While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the signs He was doing and believed in His name.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name, observing his signs which he did.
- KJV Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.
- NKJV Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.
- NASB Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name as they observed His signs which He was doing.
- NLT Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
During the Passover feast many in Jerusalem 'believed' when they saw Jesus' miraculous signs. It introduces a shallow, sign-driven belief that Jesus himself does not fully trust.
Overview
This crowd-level belief rested on the spectacle of miracles rather than on grasping who Jesus is. John deliberately sets it up to be qualified by the next verses and contrasted with Nicodemus, who comes seeking more. It warns that being impressed by Jesus is not the same as the saving, self-committing faith the gospel calls for.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- John 7:31Many in the crowd, however, believed in Him and said, “When the Christ comes, will He perform more signs than this man?”
- John 6:14When the people saw the sign that Jesus had performed, they began to say, “Truly this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
- Luke 8:13The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall away.
- Eph 3:16–17I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,
- Mark 4:16–17Some are like the seeds sown on rocky ground. They hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
- John 3:2He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.”
- John 8:30–31As Jesus spoke these things, many believed in Him.
- John 2:13When the Jewish Passover was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
- Gal 5:6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. All that matters is faith, expressed through love.
- Matt 13:20–21The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.
- Jas 2:19–20You believe that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
- John 12:42–43Nevertheless, many of the leaders believed in Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 2:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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