John 9:24-34

John 9:24-34

Therefore they summoned out of a second time the man who was blind and they said to Him, “Give glory to God!  We have known that this man is a sinner.  Therefore this one answered, “Whether this one is a sinner I have not known.  One thing I have known: that while being blind, now I see.”  Therefore they said to him, “What did He do to you?  How did He open your eyes?”  He answered to them, “I already said it to you all and you all did not hear.  Why again do you all desire to hear?”  Do you also not desire to become His disciples?”  And they slandered him and said, “You are a disciple of that one, but we are disciples of Moses.  We have known that God has spoken to Moses, but we have not known from where this one is.”  The man answered and said to them, “For in this is a marvelous thing: that you all have not known from where this one is.  Yet He opened my eyes!  We have known that God does not hear sinners, but if he should be a God-fearer and He should do His will then He hears this one.  It is not heard out of this age that anyone opened the eyes of one while being born blind.  If this one is not from God, He was not powerful enough to do anything.”  They answered and said to him, “Into sin you were completely being born.  And you teach us?”  And they cast him out.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Notice that once more the Jewish leaders ask this man what happened to him and who healed him.  The blind man is tired of it.  The blind man refuses to hear them any longer.  He confronts the Jewish leaders with their blindness.  They refuse to listen to him.  Here we see the completion of the cycle of the closed mind.  When minds are closed, it pursues a single point without thinking about any other possibility.  When that possibility isn’t realized, the closed mind shuts down, gets angry, and refuses to listen.  Rather than hear the truth of God’s understanding, the person with the closed mind sits and stew in the bitterness of their own understanding.

Do you think Christians are ever prone to closed-mindedness?  When have you seen this at play in the church?  Do you think non-Christians are prone to closed-mindedness?  Where have you seen this in the world?

Second Thought:

The blind man asks a very poignant question.  “You do not want to become His disciples?”  This question cuts to the core of the issue.  The blind man is saying that He is open to the possibility that Jesus is from God.  The blind man is willing to submit to Christ and learn from Him whatever He can teach the blind man.  The blind man is open-minded.  However, the religious leaders are not open to Christ.  Their identity is rooted in Moses.  Their identity is rooted in a human who existed approximately 1,500 years prior to them!  The man is open to saying, “Jesus has done something marvelous and in the Spirit of God, I will hear Him out.”  The Pharisees are saying, “We will only follow what fits in our predefined box that is centuries old.”  The root of the issue with the Pharisees is that they were so cemented in their human tradition they weren’t able to see God’s hand at work in their lives.

Where is God at work in your life?  Has God ever called you out of your comfort zone?  How does God work in you to expand your understanding rather than let you stay in the comfort of your own box?

Third Thought:

The blind man is able to see Jesus because of His fruit.  Jesus heals Him.  Jesus displays God’s love to Him.  That is what it means to be in a relationship with God.  When we are following God, God’s grace, love, mercy, and compassion are on display.  When we are following God, God listens to us because our will is to do His will.  People will see that.  Some will ask us about it.  A few will follow.  God calls us to put His fruit on display so others will see this marvelous thing.

When have you seen God’s hand at work in marvelous ways?  How are you putting God’s work on display in marvelous ways?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 9:35-41