Revival Without Roots

How the most religious people missed Jesus—and why it’s still happening today.

The religious leaders of the day missed Jesus. The very people who were most studied, most expert in the scriptures… didn’t see the connection between the subject of their study and the man in front of them.

How did this happen? They aren’t unique. We can easily be them if we don’t understand how this happened.

Let’s take a look.

In John 5:35 Jesus did acknowledge that these leaders were excited about the Messiah’s coming for a time.

^{35 “}He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.”

Here Jesus is referencing John the Baptist. John was preaching about the Messiah who was to come shortly after him, and these leaders were excited about it (willing to rejoice), for awhile.

This is important to note. They weren’t against a coming Messiah. They were willing to rejoice in the message of John. They basked in the light he brought.

What were some of the things that John the Baptist said that we have recorded?

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor…” - Matthew 3:11-12

Here are the rest if you want to do some personal study.

• Matthew 3:2, 7–12, 14–15

• Matthew 11:2–3

• Matthew 14:4

• Mark 1:7–8

• Mark 6:18

• Luke 3:3, 7–18

• Luke 7:18–20

• John 1:20, 23, 26–27, 29–30, 34

• John 3:27–30

The religious leaders basked in the light John brought.

Imagine the fervor and “revival-esque” nature of his preaching? I can imagine them thinking, maybe Israel will become more pious. Maybe there will be higher attendance at the synagogue. Maybe more people will closely follow the Torah.

Does any of this sound familiar in present day? Churches are filling up. Revival is coming!

Basking in the light of the Holy Spirit’s work.

We just watched Charlie Kirk’s memorial become a national moment of repentance — a surge of spiritual energy, yes, but is it rooted?

Here comes the part that cuts deep that we all need to hear.

^“And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” -John 5:37-40

The people who studied the scriptures, Jesus says “You do not have his word abiding in you” because if you did, you would recognize Him.

What’s the difference between reading the word, vs. the word abiding in you? That seems quite critical if we don’t want to fall prey to the same problem as the religious leaders.

First, reading the word isn’t bad.

I fear some of the more charismatic circles have leaned on this idea (albeit not publicly) and have made it seem like the prophetic words of the Holy Spirit are the most important part of the Christian life.

Progressive Christianity has twisted scripture, and thrown large parts of it out entirely.

Neither of these are the answer.

We MUST read the word.

The Bible testifies to someone. When we read it, we learn about who God is. It’s the revelation our Creator has given to us that shows us who He is.

Here’s the moment where we need to go deeper than just learning head knowledge about God. It’s letting the word abide in us.

📖 ABIDE: Aramaic (Peshitta):

• Word: ܡܩܘܝܐ (meqawya) from the root qwy.

• Meaning: to remain, endure, dwell, continue.

Imagine you get up from reading the Bible and you head out to the store, to work, etc. When the word abides in you, it’s still ringing true in your heart. It’s impacting how you think, and what you choose to say and do.

Here’s a more practical example.

I just finished writing a book about a period of time in my life and the 15 business lessons I learned as I grew my business. There’s a lot you will learn about me when you read this book. You will know better my personality, desires, behaviors, etc. You’ll learn one of the lessons is I say yes quickly.

Reading the book will teach you about me. But if the book’s words abide in you, that means the lessons I taught will stick with you as you go about building your business. It may impact your decisions, your actions, and your words. You might start to say yes quickly too!

In essence you let the book change how you move and operate in the world.

That’s the Word abiding in you.

The religious leaders read the prophecies about the coming Messiah. They also basked for a bit in the fervor and revival that John the Baptist was bringing.

But they did not let the words abide in them. And because of that, they missed the WHO in the message. They missed the heart.

John makes a stunning theological statement at the beginning of his gospel.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
- John 1:1

The word the leaders studied pointed to someone. This means the entire Old Testament points to Jesus.

^“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” - John 1:14

Jesus was the Word in the flesh.

In order to have discernment in these very confusing and unstable times, we must have the Word abiding in us.

• We can’t just read the scripture (this is the first step).

• We can’t just bask in the fervor of a revival moment.

• We can’t just assume that because some of our leaders spout the words of Jesus, that they know Him.

The revealed word of God needs to dwell in our hearts, point us to a relationship with Jesus, and then take root in a way that changes the way we act and live.

This is the solution to many of the problems plaguing Christians right now in this moment.

→ This is why so many people fell into religious psychosis thinking the rapture was coming on the 23rd. The Word is not abiding in them.

→ This is why so many people started falling for Candace Owen’s crazy conspiracy theories about Israel. The Word is not abiding in them.

→ This is why so many people think Trump is a great representation of Christianity (make no mistake, God can use anyone - see my post on Balaam, but that does not mean Trump knows Jesus). The Word is not abiding in them.

The Devil knows scripture.

We can’t just assume that knowing the Bible keeps us safe. We must know the ONE of whom the Bible testifies to.

If what I think is going to happen, happens (the blending of religion and government even more than we’ve already seen), the ability to discern what is the move of God and the Holy Spirit, vs. what is parroted scripture — is going to become more necessary than ever.

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” - John 15:4-5

If the Word of God doesn’t dwell in us deeply, we won’t recognize Jesus when He shows up. Not in our politics. Not in our pulpits. Not in our hearts.