The John Project

The John Project

By Randy BoldtReligion & SpiritualityChristianity
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The John Project episodes

  • John 9:1-5 • A Matter of Perspective
    The way we perceive things depends on our perspective. For instance, if someone believes that donuts are unhealthy, then that perspective will color the way they perceive donut shops. They will be more likely to view them with disdain. On the other hand, if a person thinks of donuts as a delightful treat, they will probably be seen smiling broadly when a new shop opens in the neighborhood.
    Now, I don’t mean to trivialize the point, but the opening five verses of John chapter 9 demonstrate this principle in a profound way.
    The chapter opens with Jesus on the move after escaping an attempt on his life and tells us he saw a man who’d been blind from birth. That word, saw, means more than just the casual result of human eyesight. It’s translated from a word meaning, to know by perception. And the following passage reveals that Jesus perceived him differently than the disciples did because he viewed him from a different perspective.
    They viewed him from a punishment perspective. They believed the bad things people experience in life are the consequences of the wrong they’ve personally done. So, they assumed the man’s blindness was the result of some specific sin, and they asked Jesus to explain who was at fault, the man or his parents.
    The Lord’s answer in verse 3 must have surprised them. He said that neither the man nor his parents had sinned. But he wasn’t saying they weren’t sinners. He was trying to explain that the brokenness in the world is caused by every one of us. We’re all sinners and are all responsible for the horrors we’ve unleashed.
    He wasn’t excusing anybody for their sin or it’s fruit, but he was introducing a better perspective. Focusing on cause and effect results in seeing ourselves and others through the lens of blame, judgment, guilt, and fear. Instead of perceiving the man’s blindness as punishment, Jesus was introducing a change in perspective that would allow them to view it as an opportunity for the works of God to be revealed.
    If we all experienced that dramatic change, it would result in a different way of responding to need. If our default response was to see it as an opportunity to invite God to show up instead of looking for fault, we would experience more of his power breaking through in our challenging circumstances. And that’s what the rest of John 9 describes – the miraculous healing and salvation of a man who had been blind his whole life.
    In verses 4 and 5 the Lord said the light of his presence transforms each day into a time for displays of the works of God. And although he also said a time of darkness would come – clearly referring to his crucifixion – he didn’t mean the time of his power-working would end. The resurrection resulted in the dawning of a whole new day of the miraculous.
    So, instead of looking for fault today, let’s welcome the Lord to change our perspective that we might perceive the needs around us as opportunities for the works of God to be revealed.
    4 min
  • John 8:56-59 • Mic Drop
    The eighth chapter of John’s Gospel begins and ends with the Jewish elite wanting to throw stones. They came after the adulteress first, and Jesus was able to skillfully diffuse that situation. But then, after spending the rest of the chapter unsuccessfully arguing against his claim to be the son of God, they became so frustrated they prepared to heave rocks at him instead.
    They couldn’t tolerate a sinner or a savior. Their perverted religious system had become all about attaining and preserving positions of spiritual privilege. They couldn’t afford to offer grace to the woman without exposing their own sin, and they couldn’t acknowledge Jesus to be their Messiah without humbling themselves. Ultimately, that was the issue. Jesus was a threat to their self-righteousness and sense of religious entitlement.
    In verses 56 through 59, the Lord brought the chapter-long debate regarding his divinity and their descendancy from Abraham to a close with a dramatic statement. It was an absolute mic drop. He said, “…before Abraham was, I AM.” And at that point, they started grabbing stones and would have tried to silence him with death had he not hid himself and escaped.
    They understood what he meant. I AM was the name God used to describe himself to Moses at the burning bush. By adopting that sacred name and claiming to exist before Abraham existed, he was declaring his divinity with emphatic clarity. And it completely undermined the foundations of their religious regime.
    For us, it’s just the opposite. Our faith has power precisely because Jesus is God in flesh. The cross has no meaning apart from the fact that the penalty for our sins was paid there by the sinless Messiah.
    And because he’s the eternal one without beginning or end, it also means that he IS in my WAS – redeeming my past – gathering up the debris of my broken history and creating from its fragments a work of art. He IS in my WILL BE – shaping my future – making a way forward from the barren desert of my own making into the lush landscape of his fulfilled promises. And he IS in my AM – moving in my present – infusing this very moment with the sweetness of his undeserved grace.
    There’s so much power and promise in what Jesus said about himself in this passage. But it may be that you haven’t yet been able to rest in its truth. If not, please hear my heart. The time has come. Let the mic drop.
    3 min
  • John 8:51-55 • The Journey Continues
    When my wife and I moved to the Los Angeles area, I began power walking down to the Manhattan Beach pier on most days. That’s a three-mile round trip from our home and involves climbing several steep hills.
    At first, the trek was quite taxing, and I couldn’t imagine going any farther. In my mind, I saw that pier as my terminus, the point where I had to turn back if I was going to have the energy to make it home. But an interesting thing happened. Over time, as my fitness increased, I began to see beyond the pier. I found myself able to walk farther along the beach before heading back. And now, I no longer see that pier as the end of my route. It’s just a landmark on a longer journey.
    As a Jesus-follower, a similar thing happened regarding how I see death. Because of the grace of Christ, I no longer view it as the end of my life. It doesn’t mark the conclusion of my hopes, dreams, expectations, and desires. It’s just a milestone I will pass along my eternal journey. And that’s what Jesus was referring to in John chapter 8 verse 51.
    He was continuing his response to a verbal assault from the religious leaders. He told them that anyone who keeps his word will not see death. And I’d like to stop and consider the three key words in that statement: anyone, keep, and see.
    First, take note that he addressed the promise to anyone. And that had to include the Jewish leaders he was addressing and had just accused of seeking to kill him. Imagine that! Even after exposing their hatred toward him, he still offered them a pathway to the grace of God. And if that’s true, then his invitation clearly extends to every one of us.
    Second, this promise is available to those who keep his word. Jesus was clarifying that there’s a difference between those who receive his message and those who keep it, between those who hear it and those who hold on to it. It’s not enough to just be acquainted with it, we need to embrace it.
    And finally, he said those who do will not see death. It’s clear from the following verses (52-55) where he ceded the point that Abraham and the prophets have all died, that he wasn’t saying his followers wouldn’t die physically. Instead, he was promising that they would no longer see death in the same way. They would view their lives as extending beyond it into eternity. Instead of marking life’s final boundary, it would be seen as merely a mile-marker along a wondrous journey in relationship with him toward an infinite horizon.
    Hebrews chapter 2 verse 15 tells us that part of the victory of Christ’s cross was the release of all those who have been bound by a fear of death. Jesus has defeated it on our behalf and made it possible for us to see beyond it and experience the security that comes from knowing the journey continues.
    Through faith in Jesus, we can all find rest in the peace of that promise right now.
    4 min
  • John 8:48-50 • Sticks, Stones, or Words
    As a kid, I learned to repeat this little schoolyard rhyme as a means of countering the verbal cruelty of other children: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Sadly though, it didn’t take long before I discovered that words could cause pain, and the wounds they inflict can be deep and lasting.
    Have you ever been subjected to verbal abuse? Jesus has. And one of those occasions is found in John chapter 8 verse 48 where the religious elite – having been stung by what Jesus exposed about them in the preceding passage – struck back with name-calling and a false accusation. They labeled him a Samaritan and accused him of being demon-possessed.
    The Jews held the Samaritans in deep disgust. They considered them interlopers, half-breeds, perverters of the sacred faith, and more. They knew that Jesus wasn’t ethnically a Samaritan, but they used that term as a slur meant to carry a heavy payload of defamation. And by also describing him as demonized, they sought to discredit him along with his very-public exposure of their wicked hearts.
    They did what insecure bullies do when their masks are pulled down and their vulnerabilities are exposed. Instead of responding with humility and repentance, they punched back and with as low a blow as possible. And if you’ve ever been on the receiving end of that kind of attack and have the scars to show for it, paying close attention to how the Lord reacted in verses 49 and 50 may provide you some much-needed wisdom, perspective, comfort, and healing.
    First, he didn’t respond to the name-calling. I know it’s hard to resist, but it’s almost impossible to win a war of verbal mudslinging. And if you do, the battle fatigue and shame you experience afterward usually exact a heavy emotional and spiritual toll. It’s best to follow Jesus’ example and deprive the attack of any traction by just ignoring it.
    Second, he made the choice to remain focused on honoring his father instead of defending himself against their slander. He simply made a straightforward statement rejecting their accusation and then refused to become distracted by it. He trusted God with the promotion and defense of his reputation. And when we follow in his footsteps, we discover that the Heavenly Father is faithful to do the same for us.
    We live in a world filled with spite, prejudice, malice, and just plain old meanness. And it’s impossible to avoid being the target of some of it. But Jesus taught us how to keep from becoming what I call prickly – always in a defensive posture when it comes to how others perceive us. Owning the responsibility for bearing the burden of retaliating when we’re slighted, mocked, denigrated, or maligned usually results in a life stained with bitterness, exhaustion, and isolation. How much better to run to the refuge of the one who daily honors us with his love and provides a shelter of absolute security against any sticks, stones, or words.
    So, let’s meet him there today. And from within the safety of his strong embrace, let’s stay focused on bringing honor to him by the way we release with forgiveness all those who’ve hurt us and trust him to promote and defend our reputations.
    4 min
  • John 8:37-47 • A Family Resemblance

    I have often been struck by the deep need people have for assurance of belonging. And this is nowhere more evident than in the way we’re driven to locate ourselves and others within families. For instance, when a child is born, I’ve noticed that an immediate and almost involuntary search is engaged by people to identify and catalog the traits and characteristics that link the baby to his or her relatives. Evaluations are made about eye and hair color along with shape, size, and a multitude of other qualities that note similarities with parents and other members of their clan. And it always amazes me to observe the sweet peace that seems to settle over people when they’re able to rest in the confidence of the child’s connection to the tribe.

    In the section of John chapter 8 bounded by verses 37 and 47, Jesus responded to the assertion by the Jewish leaders that they held a privileged connection to God. They laid claim to being Abraham’s descendants. But Jesus pushed back by saying if they really were, they wouldn’t be seeking to kill him. And when they responded by taking things a step further and insisting God was their father, Jesus strongly contradicted them and flatly stated that in fact the devil was.

    That must have stung! But the Lord wasn’t just trying to antagonize them. He was pointing out that as surely as our physical characteristics connect us to our birth families, there are qualities that reveal our spiritual families as well. He said they had inherited their desire to kill him from Satan who was a murderer from the beginning. And he pointed out that their inability to perceive the truths he was teaching was because they were offspring of the father of lies.

    But in this same passage, Jesus also pointed out two traits that are common among those who are part of God’s family. In verse 42, he said God’s children love Jesus. Then in verse 47, he said they also hear God’s words. And he wasn’t just referring to the vowels, consonants, and syllables. He meant the message the words convey.

    The Lord was describing a couple of very key elements of family resemblance among his kids. And that makes me want to pause, look myself in the mirror, and sincerely ask, “Does my life bear the characteristics of the family of God? Do I evidence a sincere love of Jesus in the way I live, and am I quick, thorough, and joyful in the way I respond to what God has said?”

    According to Jesus, these are the traits that settle the question of belonging. They bring into sharp focus what defines the only family relationship that ultimately matters.

    And the most wonderful thing about this is that no matter what characteristics we’ve inherited from our physical families we all have the same opportunity to experience a new birth through faith in Christ, his cross, and resurrection that reshapes everything about us so that we can start to look more like our heavenly father.

    It doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen.

    I was born with features that were noticeably similar to my dad’s. But with every stage of my physical growth, those similarities have become more pronounced. And in the same way, as we progress in a born-again relationship with God, our resemblance to him increases.

    So, let’s make this our prayer: “Lord, may my love for Jesus and responsiveness to your message cause me to reflect your image into this world with increasing clarity today and every day that follows.”

    5 min
  • John 8:30-36 • Free Indeed
    John 8:30-36 • Free Indeed
    --------------------------
    Following our honeymoon back in the spring of 1974, Sue and I made a home together. Until then, we were building a relationship. After, we were living in one. And although aspects of the building process continue to this day, when we began living out our love under the same roof – abiding with each other – we began to discover the liberty that results from knowing and being known by someone in the context of loving intimacy. And that’s what calls to me from John 8:30-36.
    It tells us that many of the Jewish bystanders overhearing Jesus’ clear, firm, direct, and poignant responses to their leaders in the preceding verses chose to place their faith in him as a result. And that isn’t surprising. The words of Jesus are always deeply compelling. But he challenged these new believers to become followers not simply fans. He invited those who’d been moved by what he’d said to become true disciples by living in his message. He welcomed them to abide in it – to linger, dwell, be present, and make their home within its depths.
    And he went on to describe the powerful progression that results. He said that abiding results in knowing and knowing produces freedom.
    From it’s opening verses, John’s Gospel has revealed Jesus to be the word of God made flesh – the message of God in person. So, abiding in it means much more than intellectually exploring a set of principles or philosophies. It means daily exposing your deepest self to the Lord’s influence. He said that exposure results in a type of knowledge that’s far more than just comprehension or understanding. The Greek word translated here as know describes a relationship, and not just with truth in the sense of ideas or concepts. In fact, in John 14:6, Jesus described himself as the truth.
    When we live under the sway of the living word of God, our relationship with him becomes deeper, more intimate, more, well, personal. And Jesus was saying relationship with him is what produces true freedom in our lives.
    That provoked a strong rebuttal from the religious leaders who shouldered their way back into the conversation at this point. They were offended that Jesus would insinuate they needed to be set free from anything. They claimed that as Abraham’s descendants they had never been in bondage.
    This is both comic and tragic. It’s funny in the sense that they seem to have forgotten about the Jews’ long history of various periods of enslavement including the hundreds of years they were captives in Egypt not to mention their current status as subjects of Roman authority. The tragedy is, their insistence on a delusion of freedom kept them from being incented to pursue the real thing.
    This is all too familiar. For most of us, our pride makes it very difficult to admit we could be bound by anything even though we are. And the Lord went on to explain how. He said that every time we sin – behave in ways that dishonor God, pollute ourselves, or hurt others – we demonstrate the depth of our bondage. Even though we’d like to think otherwise, our actions reveal that we are powerless against our own fallen natures.
    But in verse 36, Jesus declared his authority as the Son of God to end our captivity and liberate us fully. When we walk the path that leads from believing on to abiding in and, ultimately, to experientially knowing the love of the one who is truth, the dark deceptions that grip us collapse and we experience true release.
    What lie of Satan and/or prideful self-delusion constrains your life and holds you in a cycle of sin you can’t seem to escape? Jesus invites you to move beyond baseline belief and learn to abide in him so you can know the truth that will set you free…free indeed.
    5 min
  • John 8:27-29 • That Beacon of Hope
    The religious leaders who dialogued with Jesus as well as the people who overheard those exchanges, just couldn’t seem to grasp what he’d said about his relationship with the Father. He’d made several attempts to explain that he’d been sent by God and was in all ways and at all times representing him. But their hardened and sin-scarred hearts were deaf to those truths. So, in verse 28 of John chapter 8, he lamented that they wouldn’t understand until after they’d lifted him up, or in other words, crucified him.
    How sad that it would require the aftermath of his sacrifice to open their eyes to see who he was and why he’d come. But the reality is, much about Jesus can’t be fully grasped except in the light of the cross. That icon memorializes the loving Father and submitting Son settling the sin issue and purchasing our salvation. It possesses the power to penetrate our spiritual blindness and illuminate the magnitude of God’s gift of grace in Christ.
    The cross defines God’s strategy and story of redemption as he purposefully pursued the rescue of our fallen race. It confirms the identity of the Seed of the woman described in Genesis 3:15 as the one who would crush the serpent’s head. It’s what elevates John 3:16 to towering heights as a majestic expression of God’s love. It’s what empowers the offer of complete forgiveness recorded in 1 John 1:9. And it’s the key that unlocks chains of bondage and sets free the souls of repentant sinners like me.
    When viewed through its lens, the life, words, and ministry of Jesus come into a focus that ignites understanding, overwhelms with humility, releases faith, and inspires the kind of worship captured in these words penned in 1912 by the hymnist, George Bennard.
    On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross
    The emblem of suffering and shame
    And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
    For a world of lost sinners was slain
    The cross of Christ stands forever as the unique and unparalleled symbol of a saving God. And if you, like me, stand today within its glow as a lost-one-now-found, let’s pause together at the foot of that beacon of hope and offer there our humble praise.
    4 min
  • John 8:26 • Spirit-Led Restraint
    In John 8:26, Jesus followed up his response to the question posed by the religious elite in the previous verse about his identity. After making it clear he’d already said all that was necessary about himself, he commented that there was much more he could say about them. But he refrained from doing so and told them why. He said he would only speak what he heard his Father saying. He would go no further than the boundaries set by the one who sent him.
    I wish I could say the same. More than once, I’ve found myself on the wrong side of a divinely-set boundary where I’ve said more than God is saying or done more than he’s doing. And every time I’ve trespassed beyond those thresholds, I’ve regretted it.
    It’s like the time when I was a kid visiting a friend who lived on a large ranch out in the country. One day, he and I were shooting targets with small caliber rifles. Later that evening, my friend’s father was confronted by a group of angry men who showed up at the house. And we learned that our target practice had nearly cost them their lives. Unknown to us, they’d been pinned down by our fire after they’d crossed a posted boundary and trespassed onto the ranch. Their failure to recognize and respect that boundary created problems they couldn’t anticipate.
    And that’s what happens when I fail to exercise Spirit-led restraint in my life. Whenever I choose to step anywhere but within my Lord’s footprints, I end up somewhere I shouldn’t be.
    When I succumb to the temptation to believe that a situation is dependent on what I have to offer – my timing, my creativity, my words, my skill, my wisdom, or my passion – rather than trusting that God knows how to handle things, I’m in danger of crossing a line and creating unintended consequences.
    If a musician in an orchestra plays notes the composer hasn’t written, the resulting sound is either inappropriately cluttered or distastefully discordant. I want to be careful to play only the music God is conducting. And I’ll bet you do to. So, let’s stop, take an honest look at ourselves, and make sure we aren’t improvising beyond the arrangement.
    Let’s make fresh commitments today to follow our Savior’s example and be careful not to venture beyond the Father’s directions regarding what we say, to whom, and when as well as the actions we should or shouldn’t take in all the affairs of our lives.
    3 min
  • John 8:25 • Prayer and Pitching

    Jesus had just warned the religious elite with hard truth about the spiritual dead end they were approaching because of their unwillingness to believe in him. Their response, recorded in John 8:25, came in the form of a question. “Who are you?” they asked. The Lord answered by referring them to the transcript of everything he’d been saying since he began his ministry. He’d already declared himself to be the bread of life, the light of the world, the Messiah, the Son of God. There really was nothing more to add.

    This wasn’t the first time this question had been asked and answered. The problem wasn’t that they hadn’t heard, they just didn’t like what they heard.

    And that reminds me of baseball. Don’t worry, I’m not losing my mind. Just let me explain.

    I love baseball because it involves so much drama. Like pitch selection for example. With the batter standing in, the pitcher stares from the mound down the 60 feet to home plate and looks for a sign from the catcher indicating which pitch he should throw – fastball, sinker, slider, curveball, changeup, or cutter. But if he doesn’t like the signal, he’ll shake his head no and wait for another sign. This back-and-forth will continue until the pitcher gets the sign he wants. In a sense, he keeps asking the question until he gets the answer he’s looking for.

    And I’ve caught myself doing that with God. Here’s an example:

    Early in my adulthood I was asking God if I should leave Bible college to pursue music ministry full time, but he seemed silent on the subject. So, I decided to drop out of school, quit my job, and rehearse with my band anyway. And although I did spend a few years performing, touring, and recording, it just never seemed like God’s full blessing was on it.

    The reality wasn’t that God hadn’t answered my prayer, I just didn’t like the answer he was giving. I didn’t hear him saying, “No,” because I was listening for a, “Yes.”

    The rest of the story is too long and complex to tell now, but ultimately, I had to abandon that dream. But when I did, I discovered my calling. I went on to complete my Bible training and become a pastor. And I’m so thankful for the patient kindness of God that made it possible for me to spend my life doing what I was made for instead of what I desired.

    Are you desperate to hear from God today about something but he seems silent? Perhaps the issue is more about whether you’re willing to hear what he’s saying. Maybe now would be a good time to settle in for a few quiet moments of prayer that surrender your agenda for his. If you do, you’ll discover the fulfillment that results when you throw the pitch he’s signaling rather than insisting on the one you desire.

    4 min

About The John Project

From the publisher's feed

This podcast explores the Bible's Gospel of John a few verses at a time with a devotional perspective.