If you are new to this blog, please read the PREFACE to better understand the intents of these writings: https://ajl-heart.blogspot.com/2019/11/intro-to-what-makes-jesus-tick.html
The goal is to understand, with eyes of the
heart, WHAT
MAKES JESUS TICK
This
story is different than the last several chapters we’ve seen in John thus far.
There is no direct confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees. On the
contrary, what we see of Jesus is just His love, compassion and the
supernatural power of God to heal.
John 9:1 Now
as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.
2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi,
who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Legalistic
Jewish traditions were a blame game. Sickness and disease may be caused by sin
but not always. Sexual immorality often causes STDs, drug and alcohol abuse
cause a host of physical and psychological sickness. In Biblical times ailments
were commonly blamed on someone angering God. It’s like the pagan mentality we
see in old movies, that anything bad happening was blamed on the gods being
angry. Jesus wonderfully closes the book on this way of looking at every
adverse situation in His disciples.
John 9:3 Jesus
answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God
should be revealed in him.”
He’s
lovingly saying, “No, no, no. You have that all wrong. God is not like that.
The Father wants to show His love in this situation, so watch what I’ll do.” It
was a watch and learn opportunity as Jesus sets an example for us.
In
the next verse, Jesus puts this in a new context. The time He would remain on
Earth was limited so there was a time limit for Him to accomplish all the
Father had for Him to do here. We should remember that after that it became our
turn to pick up where He left off.
John 9:4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me
while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light
of the world.”
The ways Jesus interacted with the blind man is a beautiful picture of the love of the
Father
in action. It all starts with the miracle.
John 9:6 When
He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva;
and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.
7 And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of
Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back
seeing.
Using
spit mixed with the dirty road dust to make clay and sticking on the guy’s eyes
sounds a bit gross to us today, but who are we to question God’s methods? The
going and washing, then coming back healed, has a marvelous Biblical precedent.
Remember Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army who had leprosy? You can get
the full context in 2 Kings 5,
but you’ll get the picture form the following verses:
2 Kings 5: 9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot,
and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house.
10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying,
“Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to
you, and you shall be clean.”
11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and
said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and
call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and
heal the leprosy.’
12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the
rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in
them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
13 And
his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet
had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more
then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
14 So he
went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the
man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he
was clean.
Naaman
thought the method stupid and beneath himself but the result was wonderfully
life changing for him. He had an encounter with the living God. He got more
than healed.
2 Kings 5:15a And he returned to the man of God, he and all
his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that
there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel;…
17b for your servant will no longer offer either
burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord.
Naaman
repented, he turned from idolatry to serving the Living God only. Isn’t that
what God is after for all of mankind?
The
story of the blind man continues and has the same conclusion.
John 9: 8 Therefore the neighbors and those who
previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat and
begged?”
9
Some said, “This is he.” Others
said, “He is like him.” He said, “I am he.”
10 Therefore they said to him,
“How were your eyes opened?”
11 He answered and said, “A Man
called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of
Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”
The
Pharisees gave the poor dude an awful time but he nicely put them in their
place. Doing so culminated with his excommunication. In the end he becomes a
new man.
 |
| https://www.youtube.com/watch? reload=9&v=XB9GGn8v6m4 |
John 9: 35
Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to
him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”
36 He
answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
37 And
Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with
you.”
38 Then
he said, “Lord, I believe!”
And he worshiped Him.
What Makes Jesus Tick?
What do we hear when we get close enough to Jesus to hear His heart beat?
Luke 19:10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to
save that which was lost.”
Why
was the “Blind Man” born Blind?
John 9:3 Jesus
answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
Prayer:
Father help us to keep our hearts in sync with Your’s. Help us to see every
opportunity to point people to you, the Savior of souls. May we help people to
find You as the Lover of their Souls. Bless us with the boldness to demonstrate
Your love and supernatural power to meet people’s needs. Lord open their eyes
that they may see Jesus just as Naaman and the blind man did. Amen
I
hope you’ve been blessed and challenged by this study today. Please do three
things:
- Ask
for the Lord to speak to your heart, giving you specific application to
your life.
- Add
your comments, questions, insights, etc in the box below.
- Share
the link you followed to this article and spread this blessing on all your
social media outlets.
Thank
you and the Lord bless you real good today.
NOTE: All scripture is from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.
Comments
Post a Comment