Focus! Keeping Your Eyes on Jesus in a Near-Sighted, Distracted World! (The Blind Man in John 9 – Part 6)

Now the inquisitions will begin with this man born blind who has been healed by Jesus! His sense of sight has been given by the grace of God, but his sense of hearing and his ability to speak will be greatly tested by those who don’t care for Jesus.

In this series of blog posts on FOCUS I want to examine my own vision and ask if my spiritual eyesight is getting dim, distracted, or damaged by choices I make. We will be looking at a number of key biblical passages which emphasize this sense of sight. I am particularly looking forward to pondering the healing miracles which turned blind people into sighted people.

The Pharisees Who Don’t . . . See! The man is brought to the Pharisees, the religious leaders of Israel. Motive? If we give them the benefit of the doubt, these neighbors and those who knew the man born blind may well have brought him to the Pharisees for their approval, their blessing. But one crucial fact is now brought out: “Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath.” (v. 14) The Pharisees saw themselves as the protectors of the Sabbath and viewed Jesus as one who disregarded their leadership.

The First Inquisition: A second inquiry into how the man was healed takes place (note the word “also” in v. 15). Why did they want to know about the process? Probably to conclude that work was done . . . on the Sabbath!

Short and Sweet! The man’s answer is reduced to three steps: “(1) He put mud on my eyes: (2) and I washed; and (3) now I see.” He kept his answers brief. The last thing this man wanted was to be grilled by these self-righteous hypocrites who had it in for Jesus.

Today’s Challenge: How do you and I deal with really religious people who want nothing to do with Jesus? I think we should tell our story of salvation with simple words, and without fear.

 

Focus! Keeping Your Eyes on Jesus in a Near-Sighted, Distracted World! (The Blind Man in John 9 – Part 5)

This man who has been miraculously healed by Jesus does not hesitate to self-identify as the blind beggar everyone knew. But now he could see!

In this series of blog posts on FOCUS I want to examine my own vision and ask if my spiritual eyesight is getting dim, distracted, or damaged by choices I make. We will be looking at a number of key biblical passages which emphasize this sense of sight. I am particularly looking forward to pondering the healing miracles which turned blind people into sighted people.

In our discussion of this most extensive description of a miracle in all of the Bible, we have seen the disciples’ asking about the cause of the blind man’s disability. We noticed that Jesus didn’t mind their multiple choice question. He just objected to there being only two possible answers in the minds of the disciples. Jesus declares that neither the man born blind nor his parents were to blame for his “handicap,” but this happened “so that the works of God would be displayed in his life.”

Details! Details! Well, one work has already been displayed! The man obeys Jesus, goes and washes off the mud in the pool of Siloam, and comes home SEEING! The neighbors and those who knew him from his daily begging want the facts about how he got healed. When I was a kid, TV was in its infancy — and one of my favorite shows was Dragnet! Sergeant Friday’s classic challenge to a witness of a crime was, “The facts, Ma’am. Just the facts!”

The Bare Facts: That’s what these people wanted from the man born blind — the facts. And that’s what he gives them. I’ll bet he ticked off the six points of his healing, holding up his fingers as he went over the steps:

Geographical Ignorance: They then ask him where this Jesus is and he says he doesn’t know. It is interesting that Jesus doesn’t tell the man to go wash and come back. The man could have easily not come back to where Jesus was (although the story sounds like it took place close to where he lived, or at least begged). I suspect he wanted to thank Jesus for the miracle of sight.

Today’s Challenge: This man knew virtually nothing about Jesus. “The man they call Jesus,” he said. And the man is not yet saved. But Jesus had compassion on him and healed him. How has Jesus healed you? Thank God today for the simple steps He took to bring you into His family!

 

Focus! Keeping Your Eyes on Jesus in a Near-Sighted, Distracted World! (The Blind Man in John 9 – Part 4)

Although this man remains anonymous throughout the story, he was well-known in the community. When he comes home from obeying Jesus’ call to wash off the mud on his eyes, a fascinating debate takes place!

In this series of blog posts on FOCUS I want to examine my own vision and ask if my spiritual eyesight is getting dim, distracted, or damaged by choices I make. We will be looking at a number of key biblical passages which emphasize this sense of sight. I am particularly looking forward to pondering the healing miracles which turned blind people into sighted people.

Returning Home: In today’s verses we see what happens when the man born blind returns home. Two groups meet him — his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging. This man was a known quantity to them. Some lived close to him and his parents. Others knew him publicly as the born-blind-beggar they might have walked around or, perhaps, even dropped a few small coins into his begging basket.

An Identity Crisis: Rather than rejoicing in his healing, a dispute erupted over whether this was the same man who had been living his life begging. Some said it was the same man. Others said, “Nah. But it could be his twin!” (or words to that effect).

Sometimes those who aren’t sightless treat those who are as if they are also deaf! But this man-born-blind heard their argument and jumped in! He declared, “I am the man!”

A Personal Story: When I began my teaching career, the Bible college where I taught was going under financially. So I had a friend take a picture of me in my best teaching pose (I couldn’t find the original, but that young man looked a bit like me). I sent that picture to several seminaries to apply for a position. Notice that I had a Greek sentence on the board to impress any future employers. And the translation — “I AM THE MAN!” — wasn’t on the original picture. This is a direct quote from our text here in John 9. I don’t think the seminary that hired me noticed the not-so-subtle reference to the blind man’s statement!

A Courageous Choice: You know, the man born blind had an option. He could have denied being the beggar they all thought they knew. He could have said, “Beg?! I’ve never begged in my life!” But he didn’t. He declared who he was and his declaration would lead to some serious consequences.

Today’s Challenge: May I ask you — do you correctly identify yourself as one who has been touched and healed by the Lord Jesus? Such a confession involves admitting your need and giving God credit for what He’s done in your life. And spiritually sighted people do just that!

 

Insight from a Blind Man (A Study of John 9) Part 14

What do you KNOW? I mean, for sure?  Our culture seems to tolerate just about anything, except the certainty that truth can be known.  Our man born blind has just been put under oath (like sinful Achan in Joshua 7) and the Pharisees demand his opinion about Jesus.

In fact, they announce their view and expect him to agree with them.  “We know this man is a sinner,” they say.  Did they really expect him to reply, “Of course, you are right.  I can see that now!”

But he does not oblige.  He declares in unmistakable terms what he doesn’t know and what he does know.  “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know.  One thing I do know.  I was blind but now I see!”

What do you know?  Say it!  Say it clearly.  Say it with all your conviction. But say it!

And don’t let the religious turkeys get you down!

G. K. Chesterton declared the following: “But what we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. . . . We are on the road to producing a race of men too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table.” (G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, pp. 31-32). (to be continued)

 

A Sewerside Mission? (time for a good cartoon)

Yes, it may be a terrible pun, but do your “missions” sometimes seem like sewerside?  I fully expect that each serious follower of Jesus will get involved in situations (family or otherwise) that make Asok’s mission to Elbonia look like a walk in the park!

The one connection I would make here is a verse found in 2 Corinthians 2:

¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? ¹⁷ Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.

I don’t know about you — but I’d rather go through life as a “pleasing aroma” of life and not as a stench of death!  But the believer is tasked with both!  We are aroma-spreaders.  Our primary audience is God (“For we are to God . . .”, v. 15).  We are spreading the aroma of Christ (v. 15).  Our field is both those who “are being saved” and “those who are perishing” (v. 15).  There are two human audiences for us:  To those who are being saved we are an aroma that brings life (v. 16).  To those who are perishing we are an aroma that brings death (v. 16).

We are not surprised that Paul concludes this analogy with the words “And who is equal to such a task?”  The simple answer is: “none of us!”  But followers of Jesus are to “spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.”  And if some think our aroma stinks?  We continue to “speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God”!

Your thoughts?

 

CALLING ALL (former) ATHEISTS!