Who Knows the Heart

(John 2:23-25 NIV) 23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

I sometimes wonder if the same belief which states, “I am basically good.” or “He is a good man.” was present during Jesus’ day like it is present in western society today.

It is only when the laser-like shaft of God’s truth reveals to man that he has within himself the seed of “Me first.”

or that twist toward evil,

that man realizes he is not good.

Yes, he was created good and there is an inner longing to return to that created state, but he has partaken of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil/right and wrong.

The result is we are not “basically good”.

And Jesus knew this.

He knew the twists and turns the human heart can take on any discussion.

He knew the deceptive filters the human mind uses to understand what it wants to understand and leave the rest filtered out.

He knew the unspoken reasons behind their belief in his name.

He knew the ability to weave what was said out of context for personal advantage.

He knew how man can take the truth and turn it into a lie.

And most of these doings are done unconsciously without evil intent...

Only God’s Spirit can give discernment in these matters and reveal the full truth.

That is why Jesus did not expose himself to them.

Yes,we need each other to guide us back to that straight beam of light which is the true truth. Without that, we can reason ourselves into extremes which are destructive.

But most of all, we need to be continually honest before God and let His Spirit examine our heart and yield to His revelation of where we have turned astray, consciously or unconsciously.