John 2:25

Joh 2:25. Ὅτι) because.—τοῦ ἀνθρώπου· τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, of man: in man) This is said of the whole race of men: in the preceding verse, of the individuals contained under it.—αὐτός) Himself, without any other testimony.—τί, what) to wit, treachery: every man is deceitful. The language of John has Euphemy.[48] In man [the natural man] there is what is human: in the new man there is what is divine, Christian, spiritual.

[48] He avoided the harsh expression of all that was implied.—E. and T.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Christ is the searcher of hearts, and therefore true God.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

knew what was in man--It is impossible for language more clearly to assert of Christ what in Jer 17:9-10, and elsewhere, is denied of all mere creatures.

Next: John Chapter 3

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

25. For he knew what was in man. As it might be doubted whence Christ obtained this knowledge, the Evangelist anticipates this question, and replies that Christ perceived every thing in men that is concealed from our view, so that he could on his own authority make a distinction among men. Christ, therefore, who knows the hearts, had no need of any one to inform him what sort of men they were. He knew them to have such a disposition and such feelings, that he justly regarded them as persons who did not belong to him.

The question put by some — whether we too are authorized by the example of Christ to hold those persons as suspected who have not given us proof of their sincerity — has nothing to do with the present passage. There is a wide difference between him and us; for Christ knew the very roots of the trees, but, except from the fruits which appear outwardly, we cannot discover what is the nature of any one tree. Besides, as Paul tells us, that charity is not suspicious, (1 Corinthians 13:5,) we have no right to entertain unfavorable suspicions about men who are unknown to us. But, that we may not always be deceived by hypocrites, and that the Church may not be too much exposed to their wicked impostures, it belongs to Christ to impart to us the Spirit of discretion.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(25) And needed not.—Better, and because He needed not.

For he knew.—Better, for He of Himself knew. The verse is a wider statement of the general truth of which Joh_2:24 is a particular instance. He did not in that instance need any testimony of spiritual state and character, because He then, as always, read what was in man.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25. And needed not] Better, and because He had no need.

for he knew] Better, for He of Himself knew. We have instances of this supernatural knowledge in the cases of Peter, Joh_1:42; Nathanael, Joh_1:47-48; Nicodemus, Joh_3:3; the woman at the well, Joh_4:29; the disciples, Joh_6:61; Joh_6:64; Lazarus, Joh_11:4; Joh_11:15; Judas, Joh_13:11; Peter, Joh_21:17.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

Ver. 25. For he knew what was in man] Artificers know the nature and properties of their works, and shall not Christ of the heart? He searcheth men’s hearts, and trieth the reins, which of all their inwards are the most inward; {a} besides that they are the seats and springs of all our thoughts and lusts. Deus intimior nobis intimo nostro, saith one, God is nearer to us than we are to ourselves, and knows our thoughts long before, as a gardener knows what flowers he shall have at spring, because he knows the roots.

{a} Nihil eorde ae renibus magis intimum; adeo ut per multos meatus atque incurvos anfractus deferri elaborati cibi debeant, antequam eo possint perduci.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Should testify of man - Should give him the character of any man.

He knew what was in man - This he did because he had made all Joh 1:3, and because he was God, Joh 1:1. There can be no higher evidence than this that he was omniscient, and was therefore divine. To search the heart is the prerogative of God alone Jer 17:10; and as Jesus knew what was in “these disciples,” and as it is expressly said that he knew what was in man - that is, in “all people” - so it follows that he must be equal with God. As he knows “all,” he is acquainted with the false pretentions and professions of hypocrites. None can deceive him. He also knows the wants and desires of all his real friends. He hears their groans, he sees their sighs, he counts their tears, and in the day of need will come to their relief.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And needed not any information concerning the principles and humours of all men; for he perfectly knew men, not only from their more external acts and behaviours, (as we know them), but he knew what was in them, searching the hearts, and trying the reins, which is the property of God alone, 1Ki 8:39; Psa 33:15. Here what we formerly observed is again observable, that oft times in holy writ, for the further confirmation of a proposition, to a universal affirmative is added a contrary negative. Here ariseth a question, agitated between the Lutherans and the Calvinists, Whether Christ as man knew all things, and what is in the heart of man. They affirm it, because of the personal union of the Divine and human natures in Christ. We say, that although there be such a personal union, yet the properties of each nature remain distinct; upon which account Christ denieth that he, as the Son of man, knew the day and hour of the end of the world. Besides, by the same reason that omniscience belongeth to the human nature of Christ, omnipotence, infiniteness, and omnipresence, also must; which last indeed they affirm, seeing that without it they were not able to defend their doctrine of consubstantiation, or the presence of the body and blood of Christ, wherever the sacrament of his supper is administered; but this being a matter polemical, we shall not here discourse it. Those who would be satisfied as to what is said on either side, may find enough in Gerard, Hunnius, and Farnovius, on the Lutherans’ side; and in Zanchius and others on the Calvinists’ side, Zanchius de Natura and Attributis Dei, lib. 3. cap. 2. qu. 16.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

25. Knew what was in man—Some men are penetrating judges of human character. But this is not what John means of this the Word made flesh. In this chapter, indeed, we have repeated instances of John’s view, that the glory of the Divine nature was continually shedding its rays through the tenement of flesh. The first miracle (Joh_2:11) manifested forth his glory; he claims all power to rebuild the demolished temple; and now he is described as knowing the secrets of our nature.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jesus knowing man.

John gives us, in the course of his Gospel, wonderful evidences and illustrations on this point. When people came to him, he seemed to see right into their hearts and through their present lives into all their past. Instances in Nathanael, Nicodemus, and the woman of Samaria. The power of Jesus in this respect as much supernatural as that by which he raised Lazarus from the dead.

I IT IS JESUS WHO KNOWS WHAT IS IN MAN. His awful power of knowing the secrets of human hearts is his power. Hence we behold the exercise of it without being startled or alarmed. The woman at the well does not seem to have been at all terrified by her discovery of the omniscient, resistless eye of Jesus. We are made to feel that Jesus knows us altogether; but at the same time, we are assured as to the use he will make of his knowledge. He does not come to expose us to our fellow men. He does not come to protect us from them, although he will do so if it be needful. The injuries of others do not penetrate to the heart, do not burden the conscience, so Jesus does not trouble about them. What gives him concern is the evil we work to ourselves. What a scratch is to a deep stab, that the very worst thing another can do is as compared with what we ourselves do. We have cause to rejoice that it is Jesus who has a knowledge so complete, a knowledge so certain to be used for our best advantage. It is Jesus, the professed Saviour Jesus, who loves little children, Jesus who takes pity on hungry multitudes he of the truest, tenderest heart that ever beat in a human bosom it is he who knows what is in man.

II JESUS KNOWS WHAT IS IN MAN. He never needs to act doubtfully and upon speculation. His knowledge is not in appearance, but in reality. It ranges over human nature in all the vast extent of it. He knows the real and the ideal, the actual and the possible; how bad men are, and how good they may become. His real knowledge is to be contrasted with our assumed knowledge. He knows us round and round and. through and through. It is not a knowledge of the weakness and follies of men just to make better use of them.

III JESUS WANTS MAN HIMSELF TO KNOW WHAT IS IN MAN. First, that we may know ourselves, and that for the practical purpose of making the best of our lives. We need great knowledge to make the best of life, with its rich opportunities, its great difficulties, its strict limitations. Jesus wants us to have a living sense of our ignorance and our weakness. He wants us to discover how blind the natural man is when confronted with spiritual things. He wants us to be persuaded how low we can sink, how high we can rise. Then, as far as we know ourselves truly, we shall know others also. They are weak, even as we; and, if we become strong in Christ, we shall hope for the same strength for them.

IV JESUS WANTS US TO KNOW WHAT IS IN HIM. Wants us to see human nature in its purity and its perfection. Knowing the perfection of Jesus rightly, we shall not despair, but aim to be drawn onward to it ourselves. Y.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He - To whom all things are naked, knew what was in man - Namely, a desperately deceitful heart.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

St. John’s design in writing of this gospel being to assert the divinity of Christ, he scatters evidences of it in almost every chapter. Here he declares his omniscience, He knew what was in man; that is, being God blessed for ever, he had an exact knowledge of the hearts of men, not by any revelation of men’s hearts from God, but by immediate intuition from himself. He knows all men, and all that is in men. See here an ample testimony of the divinity of Christ, his knowledge of the secrets of the hearts of all men, which is declared to be the undoubted property of God alone, Thou only knowest the hearts of all the children of men. 1Ki 8:39

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25. ἵνα τις μαρτ. See on Joh 1:7-8: that any should bear witness concerning man; comp. Joh 16:30. The article with ἀνθρώπου is generic.

αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐγ. For He of Himself knew: note the repetition of αὐτός in Joh 2:23-24. We have instances of this supernatural knowledge in the cases of Peter (Joh 1:42), Nathanael (Joh 1:47-48), Nicodemus (Joh 3:3), the Samaritan woman (Joh 4:29), the disciples (Joh 6:61; Joh 6:64), Judas (Joh 6:70, Joh 13:11), Peter (Joh 13:38, Joh 21:17), Thomas (Joh 20:27). It is remarkable that the word here used for this supernatural knowledge is γινώσλκειν, ‘to come to know, perceive,’ rather than εἰδέναι, ‘to know’ absolutely (comp. Joh 5:42, Joh 10:14-15; Joh 10:27, Joh 17:25). This tends to shew that Christ’s supernatural knowledge was in some degree analogous to ours. Both verbs are used, 1. in reference to facts, knowledge of which Christ might have obtained in the ordinary manner (γινώσκειν, Joh 4:1, Joh 5:6, Joh 6:15; εἰδέναι, Joh 6:61); 2. in reference to facts, knowledge of which must have been supernatural (γινώσκειν Joh 2:24-25, Joh 10:14; Joh 10:27; εἰδέναι, Joh 6:64, Joh 13:1; Joh 13:11, Joh 18:4); 3. in reference to divine things transcending human experience (γινώσκειν, Joh 17:25; εἰδέναι, Joh 3:11, Joh 5:32, Joh 7:29, Joh 8:14; Joh 8:55, Joh 11:42, Joh 12:50, Joh 13:3, Joh 19:28). These references shew that the distinction, though not quite absolute, is very marked between knowledge which in some sense can be regarded as acquired (γινώσκειν) and that which is simply regarded as possessed.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25.] The repetition of ἐπίστ. has been regarded (Lücke, De Wette) as a sort of play on the word. But I should rather set it down to the simplicity of John’s style.

The meaning is, He did not trust himself to them,—i.e. treat them as true and earnest disciples: they entered into no spiritual relation with Him, and He in consequence into none with them. The fact of this being narrated shews that it made an impression on the Evangelist, and led him perhaps first to the conclusion which he here expresses, and which higher knowledge enabled him afterwards to place, as he here does, on its right ground:—His knowing what was in man. Nothing less than divine knowledge is here set forth; the words are even stronger than if τῶν ἀνθ. and ἐν τοῖς ἀνθ. had been used. Then some reference might have been imagined to the persons here mentioned; but now, the singular is, and must be on all hands, purely generic,—as in E. V.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He needed not [ου χρειαν ειχεν] . Literally, he had not need.

Testify [μαρτυρηση] . Rev., better, bear witness. The same word is in Joh 1:7, 8, 15, 32 (see on 1 7).

Of man [περι του ανθρωπου] . Better, as Rev., concerning man.

He knew [αυτος εγινωσκεν] . The pronoun is expressed, and with a view to emphasis, as Rev., "He himself knew." The imperfect expresses continuance : He was all along cognizant as the successive cases presented themselves; thus falling in with the next words, "what was in the man," i e., in each particular man with whom He had to do. No such characteristic as this was attributed to the gods of Paganism. "While, then, the gift of anything like general foreknowledge appears to be withheld from all the deities of invention, that of 'the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, ' is nowhere found; nor was it believed of any member of the Olympian community, as it was said of One greater than they, 'He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for He knew what was in man, '" (Gladstone, "Homer and the Homeric Age," 2, 366).

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.