John 9:13-17

John 9:13-17

They themselves brought the formerly blind man to the Pharisees.  And it was a Sabbath in the day that Jesus made clay and opened His eyes.  Therefore again even the Pharisees were asking him how he regained his sight.  And the one said to them, “He placed clay upon my eyes and I washed and I see.”  Therefore some out of the Pharisees were saying, “This one is not a man from God because He is not observing the Sabbath.”  But others were saying, “How is a sinful man such as this powerful enough to do signs?”  And there was a schism in them.  Therefore they were again saying to the blind man, “What do you say regarding him since he opened your eyes?”  And that one said, “He is a prophet.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

As I said yesterday, today we get to hear people talk to the blind man who are not really interested in hearing the answer.  Twice in this section alone we hear the Pharisees questioning the man’s testimony.  The problem is that the Pharisees expect God to fit into their box.  The Pharisees are not open to God’s hand in movement.  They want to find a reason for Jesus to fail.  They want to accuse Him for working on the Sabbath.  They simply are not living in a position of openness.  So when they ask and get an answer they don’t like, they continue to keep asking questions in order to find a reason to condemn Jesus.

How has your relationship with God changed as you have grown closer to Him?  What are you doing now with God that you weren’t open to in years past?

Second Thought:

Once more we return to this idea of Sabbath.  Once more we hear the Jewish leadership upset at Jesus for doing something meaningful on the Sabbath.  What a sad commentary on the faith!  A man who had been born blind receives sight and gets to open His eyes meaningfully for the first time and all that the Jewish leaders have to say is words of condemnation.  They accuse Jesus of being sinful.  Their proverbial religious box blinds them to the grace, power, and glory that had been put on display for them to see.  What should have led to the glory of God in their minds instead  led to the condemnation of Jesus!

Why does our closed-mind often lead to the condemnation of others?  In general how quick are you to condemn when you don’t agree?

Third Thought:

The man’s reply is interesting.  When asked, the blind man says that Jesus is a prophet.  Which, mind you, isn’t wrong.  A prophet is someone who speaks truth to the people around them.  Jesus certainly did that quite a bit.  However, Jesus was absolutely way more than a prophet.  My point is not to discredit this formerly blind man.  Rather, I wish to encourage us to see the growth of the formerly blind man.  He is still coming to terms with what has happened to him and who it was that made it happen.  He is open to the possibility that Jesus was a man of God in spite of the religious leaders’ objections to that possibility.  As we shall see in the coming verses, Jesus is not yet done teaching this formerly blind man.  He is merely beginning his journey of faith and it will get better!  Jesus meets the blind man where He is and works with him out of that place.

Where did Jesus come and meet you?  Out of where has Jesus brought you?  How has the journey progressed?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 9:18-23