The disciples had witnessed many miracles leading up to Jesus’ farewell sermon. He turned water into wine at a wedding banquet (John 2), sparked a revival in the outcast city of Samaria (John 4), healed a 38-year-old paralyzed man in Bethesda (John 5). He even took a young boy’s lunchable and fed over five-thousand people with it (John 6). The Lord was on the move, yet the greatest miracle of all was not something the disciples witnessed, but rather something they experienced. They had been cleansed. Made new by the living and abiding word of Christ.

Similarly, just two chapters prior, Jesus had cleansed the disciples’ dusty feet, but the cleansing He referred to in John 15 was the washing of their hearts and souls (Titus 3:4-7). Only the word of the Lord can scrub the inside of us. The author of Hebrews reminds:

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Although the disciples may not have known it at the time, the living and active word of Jesus was transforming their lives daily. From their initial call to “follow” Him, to the countless sermons they heard Him preach, to the parables they struggled to understand, Jesus was cleansing them with each word.

One of the ways the Lord prunes His children is by speaking to them. His word teaches, reproves, corrects, sanctifies, trains in righteousness, equips for every good work, and is the essential factor each one of us needs to be made complete (2 Timothy 3:16-17, John 17:17). It’s through the word of Christ that we are saved (1 Peter 1:22-23) and it’s through His word that our faith increases (Romans 10:17). It’s for this reason the Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon once wrote: “Visit many good books but live in the Bible.”May we be those who live in His word and experiencing the purifying power that flows from it.