According to English stack exchange ” Believe (verb) is defined as: accept that (something) is true, especially without proof: the superintendent believed Lancaster’s story. It is possible to believe someone but not trust them until they earn your trust fully, therefore trust is more of an act of reliance based on accepting something to be true.”
In this portion of John 10, Jesus finds himself surrounded by the Jewish leaders who wanted to know who He truly was. Jesus shows them that He had not hidden His true identity from them. The root problem was an unwillingness to believe. Though the sign were evidence of Jesus being the Messiah, those leaders not only did not believe, they didn’t trust Him.
The truth of the matter, is that those rulers were not sincere in their quest for truth. Those who wanted to believe the Messiah were “sheep who hear His voice and follow Him”. The idea of following really meant BELIEVE.
Belief and Trust are grounded in the degree of faith we have in someone. You believe, meaning you accept Him as truth without proof, but you trust by relying on the one you believe.
Those Jewish leaders had no intentions to accept Jesus nor to rely on Him.
We tend to think that’s just them. But for us “Believers”, do we honestly believe? Do we trust Him? Maybe we just believe…. It is possible to believe someone is who they say they are, but you do not rely on them. Now, it is impossible to trust someone you don’t believe. Do you honestly believe Jesus is who He says He is??
According to Merriam-webster.com, Trust is the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something, while believe is to accept something or someone as true, real or possible. The keyword here is “Reliance”. You most likely rely on the things or people you trust not on the things you believe. Remember, The sheep that hear His voice are the sheep that believe.
Read The Bible in Two Years 