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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 XXVII, John 9:28-33 - Lesson 74
Read Verses John 9:24-27, for review:
John 9:24-27, Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?
John 9:28,29, Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.
This was too much to take for the proud Pharisees.
They resort to reproach, to vilification.
They pronounce anathemas against him.
They rail at him.
They abuse him.
They resort to invectives and name calling.
They have no argument to the one who was blind but who now can see.
They have been defeated in debate.
So they call him by a name which is the greatest of compliments to the Christian.
Thou art his disciple!
Isn't that what we desire to be known as?
Isn't that what we want our testimony to broadcast?
But they continue in their haughtiness: Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.
They boast of their credentials.
We are Moses-ites.
You are nobody-ites.
We have standing.
You have none.
This fellow from Nazareth is a nobody.
Its the same heart today.
If you are not such and such brand religious name you are nothing.
I am a Protestant.
I am a Baptist.
I am a fundamentalist.
I belong to Grace Bible Church.
I graduated from the approved school.
You didn't!
You must not be walking close to the Lord.
Pride, Pride, Pride.
We Pharisees know for a fact that God spoke to Moses but this fellow has no credentials.
He is not one of us.
He is not worth the time of day.
The Lord had already told them in John 5:46, For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
These Jews simply had a hollow intellectual knowledge of Moses but had no heart understanding.
They did not tremble at the Word of God.
The Word of God did not regulate their lives.
They were filled with pride in their blindness.
John 9:30-33, The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.
The man born blind is inspired by the persecution he receives from the Pharisees.
He puts common sense to use!
Why this is a marvelous thing; this is a surprising thing.
How can this be?
How can you who claim to be the guide of the people be in the dark on a matter like this?
You have concluded that my eyes have been opened.
My parents have testified that I was born blind.
I so have testified.
You say, Give God the praise!
And yet you do not acknowledge that he who has done this miracle is not a sinner.
But we know that God does not hear sinners.
This man knows what the scriptures say:
Psalm 66:18, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
Proverbs 15:29, The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
Psalm 34:15, The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
By saying this, the man born blind recognizes that a miracle of this magnitude must be in answer to prayer and the man who received this answer to prayer must be no ordinary man.
He cannot be the sinner that the Jews believe him to be.
The wonder to him is that the Jews are blind to this common sense!
It is obvious to the man that Jesus has power with God because he is able to do something that has never been done before.
No scripture had ever recorded a miracle of a man born blind receiving sight.
Not even in Moses day had such a thing occurred.
No memory of man, no experience, no history revealed such a thing.
This was a one-time event in the history of the world!
It was an amazing event and yet the Jews blindness, the Jews heart prevented them from seeing this spiritual lesson.
We see that his newly found sight is in more than his physical eyes.
He now sees spiritual truths.
By his new found spiritual sight he concludes that Jesus is from God for if he were not he could do nothing.
He is growing in the knowledge of God.
All the arguments of the Pharisees could not shake him.
He first called his benefactor the man that is called Jesus, then he claimed his as a prophet, and now he is a man of God, a man God that God heard, and a man who worshipped God. |