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The Gospel of John, The Period of Conflict - The Clash of Belief and Unbelief, Continuing discourse after the feast, The Man Blind from his Birth, Part XXIV, John 9:9-16 - Lesson 71
Read Verses John 9:8, The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? for review:
John 9:9,10, Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?
Not how they were opened but who opened them.
The natural man wants to hear of your experiences so his curiosity is satisfied.
But they had no desire to hear about Christ.
The sign of their unbelief is when they asked "how" and not "who".
Belief recognizes a person, unbelief recognizes a process.
That is why experience oriented ministries under the name of Christian are so successful, because they cater to unbelief!
They cater to the how and not the who.
They are not concerned with the result but with the manner and the methods in which it was done.
I should not be concerned about the religious experiences that you have had.
I should care about whether you know Jesus Christ.
Do you have life in him?
Are you joined to him?
Are you related to him?
Belief revolves around a person and not a process.
John 9:11,12, He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.
Notice how simple, honest and sincere was this man's testimony.
He told them only what he knew.
Notice how he related what Jesus had done but he did not mention that Jesus had spit on the ground.
He had not seen that.
He only felt Jesus apply the wet clay to his eyes.
He could honestly testify of that, but he does not mention the spitting of Christ.
See how perfect the word of God is in its detail!
See how the Holy Spirit led John the Apostle to carefully write this book.
And notice how in his simple honest testimony he publicly names the name of Jesus.
He did not shrink from naming the one who given him sight.
He did not couch his testimony in fancy theological terms skirting around the truth to avoid controversy.
He simply related what Jesus Christ, the man, did for him.
He did not have much light but he was faithful to the light that he had and that is the way to obtain more light.
He did not try to embellish the light.
He did not speculate or elaborate or try to impress anyone or elevate himself as someone special.
As a new believer he boasted of the work of Christ because he did not as yet have an intimate knowledge of his person.
That comes later.
What was your experience as a new believer?
Were you not interested in forgiveness of sins and eternal life and becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus?
As you mature in Christ don't you find yourself wanting to know the person of Jesus Christ in a more intimate way?
We should want to know Jesus Christ!
That's what its all about.
Knowing God! Knowing Jesus Christ!
What a friend we have in Jesus should be real to us as we grow in grace.
He did not go beyond the light that he had.
When it came to a question that he did not know the answer he simply told them that he did not know where Jesus went.
John 9:13,14, They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.
A religious issue is involved and the Pharisees must be consulted.
Now at last the blind beggar will be noticed by those who before took no notice.
Blindness, they thought was the result of sin and they did not want anything to do with any sinner.
But now a beggar born blind who could see!
That is a different story.
The beggar had testified to his neighbors but by being interrogated by the Pharisees he faced a greater test of his faith.
Don't we learn in verse 22 that fear of being put out of the temple for supporting Jesus was common in Jerusalem on this day?
The Pharisees were bent on discrediting Jesus Christ and would welcome one who would testify against him.
They looked for one who would testify that Jesus Christ worked on the Sabbath.
This man Jesus was a Sabbath breaker and must be stopped.
But by Christ's example Jesus shows us that works of necessity and works of mercy are allowable works on the Sabbath.
The Sabbath was made for man but the Jews had twisted its beauty and now used it to control man religiously.
Christ gave no regard to the commandments of men when they conflicted with the works that he must work for the Father.
This should be our example as we do the works of God.
We are not to be in bondage to the rules and regulations of religion when they have no support from the Word of God.
God intends us to be free of the bonds of man made religious barriers and only be governed by the faithful barriers of the wisdom of the Word of God.
As Gal 5:1, tells us we are to: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
John 9:15, Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.
The minds of the Pharisees are closed.
Their necks are stiff to the word of God.
They are incapable of turning toward truth.
They have so pre-determined that if anyone confess that Jesus is the Christ he should be put out of the synogogue.
They examine the blind beggar to discredit the miracle and to intimidate the one upon whom the miracle was performed.
They too ask how.
How did this happen?
There must be a logical explanation. How?
The question from the unbelieving.
To the seeing beggar's credit he answers in a straightforward manner and gives an accurate account of the miracle.
John 9:16, Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
As we study the life of Christ it is easy to see that division is a specialty of Jesus Christ.
In Luke 12:51, he said, Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division.
This is a mark of a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
His life will divide.
On this earth truth always divides.
Truth and error cannot co-exist.
Truth and error cannot join together and multiply.
A disciple's life, like the life of his Master, is either yea or nay.
This miracle of the healing of the blind man was designed by the Father to cause division amongst the Jews.
Two opposing points of view are expressed, and two opposing conclusions are reached.
In order for the conclusion to be correct both premises must be correct.
The major premise of the first point of view is:
A man who breaks the Sabbath law is not a man of God.
Few in Israel would argue with this premise.
The minor premise is:
Jesus has broken the Sabbath law by working on the Sabbath.
Hadn't he made clay on the Sabbath?
Therefore the conclusion of some of the Jews:
Jesus is not a man of God.
The second viewpoint was based on the major premise that:
Anyone who cures a man of his blindness - especially a man born blind - is a man of God.
This premise is not accepted by all because of the power of Satan's children to perform lying wonders.
But those who will examine the miracles of Christ with a pure heart will find that they were done totally in accordance with the character of God as expressed in his word.
So their minor premise was: Jesus has cured a man of his blindness, a man, moreover who was born blind.
The conclusion followed:
Jesus is a man of God, he cannot be a sinner and therefore the commonly accepted interpretation of the Sabbath law called for re-examination.
This passage is intended to be a lesson to us in being very careful to judge righteously.
People who are taught a set line of belief, a denominational slant, group beliefs, instead of being taught of the Lord, are subject to being channeled into wrong conclusions in the same manner that these Jews were.
Be careful of your premise! Be careful of your fundamentalism! |