Things I Wish My Family Knew

A Truth that Transforms

“The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, ‘Why did you not bring him?’ The officers answered, ‘No one ever spoke like this man!’ The Pharisees answered them, ‘Have you also been deceived?’”
— John 7:45–47 (ESV)

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Observation: The Reversal of Roles

In this striking moment in John’s Gospel, the temple guards return to the Pharisees empty-handed… They had been sent to arrest Jesus — not to evaluate Him, not to listen, not to discern — but to seize Him. And yet, they couldn’t do it. Why?

Their answer is simple: “No one ever spoke like this man.”

In other words, they heard something that gripped their hearts…

This is fascinating, not because of what the guards did, but because of what the religious leaders — the self-proclaimed guardians of truth — failed to do. When the guards were impacted by the words of Truth incarnate, the Pharisees accused them of being deceived.

The ones who should have seen and heard most clearly were the most blind…

How often might we be the Pharisee in the story?

Reflection: When Truth Is Heard, It Changes You

What happened here was not persuasion — it was transformation in seed form…The guards didn’t merely hear eloquence or insight; they encountered divine authority.

Truth that comes from God doesn’t just convince the mind — it moves the heart, awakens the soul, and calls for surrender.

That is the distinguishing mark of truth from above: it doesn’t just impress you, it presses in on you…

The difference wasn’t in what they heard — it was in how they heard.

Warning: We Can Filter Truth Through Pride

The Pharisees were not neutral… They had already decided that Jesus was a threat. Their response to the guards — “Have you also been deceived?” — reveals their bias: Anyone who finds value in Jesus must be misled.

Pride filters truth through self-preservation. Humility filters truth through a desire to be changed.

We must ask ourselves:
– Am I open to truth even if it confronts my assumptions?
– Do I follow truth even when it costs me something — status, comfort, reputation?

Because if we are unwilling to change, we are unlikely to hear.

Encouragement: Christ’s Words Still Transform

The same Jesus who spoke with such power that guards disobeyed orders still speaks today — through His Word, by His Spirit…But not everyone who reads Scripture is transformed by it.

The difference is not in the text — it is in the heart of the reader.

“The same sun that melts wax hardens clay.”

So the question isn’t just, Do I read the Bible? It is, Do I let the truth change me?

Application: How to Stay Responsive to Truth

To avoid the blindness of the Pharisees and remain sensitive like the guards, we must:

1. Humble ourselves before God’s Word
   “Search me, O God, and know my heart…” (Psalm 139:23)

2. Invite the Spirit to convict us
   “He will guide you into all the truth.” (John 16:13)

3. Pursue transformation, not just knowledge
   “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” (James 1:22)

4. Stay near the voice of the Shepherd
   “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27)

Prayer

Lord Jesus,

No one ever spoke like You. Your words cut through pride, melt hardness, and call us into life.

Guard my heart from becoming like the Pharisees — religious on the outside, but resistant on the inside.
Make me like those guards, open to truth, willing to be interrupted by truth.

Transform me by Your Word. Don’t let me settle for persuasion; give me the humility to be changed.

In the Name of Jesus Chris we pray, Amen.