23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. 25 He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

When we are popular and everyone likes us, we think things are going well and we may feel good about ourselves. When the tide turns, do we think less of ourselves when people are against us? How well we know who we are will have a great impact on how we feel when things get rough, when the world seems to turn against us.

Early on in Jesus’ ministry, he was riding a tide of great popularity among the people. I wonder if there was a temptation to bask in the glow of that fame. He was tempted in all matters just as we are, so maybe so. The temptation might have been there, but it is interesting how Jesus dealt with the situation.

Even though everyone was saying they loved him, and how great he was, he was not “entrusting” himself to them. He was not letting his sense of who he was be affected by them. Even though it was good then, he knew what was in store, because as God he knew them better than they knew themselves.

Often our self esteem, and even our whole countenance, can be affected by whether people like us or not. This is just human nature, to allow our self image to be influenced by how others see us.

Jesus did not fall for that human frailty though, because he knew exactly who he was. His identity was in God his Father. His identity, his sense of self worth, was not tied to the fortunes of public opinion, it was tied to God.

After he had started working miracles, and people were thinking he was great, it says in verse 24, basically that he didn’t believe in them. He was not depending on them to tell him who he was. He knew the deal. He knew the tide could and would change, and when the going got tough, these same people who were praising him now would be shouting “crucify him.”

Throughout the book of John, we see Jesus constantly focused on God the Father. He said he and the Father were one. He said he did nothing on his own initiative, but only what his Father had sent him to do.

This is a recipe for a great self image, and for good mental health.

His focus was on his mission, and on God the Father. Nothing else mattered. No matter whether people liked him or not, he knew his Father loved him unconditionally. No matter if he was hanging out with Mary, Martha and Lazarus and having a good time, or hanging on a cross and being spit at, it didn’t affect who he was. It didn’t matter what people did or thought because He knew who He was. As it says in verse 25, he didn’t need mans testimony. He didn’t need people to tell him who he was because he knew who he was.

I think we can emulate that by keeping our focus on who we are in Christ. We are a chosen people. We are joint heirs. We have a greater home awaiting us. So whether life is good or bad, we belong to God and God controls everything. So what have we got to complain about? Or worry about?

Maybe this is why it was possible for Jesus to ask for the forgiveness of those that were crucifying him.