Christ's Doctrine of Faith: A Study of "Believing" in John's Gospel (John 2:22)

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The fifth time the idea of "believing" occurs in the Gospel of John is John 2:22, which reads: "When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said" (KJV). So, 1) what is the context of this passage and 2) what does this passage teach us about faith, or believing?

First, let's consider the context of John 2:22. After Christ's miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, He goes down to Capernaum, along with His mother and brethren and disciples, and stays there a short time. After this, the Passover is close, and Jesus heads to Jerusalem to participate in it. While at Jerusalem, He sees people engaging in commercial activity in the Temple and drives them away, accusing them of making His Father's House a house of merchandise and commanding them to take away their products. This clearing work reminds His disciples of a Scripture in the Psalms, which says: "The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up" (KJV). Some Jews then confront the Lord and challenge Him by asking what sign He'll perform, since He is doing what He is doing. Christ answers with this challenge: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (KJV). The Jews respond by stating that it took forty-six years to build the temple and incredulously asking Christ if He'll "rear it up in three days" (KJV). However, the Holy Spirit clarifies the meaning of this challenge by pointing out that Jesus was speaking metaphorically, with His body as the temple. Consequently, when Jesus was raised from the dead, His disciples remember that their Master said this to them. And the disciples "believed" two things: 1) the Scripture and 2) the word which Jesus had said.

Second, let's consider what we learn about faith, or believing, from this passage. In this text, God teaches us that faith has an object. In other words, belief has something that is believed. And, in this text, we learn that Christian faith is believing the Word of the Christian God, the God of the Bible. First, Jesus's disciples are said to believe "the Scripture," which is the Word of God written down (2 Timothy 3:15-17). Second, Jesus's disciples are said to believe "the word which Jesus had said," which is the word that God in human flesh has said (John 1:1, 14). Given the implicit, but still clear, commendation of this faith in this passage, we can rightly conclude that saving faith, or faith that saves, is believing what God's Word says [1].

[1] Though I do not endorse everything said in this study, this Bible study impressed this definition of my faith on my heart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol4kQ8idCYw