was in the thick of things.
And John reveals that He must have been performing more signs.
Not just miracles, but signs that proved He is the Messiah.
And as the people saw these signs,
They were believing in His name.
We see here a truth that follows Jesus throughout the Bible, Jesus was continually surrounded with fascination.
People were constantly amazed with Jesus.
Matthew 4:25 “Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.”
Matthew 8:1 “When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.”
Matthew 13:2 “And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.”
Matthew 15:30 “And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them.”
Matthew 19:2 “and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.”
Many use this to prove how successful Jesus was in ministry,
But that doesn’t really prove that.
If the presence of the crowd proves that Jesus was successful in ministry then what does the anger of the crowd that crucified Him prove?
The mobs continually surrounding Jesus proves only one thing,
That people were fascinated with Jesus.
John says that “many believed in His name”
This means as Jesus was wowing the people,
They were signing up left and right as followers.
We will see this same type of thing happen again, later in John
After Jesus feeds 5 thousand men with only 2 fish and 5 loaves.
John 6:14-15 “Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.”
Jesus walks on water and reaches the other side, and the mob finds Him again.
John 6:24-29 “So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
You can hear it in the crowds voice.
They aren’t truly surrendering to Jesus,
They are just signing up to be fascinated by Him.
Even today, Jesus is fascinating to people.
People flocked in groves to watch “The Passion of the Christ”
People will flock in groves to watch, “The DaVinci Code”
One of the biggest marketing fads to hit stores in the last decade was:
WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?)
Face it, Jesus is still a hot marketing topic.
Jesus is fascinating.
But in that comes a tragedy.
MANY PEOPLE NEVER MAKE IT PAST FASCINATION
Their relationship with Jesus never becomes anything more than a fascination with the power that He has, or with the grace that He shows.
They get fascinated with Jesus, and it stops right there.
There is never obedience…
There is never submission…
There is never trust…
It is what Jesus spoke of with the Rocky Soil.
Luke 8:13 “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.”
It is seen very clearly in John 6.
This same crowd that was ready to make Jesus King,
Would soon completely abandon Him.
John 6:60-66 “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”
For many, even though they claim to believe in Jesus,
They really never do.
They are fascinated with Jesus,
But it never goes any farther than this.
This is the case here, and we know that because of the next truth.
First, The Fascination that Surrounded Jesus
#2 THE HESITATION THAT DIRECTED JESUS
John 2:24
“But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men,”
The crowd is fascinated with Jesus and Jesus is less than excited.
The word “believed” (23) and the word “entrusting” (24) is the same word.
PISTEOU – “to trust”
John said they were trusting Jesus, but Jesus wouldn’t trust them.
BUT I THOUGHT WE LEARNED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO THAT JESUS ACCEPTS HIS FOLLOWERS?
He does – when they really follow Him.
Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
But when you come to God without a pure heart, don’t count on it.
When your fascination with Jesus is nothing more than a selfish desire to be amazed, don’t count on it.
It is worth reminding ourselves a very important truth.
YOU DON’T COME TO JESUS IN SELFISHNESS,
YOU COME TO JESUS IN SUBMISSION.
Matthew 16:21-24 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
Jesus wasn’t just seeking people
That would buy tickets to His miracle show.
Jesus was seeking people
Who would lay their lives down for Him.
We as a church must remember this.
I firmly believe there is a right way and wrong way to evangelize.
The wrong way is to appeal to people’s selfishness.
The right way is to proclaim Jesus call for submission.
When you see Jesus sending His disciples into the world,
Look at what He told them to preach.
Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Mark 16:15-16 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”
Luke 24:45-47 “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ” Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
Call them to repentance, call them to obedience, call them to faith
Jesus doesn’t just want people to flock to Him,
Jesus wants people who will sell out for Him.
And these people in Jerusalem wouldn’t,
So Jesus would not entrust Himself to them.
“for He knew all men,”
He knew their loyalty was like that of the people in Hosea’s day.
Hosea 6:1-4 “Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. “He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him. “So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.” What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early.”
These people claimed loyalty, but Jesus knew better.
Jesus looked into a man’s heart
If they were not fully sold out to Him,
He was hesitant to entrust Himself to them.
Luke 9:57-60 “As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
Jesus is looking for people who will sell out for Him.
He is looking for people who will count the cost and follow anyway.
Look at this familiar illustration.
Luke 14:25-33 “Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”
In order to truly have salvation,
You must move from fascination to full surrender.
Jesus NEVER accepted anything less.
And there is a reason why.
#3 THE EDUCATION THAT ENLIGHTENED JESUS
John 1:25
“and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”
We just learned that Jesus wouldn’t entrust Himself to these people in Jerusalem because He knew they weren’t real.
BUT HOW DID HE KNOW THAT?
DID SOMEONE RAT ON THEM?
Of course you know the answer. He is God.
“He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”
Psalms 139:1-16 “O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”
Jesus knows men.
He saw every thought of the Pharisees…
He saw through every trick of the Scribes…
He forecasted Judas’ betrayal…
He predicted Peter’s denial…
Jesus knows men.
That is why when men come to Him and claim to want to follow Him, He looks deeper. He looks at the heart. Jesus is the Heart Reader.
HE HAS BEEN READING YOUR HEART AS WELL
He hasn’t been watching your attendance so closely…
He hasn’t been reading your appearance…
Jesus is watching your heart.
When we sing songs like “I Surrender All”, He listens to your heart.
When we pray over an offering, He listens to your heart.
Jesus is reading your heart.
Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
You see Jesus knows you.
WHAT HAVE YOU REALLY DONE WITH JESUS?
Are you just caught up with fascination over this One who can meet all your needs?
Or do you genuinely want to surrender your whole life to Him?
Jesus is not looking for empty profession,
Jesus is reading your heart to see if you confess Him as Lord.
Titus 1:16 “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”
James 2:14 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?”
1 John 2:4-5 “The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:”
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”
All of those verses have one thing in common.
They don’t care what your lips say,
They are only concerned with what your heart is saying.
WHEN JESUS READS YOUR HEART, WHAT WILL IT SAY?
Do you, with all your heart, long to surrender all to follow Him?
Do you, with all your heart, long to leave sin and self behind?
Do you, with all your heart, long to obey Jesus every waking hour?
Do you, with all your heart, long to see Him glorified?
Or do you just say so?
Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.”
