Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Stop Judging by Appearances | The Gospels | John 7:14-24

Episode Date: July 6, 2026

Have you ever judged someone too quickly? Do you tend to trust appearances over God's perspective? And whose glory are you really seeking? In today's episode, Keith shares how John 7:14-24 challenges us to move beyond surface-level judgments and learn to see people, circumstances, and Jesus himself through the lens of God's truth. Read the Bible with us! This year, we’re exploring the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—and it's never too late to join! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passage: John 7:14-24

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. As a kid, I think I asked Jesus into my heart over a dozen times before I actually grasped what the gospel was and what it really meant to follow Jesus. Now, each of those times was motivated by fear. I'd be riding in the car with my mom and suddenly be overcome with anxiety that maybe I had. said it right the last time, or maybe I had hallucinated asking Jesus to save me. And maybe I really wasn't saved and I wouldn't get to be with Jesus forever. I was so scared of being left out of heaven that I prayed the sinner's prayer every opportunity that I got. Now, in middle school, the gospel

was presented to me in a way that was all-encompassing. And as I went throughout high school and college, my understanding of the Christian life, of the biblical story of the kingdom that Jesus came to bring, and what it meant for my life, expanded. And it replaced fear and anxiety with joyful living and obedience to my creator. My faith was less about getting out of hell and more about stepping into life with Jesus, the life that I was created for, to be who I was made to be. Now, I'm thankful every single day for the people who shaped my understanding of the gospel, who helped me recognize my misunderstandings and walked me through what life with Jesus could look like. And yet, even after my shift away from fear-based faith and into joyful surrender,

the verses that we read today always make my heart pound. The familiar pangs of worry creep in. These are verses that scare me, and I think that scare many people when we read them. But I don't believe that was Jesus' intention when he said what he said. And I hope that with a better foundation, with context, and with understanding that we might approach these passages with the seriousness they bring, but without diving full on into fear and anxiety. So let's just walk through the passage together and see what we can learn, See how we're maybe supposed to hear and approach these sometimes chilling words of Jesus.

Luke 13 verse 22. Then Jesus went through the towns and villages teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, Lord, are only a few people going to be saved? He said to them, make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to do it. Okay, so first, who is Jesus talking to? So he's on his way into Jerusalem. So this question is most likely being asked by someone of Jewish descent. And they ask how many will be saved. They're focused on numbers. And he may have noticed that Jesus doesn't answer their question. He sees

the motivation behind the question. As Jews, they would have believed themselves to be part of God's chosen people, the elect few chosen by God. And now with Jesus's teaching, and preaching, they're trying to sniff out who else is going to be saved. Will it be many? Will it be a few? Instead of answering their question, a question that focuses on an out-there situation, Jesus takes the focus and directs it where it's most important. Not on the number, many, or few who will be saved, but on the one asking the question. He shifts the focus from them to you. The first imagery that he invokes is that of a narrow door. Now, what does that mean? mean? Does it mean that fewer people can enter because it's narrow? Well, another way to see this

imagery is that the way to get to salvation, the way into the family and kingdom of God is narrow. There isn't a pluralistic way to live. There aren't options to choose from and how you want to be saved. The way is narrow. You can try to live a good life, try to be moral, try to perform, try to white knuckle fighting sin, try to impress your way into the kingdom of God. Many will try. but will not be able to enter, because the way to salvation is narrow. It's specific. By grace, you have been saved through faith. See, belief in Jesus, in his redemptive work on the cross, in his resurrection, and his promise that you will one day rise with him, faith, trust, reliance on him, lead you to salvation, to deliver you, surrendering daily to his mercy, to his power, to his ways,

that is the narrow door that leads to life. Many will try to enter by other means, but the way is narrow, specific. Next, Jesus shifts his focus to time. Verse 25. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, Sir, open the door for us, but he will answer, I don't know you or where you come from.

Then you will say, we ate and drank with you and you taught in our streets. But he will reply, I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers. So let's acknowledge the words of Jesus and the way that they maybe make us feel initially. I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers. That's scary.

It's scary to imagine being the one who knocks, who wants to come through the door, but Jesus turns us away. Without thoughtful consideration of the passage and scripture as a whole, these are the kinds of verses that make us frequent flyers of the altar call. Am I really saved? What if I get to Judgment Day and Jesus turns me away? What if I hear him say away from me? I do not know you. Scary. I get it. But let's understand what is going on here. Jesus is answering a question about saving, and he focuses on the true fact. that with his coming, the promised Messiah, God's plan for redemption is in motion. The time for mercy has begun. He's currently on his way to Jerusalem to die, to rise from the dead, to make a way for

all people to come to him, to be made righteous, to be redeemed, brought back into the family of God. The time for repentance, for faith, for belief, for surrender is now. The door to the kingdom of God is wide open. But a time is coming. We know a time after his resurrection and ascension when Jesus will return again this time as a rightful judge, to enact justice on the earth, to rid it of evil, and without faith and repentance, without true belief, without the Holy Spirit transforming your heart, without the blood of Jesus covering you, you will be found guilty. No matter how holy of a life you believe you lived, there is a time coming when the narrow door will no longer be open. Now, this isn't meant to invoke fear in your heart, but to spur you on, to motivate you,

to give you a sense of urgency, not just for yourself to enter the door, but for the world, to bring restoration to share the good news before a time comes when the door is shut. See, Romans 8-1 begins by reminding believers that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. How is this possible? Well, because through Jesus, the spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. The narrow door, the way of salvation is through Jesus. Through Jesus we have been given the spirit of life. And that spirit has set us free from the law of sin and death, the law that finds us guilty, finds us wanting, the law that condemns us, the law that says no one is holy, no, not one, no one, but Jesus. And through his holy, perfect life, through his death and resurrection, he made a way for his spirit to set us free, to count us as righteous. It is done by his power through his spirit. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

In this time of mercy, if you have walked through the narrow door already, if you have entrusted your salvation to the work of Jesus, if your faith is in Him, there is no. condemnation. The life that you live is evidence of this belief, a life filled with the spirit that has been given that sets you free. If you're living by the power of the spirit joyfully surrendered to the ways of the kingdom, the ways of Jesus, there's no condemnation. You have nothing to fear. The one you love, the Savior you follow, the Jesus you rely on has already made you a son and daughter of the kingdom. You are the adopted child of God, safe, secure, called, loved, kept, these are all promises of Scripture. In John 637, Jesus himself says, all those the

Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I will never drive away. Whoever comes to me, I will never drive away. No sin, no fear, no anxiety, nothing can keep those who come to Jesus in faith from His saving grace. Our greatest hope, our only hope, to live lives of goodness to be free from the darkness that resides in our hearts is by the mercy and grace of Jesus. Remember, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. The text reminds us of this. He's on his way to die to extend mercy to all people. And now, being asked this question of how many will be saved, Jesus wants these Jews before him to believe, to accept the mercy, and to not rely on their ethnicity or perceived holiness for rescue. You see, in those days, Jews living in Jerusalem,

would have assumed that they were in, already a part of God's chosen people merely because of their ethnicity, because they followed the law, because they visited the temple, offered sacrifices, attended festivals and feasts. But Jesus is reminding them that the way of salvation has always been through faith in God. Abraham was counted as righteous because of his faith. An outsider, Rahab was redeemed and brought into the people of God because of her faith. It isn't about ethnicity, it isn't about a perfect observance of the law. No amount of good works could make people holy enough to get to God. All have fallen short.

All need mercy. All of us need redemption. In Jesus's story, the people knocking pleaded, We ate with you, we drank with you. They thought they knew him. They lived their lives around religion. They frequented the temple. They did what they thought they ought to do.

But because of Jesus' response, we realized that their faith wasn't in Jesus. Their reliance was on being in the right spaces, knowing the right facts, doing the right things, on their Jewishness. What is your faith in? Church attendance? Being part of a Bible study, being a good person, giving to the right causes? Or is your faith in Jesus in His power to save you? The door will close. Jesus will return as judge to enact justice. And no amount of good deeds, no memberships, no church attendance can cover the curse of sin in our lives. Only the blood of Jesus, the mercy of Jesus, can do that. The message is really clear, surrender to Jesus today, because there is time.

Now the final verses of the section of scripture leave us with hope. Verse 28, there will be weeping there and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south and will take their places in the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed, there are those who were last who will be first and first who will be last. Yes, there will be those who were sent away, those who relied on their own power for saving for salvation and never believed, never humbled themselves to accept mercy and the righteousness of Jesus. But look at what comes next, a picture of people from all nations, from all parts of the world coming to the table of Jesus in the kingdom of God,

feasting with him, a reversal of what we deemed important in this life. The last is first, the first is last. To the people Jesus is speaking to, this would have seemed outrageous. Jesus' mercy isn't for one type of person, for one group of people, one nation, it's for all people. It isn't an exclusive club where only a few are saved. The doors, are cast open wide with his death and resurrection. All who come to Jesus through the narrow door will be saved. Yes, this passage come to the warning. Proximity to Jesus cannot replace true faith and repentance.

Belonging to the right group cannot replace a life surrendered to the gospel. A time is coming when Jesus will return and the door will shut. But it shouldn't strike fear in our hearts. It should make us burst with gratitude. gratitude that the door of mercy is wide open right now for all people by the power of Jesus. His spirit is offered to us today. Jesus' heart is for all to be saved. To gather us to himself, he longs for you and me and all the people to come to him,

to surrender to his ways to live in communion with him. Enter the narrow door today. Put your faith in Jesus. Salvation is only found in surrender to him. through Jesus there is hope for the whole world there is a place for you at the table of god