From John 20: The Purpose of the Bible

“But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (v. 31)

Maybe you’ve never asked this question…but it’s worth asking!

Why has God given us this Bible? What is the purpose of the Scriptures? Why do these words, as the Word of God, exist?

It can’t be mere history (though it is not less than that).

It can’t just be about moral instruction (though moral obedience is an inevitable outcome).

And it can’t be a religious handbook only (though it is the authority and boundary of all our doctrine).

The “why” for the Bible is even more fundamental than all of that.

The Bible is given—inspired, whole truth, of God—so that we will know Jesus and believe. It is given so that His name will be magnified and so that our need will be obvious. It is given so that we will see human sin in history, see our own testimony in the same line, and know to call on Jesus for life in His name. The Word of God is given, not just so we might know more and obey better and organize religion rightly, but so we might believe.

Let the Bible reveal Jesus to you, and believe!

— Tyler

From John 19: Finished

“It is finished.” (v. 30)

What is “finished,” on the cross?

Sin’s debt is finished.

Self-justification is finished.

The works of the law are finished.

Sacrifices are finished.

Wrath is finished.

Death is finished.

Such is the singular, beautiful, awful truth of Christ on the cross. His vicarious, sacrificial, atoning death—His judgment in our place—settles every debt and balances every account. Now, those who look to the One who was lifted up (and believe!) are made whole, in Him. Nothing else is owed.

So you don’t have to strive to balance your own account. You don’t have to earn your way out or pay your debt off. Everything that every one of your sins left you owing—specifically, the just wages of death—has been paid. At the cross, the great mercy of Jesus settles it all.

It is finished.

Thank you, Jesus.

— Tyler

From John 18: Power & Presence

“When Jesus told them, ‘I am he,’ they stepped back and fell to the ground.” (v. 6)

I don’t know what it looked like.

I don’t know what it sounded like.

I don’t know if the thunder rolled and the officers trembled and the accusers all ended up on their backsides.

I would love to know what it was like, but I don’t.

What I do know is this:

When you encounter Jesus, when you are face-to-face with Him, and when He lives up to that singular revelatory identity of “I AM”…

…it is striking.

Maybe it isn’t all that surprising that those who set themselves against Him are made to stumble in His presence. Yet I also presume that I, a sinner, would be similarly bowled over by His awesomeness. The electricity of the “I AM” in the flesh would shock me to the ground, too.

The passages to come will detail the unparalleled (and gracious) humility of Jesus. He will be utterly given, for us. That ought to humble us.

So, too, should this. On the way to His Passion, don’t overlook the power of His presence. Tremble when you hear His name, and worship.

— Tyler

From John 17: Protected for Unity

“I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by your name that you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one.” (v. 11)

Here is a tender truth:

The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, prayed for His followers—including us! And, among His prayers, there is this one: that God the Father would protect us.

We cling to that, and rightly. We who are in the world are deeply comforted by the promised protection of Holy God.

There is, however, an element of it that we tend to overlook.

Read v. 11 again, and ask the question: “What did Jesus pray we’d be protected FOR, and not merely FROM?”

The answer:

We are protected for unity.

Jesus’ hope for His people is that, as a particular protection of His Father, they would be unified. They wouldn’t stumble into bickering. They wouldn’t be known for divisiveness. They wouldn’t bring the fractures of the world—the idolatry of many “truths”—into the church. Instead, they would be protected for the purposes of loving one another, of holding to the sanctifying Word, and of sharing the same Good News they have believed.

We are protected to pull together. We are protected to worship rightly. We are protected to proclaim the only Gospel.

Such a gift, this prayer protection! May we live into it.

— Tyler

From John 16: Christianity’s Most Confounding Truth

“Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you.” (v. 7)

It is, perhaps, the most confounding truth.

Jesus—Son of God and Son of Man, our Rabbi and Teacher, who healed and who fed and who raised to life when He walked among us—says that it’s a good thing that He has gone to the Father. He says it’s good for us! In fact, He doesn’t just say it’s good—He says it’s better!

Everything I’ve read about Jesus in history causes me to say, “Say what!” I’m just as confused as the Twelve!

That is, until I remember the rest of Jesus’ promise: He says it’ll be better for us…because the Counselor is coming. Indeed, for believers, the Counselor—the Holy Spirit—has come!

Why is that better?

Because Jesus’ Spirit isn’t beside us. He’s in us. Everywhere we go, into every circumstance we face, and through every confusion or question or complication, the Holy Spirit speaks. He reminds us of Christ’s victory and Christ’s authority. He strengthens us. He convicts us of sin, so that we can repent, before we make bigger messes. He speaks through us, so that our family and friends and neighbors can hear the truth, however inadequate we feel to the task. And His miracle still flow to and from our lives.

The Spirit in us is the maximal fulfillment of Jesus’ goodness. That’s confoundingly better.

— Tyler

From John 15: Obedience is Love

“If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” (v. 10)

Obedience isn’t religion.

Obedience isn’t salvation.

Obedience isn’t self-congratulation or haughtiness or holier-than-thou posturing.

Obedience—to the Word, to the things God calls us to, and to His ways—isn’t any of those things at all.

Obedience is love.

When we trust Jesus for redemption, we are also trusting Him for direction. Without Him, we would be stumbling in the same dark that had left us desperate, and we would find ourselves far off and alone again. But, because of Him, we know life and light—and, for love, we walk in it.

We obey because Jesus is worthy. We obey because Jesus is unfailingly right. We obey because the One who loves us leads us—to be more like Him, to be pleasing to the Father, and to produce Kingdom fruit (which is joy!).

Obedience is about love. So I will follow the One I love, who loved me first, and I will know the satisfaction of living for Him.

— Tyler

From John 14: Pray Bigger Prayers

“Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (v. 13)

Pray bigger prayers.

Jesus has told us—repeatedly—that He will do what we ask, when we ask in His name.

That’s not to say that every single thing will be answered according to our desires. What we want is so often shaded by selfishness and greed, not to mention our own shortsightedness compared to God’s sovereign will. Jesus is not merely our wish-fulfiller.

Yet He tells us to ask. And the asking certainly goes beyond our day-to-day hope for day-to-day blessings. Jesus frames the whole conversation with His departure, with the giving of the Holy Spirit, and with the radical notion that greater works than everything we’ve seen thus far are still coming—and coming by prayer!

So pray bigger prayers!

And pray them like this: Pray that, by healing and helping and blessing and rescuing and providing and redeeming, the name of Jesus will receive glory. Pray in His name, for the sake of His name. Those prayers are ultimately about worship, not just what you want. Pray in such a way that the answer magnifies His glory on the earth—specifically through your testimony.

Pray bigger prayers, friends, in His name and for His name.

— Tyler

From John 13: He Washed (Some) Feet

“So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” (v. 14)

A recent television ad depicted Jesus, who “gets us,” washing feet. That was the message: He didn’t divide. He washed feet.

I get the heart behind that. And, obviously, I get the biblical picture.

But…is that what’s going on in John 13?

Jesus did, in fact wash some feet, specifically the feet of His disciples. It was the culmination of His self-giving love for them. It was an example of how they ought to live and serve one another. It was a picture of a Master setting an entirely new precedent—one wherein the first shall be last, and the great shall be servants.

And Jesus did this—He washed some feet—around a closed, intimate, confessional table. With family.

Does Jesus’ Gospel heal divides and bring together the unlikeliest neighbors? Absolutely. But you’ll note that our evangelism—when we get up from the table—is one of teaching and baptizing. That’s the washing they need.

Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, so that His disciples would know the kind of love, service, and humility the Christian life implores ongoingly. It’s how they are meant to be known. Which means it’s specifically for them.

So, yes, He washed feet. Some feet.

— Tyler

From John 12: It Takes Death

“Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.” (v. 24)

You hear it preached constantly:

“The Christian ought to multiply. He ought to evangelize. They ought to plant churches. She ought to live on mission—and maybe even go on mission. The Christian ought to be a Great Commission Christian.”*

All of that is enduringly true.

Now…what does that take?

It doesn’t take better strategies and more programs and increased funding (though some of that might be in the picture). It doesn’t take enhanced training. It doesn’t even take more time—unless you count stewarding your time in light of the Kingdom as “giving” it, which is biblically bizarre.

Here’s what the Gospel-centered multiplying life requires:

Death.

Jesus gives a parable: The seed has to fall down and die—it has to stop hanging on to its comfortable branch-life—so that it can multiply. If it only ever clings, it is a life taker. But if it lays its life down, it is given, and new life sprouts around it.

Your multiplying life comes when you move past receiving. It comes when you give up positions of privilege and comfort. It comes when you make yourself lower than those you would see grow toward Christ.

Will we let go of the branch’s heights for them—and for Him?

— Tyler

*(See Matthew 28:18 ff.)

From John 11: Do You Believe This?

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” (vv. 25-26)

Set aside every other consideration, complication, or question. Just for a moment. At least long enough to hear the very heart of the Gospel.

Jesus gives it to us in just four words:

“Do you believe this?”

What is “this,” exactly? It is our fundamental confidence in Jesus’ power over death. It is our core conviction: Jesus gives everlasting life to those who believe, specifically in Him. It is our comfort and our confession, for we are convinced that Jesus’ own know His voice and come to Him, leaving the grave behind.

Those who believe in the Lord Jesus will live and never die.

Do you believe this?

Your answer to that question is nothing short of everything.

— Tyler

From John 10: The Good Shepherd’s Good News

“My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” (vv. 27-28)

Do you know His voice?

When you encounter Jesus in the Scriptures, and when you read of His compassion and His clarity and His calling, are you stirred?

Does the voice of Jesus move you—out of darkness, into light, with faith and repentance?

Then I have good news:

You are His.

That is the fundamental security we have in the Good Shepherd. He has us! The thief may whistle at you or whisper to you, but he can’t have you, for you are the Lord’s. The Father has sealed you for His Son, and you are secure, saved by a grace that is greater than any robber’s lies.

If you know Jesus’ voice and follow Him, no one can take you out of His hand.

That’s the Good News of the Good Shepherd.

— Tyler

From John 9: The “Why” for Weakness

“‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ Jesus answered. ‘This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him.’” (v. 3)

Sometimes your situation is, in fact, a consequence. There is, in fact, such a thing as sowing and reaping. If you carry on in self-destructive, God-dishonoring behavior, you will, in fact, experience pain and frustration and fruitlessness.

Sometimes the things we’ve done are the things that got us here.

But not always.

You see, we are ultimately dependent. We are weak. In a sin-broken world, our things break, and we are left in pieces. You will be able to account for much of your pain and say, confidently and rightly, “I did not cause this!”

So why are things this way?

Because His power is revealed in your weakness.

Every time you are healed, He is magnified. Every time you are helped, He gets the glory. Every time you testify to His great mercy and care and salvation, His fame grows. Every time He proves faithful, the faithful rejoice, and worship happens.

The glory of God is made evident not just in His strength, but in our weakness.

That’s helpful to hear, when life doesn’t seem right—and when you don’t know why. The “why” is that He is still for us, for His glory.

— Tyler

From John 8: Truth and Freedom

“Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (vv. 31-32)

We all want to know more.

We’re convinced that knowledge is power. So we keep up with the news. We follow the talking heads. We subscribe to the right social accounts—especially those who claim to give you a peek behind the political and governmental veil. We think, “There is a truth we aren’t being told, and I’m going to find it, because I refuse to be a sheep.”

We think that knowledge is power, that that power is found in some secret truth, and that that power is freedom.

But what is true freedom?

It’s the truth of Christ.

And it is found in His Word.

If you abide in His Word—if you learn to cherish the revelation of His grace and the clarity of His teaching and the authority of His sovereignty—you will be free. Free from earthly concerns. Free from enduring fears. Free from the constant drag of mortality. If you abide in His Word, you will know a truth that is before and better than and beyond any of the things peddled by an anxious culture.

Might I suggest, then, hanging up on all the terrestrial “truths” that still shackle you to their feeds—and urge you back toward the Bible?

— Tyler

From John 7: Appearances

“‘Stop judging according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgment.’” (v. 24)

You live in a posturing world.

Everyone around you is determined to signal their priorities through appearances. Consider all the political signs, the email-signature pronouns, and the ever-changing flags and symbols that surround you. It’s pervasive. Everyone wants you to know what they believe—and they want to know what businesses, organizations, and governments believe—based on what’s on the surface.

Here’s the problem:

Outward appearances aren’t the end-all. You can pose with all the signs of justice and equality and love (according to the world), but none of that is truly revelatory. In fact, you can have all of that on the surface, yet still be selfish and lustful and corrupt in your heart.

Jesus’ point: Don’t judge by those appearances. This is the prophetic side of “You can’t judge a book by its cover”—because a dressed-up cover can obscure an unrepentant, judgmental heart! Jesus speaks through all the posturing to remind us: a heart that is obedient to Him, submitted in belief, and filled with His Spirit is the only one that passes judgment—regardless of how religiously (or culturally) right it appears!

Judgment is real. It’s just not as the world expects—or aims for.

— Tyler

From John 6: A Hard Teaching

“Therefore, when many of his disciples heard this, they said, ‘This teaching is hard. Who can accept it?’” (v. 60)

The exclusivity of Christ.

Salvation by grace alone.

Faith that is dependent upon the call of God.

An offering of flesh and blood—of bread from heaven—set on our Passover table.

Believing without seeing….

These are hard teachings. They stretch our religious comforts so that they might conform to the revealed Christ. Anyone can sign up for “pray this prayer once” or “believe to get” or “He’ll take your troubles away.” But only the called will know the life that comes on the narrow road.

All of which urges the question:

Would you have been among the few who remained with Jesus, or would you have departed with the many?

A hard teaching, indeed.

— Tyler

From John 5: How to Know if They are Saved

“‘Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.’” (v. 24)

There are a number of evidences for salvation.

The elect—those redeemed by the grace of God in Christ, a gift received by faith—will be repentant. They will demonstrate a desire for that which is pure and beautiful and true. They will worship, serve, and be generous. And they will desire the evangelistic ends of Christian mission and ministry.

Those things will all be evident in a saved life.

But they aren’t the first evidence.

The first evidence—the fundamental sign—of salvation is belief.

One who has received life in Jesus’ name won’t spend that life dismantling His Word. The saved believe. It is in the convictional commitment to revelation—to the inspired Scriptures, breathed out by Jesus’ Spirit—that salvation is made plain.

We aren’t the authority. We can’t answer every question about everyone. But we can trust what Jesus says…

…so let their belief tell you about their salvation.

— Tyler

From John 4: Concerning Testimonies

“Many more believed because of what he said. And they told the woman, ‘We no longer believe because of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.’” (vv. 41-42)

A testimony of Christ develops over three movements:

The first movement is simply telling: Like the Samaritan woman, you report to friends and neighbors and relatives who Christ is, and what Christ has done in you. You testify to the life change you have found in the Gospel, and you point to that Gospel.

The second movement is the part we overthink: If someone responds tepidly (or incredulously, or adversarially), don’t freak out! The second movement isn’t dogmatic arguments. It isn’t scrambling for an answer to every objection. It’s simply this: “Come and see.” You’ve reported. Now you invite—because salvation is Jesus’ work, not yours.

What’s the third movement?

They respond to Him, and not you. They hear Him, and they are either awakened to life, or they spurn Him. The third movement sidelines you and trusts the Spirit.

And, we pray, it results in a Samaritan-village kind of result. They learn to believe—not because you testified and you invited, but because Jesus draws them, by grace.

A lot to learn in John 4.

— Tyler

From John 3: Good News Bad News

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (v. 17)

We have rehearsed John 3:16 to the uttermost (and rightly!).

And, among some of us, our recital incorporates later verses of the same discourse: that condemnation falls to those who don’t believe, that people love darkness and not light, that salvation only comes to those who receive the gift of the Son.

All of that is as true as John 3:16.

It’s just not exactly good news.

That’s why I highlight John 3:17 specifically. I don’t want the goodness of the Good News to get lost in all the bad news.

Does the Gospel make condemnation as plain as salvation? Yes. But is condemnation God’s point? Of course not! Why else would He prepare, from before the beginning of everything, to give the inimitably costly gift of His Son? Jesus—the point of it all—isn’t given so that we will know for sure the reality of condemnation. He is given so that, at the sound of His name and the call of His Spirit, there will be salvation!

We need to comprehend both sides of the equation—but don’t get caught ignoring v. 17. Yes, there is bad news. Let it magnify just how good the Good News is.

— Tyler

From John 2: Religious Goods and Services

“He told those who were selling doves, ‘Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!’” (v. 16)

The gospels give us two distinct accounts of Jesus’ ruckus in the Temple.

We’re very familiar with the later one, wherein He castigates the religious enterprise for missing prayer—and missing the point.

John’s is a little different.

John highlights Jesus’ fury, as He levels it against the Temple marketplace. Instead of being the home for right offerings and heartfelt worship, it has become the headquarters for dealing in religious goods and services. Here, you can trade a little of what you’ve got from the world so that you can check the box of religious requirement. No need to come prepared and penitent. Just come with cash.

Jesus sees it, grieves it, and drives its perpetuators from the premises.

The lesson:

Make sure your church is more than a dispensary of “good Christian personhood.” Remain minded, organized, and determined for worship. Offerings are part of the picture, but they are offered in complement with prayer and singing and proclamation and repentance. The church has to care about more than “nickels and noses.” And we’d better worship like it, lest Jesus clear our courtyards in righteousness, too.

— Tyler

From John 1: In Short

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (v. 14)

Sometimes people ask, “Where should I start, if I am reading the Bible for the first time?” And, while no part of the Word of God is expendable, not everyone recommends starting with Genesis. Many—and I stand among them—look to John.

John’s gospel record helps us see Christ—Jesus, God’s Son, given for us—in His cosmic context. It is thoroughly and magnificently Christological. John connects the dots between Creation and expectation and revelation—all of it unfolding the heart of the Gospel.

Verse 14 is an efficient distillation of the idea:

Jesus has come to us, for us. He is God in the flesh. He is holy glory that we can glimpse. He is full of truth, upholding and affirming everything God has spoken across Scripture’s generations, for it is He who spoke it by the Spirit. And He is full of grace, the Lamb of God who takes away our sin by His sacrifice, so that we might be God’s children by faith.

This is the big picture in short form. Commit it to memory, because it is your light and your life, no matter the darkness of these days.

Enjoy your journey through John.

— Tyler