Although indeed from among the rulers also many believed on him, but on account of the Pharisees did not confess [him], that they might not be put out of the synagogue
The nation as a whole would not believe. Yet inside its own leadership, many did. Their faith never reached their lips, and the verse says what held their mouths shut.
Believing and confessing are two different things here, and the second one failed. One writer puts the silent heart beside the silent mouth:
Ungodliness shows itself not only in a heart unwilling to believe, but in a soul too cowardly to confess the Lord (Revelation 21:8). We see it here: "many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue." The motive, the moral reason, follows: they loved glory from men more than glory from God. They feared the religious world. They were wide awake to human glory, but dull to the glory that comes from God. And we must not forget this: "with the heart one believes and is justified, with the mouth one confesses and is saved" (Romans 10:10). God makes much of confessing His Son, and we cannot safely claim salvation any other way.
Concealment of that kind takes daily effort. One writer pictures what these men had to do to keep their secret:
They were able to listen quietly to the vicious plotting going on among the priests and rulers against the person of Jesus Christ. They carefully held back every sign of feeling when foul slanders and vile insults against the name and character of the One they believed had come from God as Israel's Messiah reached their ears. They took care to avoid every word or look that might cause any of the other rulers to charge them with being followers of Jesus of Nazareth.
The synagogue was where Jewish people met to worship and hear the Scriptures. Being shut out of it had a formal name:
To be "put out of the synagogue" was the Jewish excommunication. The Lord warned His disciples that they would face it (John 9:22; John 16:2). The only recorded case is the man born blind, when he testified about Christ. For him it was a happy exchange, because the Lord then revealed Himself to him as the Son of God (John 9:34-38).
Commentators differ on how much weight to give the word "believed" here. One reads it as conviction that never reached the heart:
The evidence was abundant, so that many of the chief rulers believed. Their reason was convinced, but their hearts were unchanged. The cost of confessing Him was too heavy. They wanted the glory that men could give more than the glory that God could give — the fatal choice of so many.
Another treats the verse as a warning, while leaving room for cases where silence is later broken:
Then you have another terrible warning. Many believed on Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him. Such would be lost. They were convinced, yet would not own Him. The principle is in Romans 10: "with the mouth one confesses and is saved." That applies now… We must leave such people to God, like Nicodemus, who goes secretly by night for fear of the Jews. And Joseph the counsellor, who had stayed hidden, comes out when the disciples have all run away. These two confessed at last.
The words that follow this verse answer that fear. Everything the synagogue held for them, He held Himself:
Many among the chief rulers believed on Him but did not confess Him, afraid of being put out of the synagogue. How does He meet them? In the synagogue they worshipped, as they believed, the Lord Jehovah. There they heard the Old Testament Scriptures, which showed them His mind. So the Lord Jesus, to strengthen them to confess Him, tells them that everything they looked for in the synagogue He could give. "Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness." And if they feared human anger and what might follow, listening to Him would bring everlasting life (v. 50). So in Him they had the full answer to anything the Jews could do. Put out of the synagogue, they would still find God, light, and eternal life outside it.
One writer turns the two fears on the reader:
There were two things that kept the chief rulers from confessing Christ. One was the fear of being put out of the synagogue; the other was that they would not give up the praise of men. The same influences are still at work. While you keep your religious position, men will praise you for your good works and your generosity. But one day you may see two things. Christianity in public has become a vast human system with only a name to live. And being faithful to Christ means leaving it. Then you will have to choose between the praise of men and the praise of God.
- Belief. Many rulers were convinced by the evidence. Their minds were open; their mouths stayed shut.
- Fear. The price stopped them: being put out of the synagogue, the Jewish form of excommunication.
- Motive. Behind the fear lay a preference: glory from men weighed more with them than glory from God.
- Verdict. Commentators differ on whether such faith saves. Some call it conviction without a changed heart. Others leave such people to God, since Nicodemus and Joseph did speak out in the end.
- Answer. Everything they feared to lose, Christ offered in Himself: God, light, and eternal life — found outside the synagogue.
for they loved glory from men rather than glory from God.
Many of the rulers believed in Jesus, yet they kept quiet about it. This verse gives the reason, and it weighs two things against each other: praise from people, and praise from God.
One writer treats this silence as a form of ungodliness, driven by fear of the religious world.
Ungodliness shows itself not only in a heart unwilling to believe, but in a soul too cowardly to confess the Lord. We see it here: "many even of the authorities believed in Him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue." And the verse gives the motive, the moral reason: they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. They feared the religious world, being keenly aware of human glory but dull to the glory that comes from God. But we must not forget that "with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved" (Rom. 10:10). God makes much of confession of His Son, and we cannot safely claim salvation any other way.
Was that real faith? One writer separates a convinced mind from a living faith.
Their minds were open to evidence, and the signs displayed produced intellectual conviction in them. Conviction of the mind is an essential part of living faith. But on its own it is lifeless. It does not bear fruit in works, but is "as the body apart from the spirit" (James 2:26). Living faith brings the soul to God through Christ. These rulers knew nothing of this. If they had experienced it, they would not have loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. The same test applies today. Anyone who really believes in his heart that God raised Christ from the dead will confess Him with his mouth as Lord. If men do not confess, they do not really believe.
One writer reads the verse as a warning of ruin, while leaving individual cases with God.
Then you have another terrible warning. Those who believed but would not confess Him would be lost. They were convinced, yet would not own Him… I do not believe there are many, now or ever, who are ashamed to confess Christ and yet are truly saved. I could not say they are saved. God knows what is at the bottom of their hearts… We must leave such people to God, like Nicodemus, who came by night for fear of the Jews. And Joseph the counsellor, who had stayed hidden, came out when the disciples had all run away. These two confessed at last.
Another writer reads them as true believers whose failure lay somewhere else.
The problem was not that they did not believe, but that they did not confess. They lacked devotedness. They saw that confessing Christ openly would cost them their religious position. They were not ready to say with Paul, "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ."
Christ Himself wanted only His Father's approval. Writing on an earlier chapter in John, one writer sets that against the pride at the root of this verse.
The Lord exposes the root of the whole matter as man's pride in wanting recognition from men, with no real sense of being under the eye of God. As for Himself, He did not receive honour from men. The approval of His Father was His one real delight… Compare this with John 12:43, those loving the praise of men more than the praise of God. For when God's love is really known, His honour comes first and foremost.
What did they stand to lose by confessing Him? One writer shows what the synagogue meant to them, and what the Lord offered instead.
In the synagogue they believed they were worshipping the Lord Jehovah, and there they heard the Old Testament Scriptures, which showed them His mind. So to strengthen them to confess Him, the Lord Jesus tells them that He could give them everything they looked for in the synagogue… In Him they had the full answer to all that the Jews could do. If they were put out of the synagogue, they would find God, light, and eternal life outside it.
The man who judged Jesus made the same exchange.
The Jewish leaders themselves "loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God" (John 12:43); Pilate had much more regard for the praise of Caesar than for judgment according to truth and justice.
- Cause. Pride wants recognition from people, with no real sense of living under God's eye. Where God's love is known, His honour comes first.
- Cost. These men feared the religious world. Confessing Christ would have cost them their standing in it.
- Test. A convinced mind is not yet living faith. The mouth shows what the heart really holds.
- Question. Commentators differ on whether such secret believers are saved. Some read the verse as a warning of ruin. Others see real faith without devotedness.
- Choice. Outside the synagogue Christ offered God, light, and eternal life. So the choice was never praise of men against nothing. It was praise of men against the praise of God.