The Daily Blade: Joby Martin & Kyle Thompson

We explore how John Eldridge's "Beautiful Outlaw" helps us understand Jesus' personality, focusing on his disruptive honesty and what it reveals about his character. Understanding Jesus means embracing his full humanity, including his confrontational nature when addressing religious hypocrisy.

Jesus had a real personality as both fully God and fully man
We often appreciate Jesus' honesty when directed at others but squirm when it's aimed at us
Jesus confronted the Pharisee about cleaning the outside of the cup while being full of greed inside
The exclusivity of Jesus as the only way to salvation is perhaps his most offensive claim
We must reckon with our sin debt that we cannot pay ourselves
Faith in Christ requires both belief and repentance, not just intellectual acknowledgment

If you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review.

Send us a text

Support the show

Using John Eldridge's "Beautiful Outlaw" as our guide this week, we dive into Chapter 4, "Fierce Intention," exploring the passionate personality of Jesus through his temple cleansings.

Jesus cleansed the temple twice first early in ministry (John 2) and again during his final week (Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19)
The temple cleansing wasn't a momentary outburst but a planned, sustained demonstration of righteous anger
Jesus carefully crafted a whip, caused stampeding animals, overturned tables, and scattered coins
Even in his fierce intention, Jesus showed compassion by telling dove sellers to remove cages rather than harming innocent birds
This powerful, assertive Jesus contrasts sharply with the passive, meek portrayal in many worship songs
We cannot fully worship Jesus seeing only the Lamb and not the Lion
We shouldn't "declaw the Lion of Judah" by ignoring passages showing his fierce side
Being Christlike sometimes means "turning over tables" against corruption and injustice

If you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review.

Send us a text

Support the show

We're continuing our exploration of Jesus's personality using John Eldredge's "Beautiful Outlaw," focusing on the fierce intentionality of Christ that's often overlooked in typical portrayals.

Using Matthew 16:21-23 to introduce Jesus's forceful rebuke to Peter: "Get behind me, Satan"
Examining the context of Jesus's ministry taking place in enemy territory, not just peaceful pastoral settings
Understanding Jesus's response at Lazarus's tomb through the original Greek, which describes him as "snorting with anger like a war horse"
Analysis of Jesus's commanding voice when raising Lazarusdescribed as loud as a violent storm
Realizing Jesus deliberately chose to command with power and authority rather than using a calm approach
Connecting Jesus's willingness to "get loud" with our own need to be forceful when confronting darkness

Join us tomorrow for part two of "Fierce Intention" where we'll be covering some of our favorite stories in the Bible.

Send us a text

Support the show

The concept of Jesus having a distinct personality is often overlooked, creating a two-dimensional view that makes him difficult to truly love and connect with. We explore John Eldridge's "Beautiful Outlaw," specifically chapters on Jesus's personality and playfulness, to discover a more complete picture of Christ as both fully divine and authentically human.

• Eldridge describes reading the gospels without Jesus's personality as "like watching television with the sound turned off"
• We often reduce Jesus to vague spiritual qualities like "loving and compassionate," making him seem like "a get-well card"
• Jesus's playfulness is evident in the Emmaus Road story (Luke 24) where he feigns ignorance about his own death
• On resurrection morning, when Jesus could have immediately revealed himself, he chose a playful approach that built to a dramatic revelation
• Understanding Jesus's playfulness brings scripture to life and helps us see Christ as a multidimensional person

Join us tomorrow as we continue exploring "Beautiful Outlaw" with a focus on Jesus's fierce intention – one of the most compelling aspects of Christ's character found in scripture.

Send us a text

Support the show

Kyle Tompson shares how John Eldredge's book "Beautiful Outlaw" transformed his understanding of Jesus by revealing Christ's authentic human personality alongside His divinity.

• John Eldredge is the author of "Wild at Heart," a groundbreaking book on Christian masculinity
• Eldredge's lesser-known book "Beautiful Outlaw" explores Jesus' playful, disruptive personality
• Many Christians unconsciously view Jesus as "pretending" to be human rather than being fully human
• Scripture repeatedly emphasizes Christ's genuine humanity (John 1:14, Hebrews 2:14, Philippians 2:7-8)
• Jesus experienced real human emotions and physical limitations (sweating in Gethsemane, hunger during temptation)
• Understanding Jesus' humanity and personality allows us to relate to Him more authentically
• Tomorrow's episode will explore whether Jesus was truly playful

If you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review.

Send us a text

Support the show