For Judgment I am Come!

John 9:39-41.

And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

And some of the Pharisees which were with Him heard these words, and said unto Him, Are we blind also?

Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Was Jesus speaking in riddles here, as the story of the healed blind man comes to an end?

It may seem so at first glance, but we need to take a broader look at the gospel message. He came that all men might have access to salvation and eternity in heaven. But, in preparation for that event, He knew that people would be divided over Him before He ever came to the Cross.

And they were divided, almost from the moment He was born. His legitimacy was questioned. His sanity was questioned. His claims of deity were questioned. Even the miracles He performed in plain sight of multitudes were questioned. The human mind wants to explain things to fit our own understanding. If we can do that, then it’s not so much a miracle as it is a perfect conjunction of events at just the right moment. If you stop to think about that, you’ll quickly see that such would be a miracle in itself 🙂

What Jesus was saying here is that His coming would mark a great divide among mankind. A judgment, if you will.

In America, we have the Great Continental Divide. On the eastern side, most rivers and waterways flow to the east and south. On the western side, they flow to the west and south. There are a very few exceptions, which is an interesting matter of geography. But that divide clearly exists, just as the divide existed then, and still does today, between those who see clearly Who Jesus was, and those who do not–or will not.

The Pharisees who heard His words asked, “Well, then, are we blind because we do not see You as God?” (My own paraphrase, and I wish I could convey to you in words the disdain and anger with which these men spoke. They were the “in” men, after all; the leaders, the rulers of the spiritual and day to day lives of the people. But–I believe that there were those among them who were having stirrings of awareness that Jesus was something with which they had never dealt before.

Jesus’ response was profound. Summed up, again in my own words, it was something like this: “If you deny that you are blind, and are not willing to see, then you will continue in your sin. But if you recognize your blindness, and have an awareness of your own sinful nature; if you are convicted and grieved by your sin, then you will receive spiritual sight. “

I love this quote from Charles Haddon Spurgeon: “We ought not to suffer any person to perish for lack of knowing the gospel. We cannot give men eyes, but we can give them light.”

Jesus is the Light of the World!

Lord, I Believe!

John 9:34-38.

They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on Him?

And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee.

And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Him.

The Pharisees, angry and frustrated, harshly told the blind man, “You were born completely immersed in sin, and do you dare to teach us?

The Bible says that they cast him out of the synagogue. They were particularly angry with him because he was right, and they knew it at some level in their self-righteous souls. So they “cast him out,” which most of the commentators I’ve checked agree that it means they excommunicated him from the synagogue. This was a very serious matter, as I’ve said before. I’m quite impressed with this man, with his courage and determination not to be moved by the powerful religious leaders who rejected Jesus completely.

Jesus knew he had been cast out, and He went to speak with him. He asked the man, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”

The blind man’s response indicated just a little bit of confusion. He asked Jesus, “Lord (rabbi), Who is He? I want to believe on Him!”

Jesus said, ” It is He that hath touched you; It is He that you see; it is He with Whom you speak.”

And the man replied instantly, “Lord, I believe!”

Have you ever stopped and thought about how sweet, how wonderful, those words are to Jesus? For every person who comes to Him in faith, saying, “Lord, I believe!” there is one more soul saved from eternal damnation. One more soul that responds to His incredible, amazing grace and love. One more soul who understands the gift of salvation.

We are told that the man then worshiped Jesus. I believe he was kneeling before Jesus, bowing his head in reverence. Many assume that the once-blind man became one of Jesus’ followers in His journey to the Cross. I don’t know that for sure, but it’s certainly possible.

The Pharisees rejected the blind man. Jesus accepted him. The Pharisees castigated him. Jesus went and found him. The Pharisees disallowed the man to continue to worship in the synagogue. Jesus accepted his worship right there on the spot. What a balm to the man’s spirit it must have been to be loved, accepted, and touched by the hand of God.

Sunday Morning Coffee: A Prayer

He Could do Nothing!

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.

This is truly an amazing statement from a man who had been blind all his life; was considered nothing more than a beggar, and possibly guilty of great sin (hence his blindness), uneducated and not worth noticing until now, when his sight had been miraculously restored. I am amazed at the courage he showed, and also at his gift for stating the obvious 🙂

In verse 30, we hear that touch of sarcasm again (my own paraphrase): Why, this is an amazing thing! You religious leaders don’t know Who He is or where He comes from, yet He has opened my eyes–something no one else, including you, has been able to do!”

Then he goes on to teach them what they knew, but did not practice: “We know that God does not regard the prayer of a man who continuously sins and has no intent of changing. But we also know that God does hear the prayer of a sinner who is repentant! I have repented, and have begged God to give me sight! (again, my own paraphrase here. Please, don’t mistake this–I am not adding to scripture. I am only imagining how it may have been said today).

Then, he makes what to me is his crowning argument: “Since the beginning of the world, no one has ever heard of any man giving sight to the blind! If this man were not of God, He could do nothing!”

The blind man’s faith was rock solid, so sure was he that Jesus was indeed of God! Imagine having had the hands of Jesus touching your face; hearing His voice reassuring you and telling you what to do next. Imagine being that close to the Son of God, and having Him minister to you in such a tender and loving way. Imagine going to Siloam, washing your eyes and face, and then opening your eyes and, for the first time, being able to see what was before you! I think the man had perfect vision! It was not clouded, or near-or far-sighted. It was clear! Colors, light, the faces of his loved ones–all clear for the first time. Yes, He knew it was God! He knew no ordinary man could have done the miracle that restored his sight.

Do you think he had persuaded the Pharisees?

We Don’t Know this Man

John 9: 26-29.

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?

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.

So, why did the Pharisees question the blind man yet again?

It’s a proven interrogation technique. If you make a person tell his story several times, there’s a good chance he’s going to contradict himself if he’s not telling the truth. The Pharisees were determined to discredit his story.

What I love about this particular passage is that the blind man did not answer them by repeating his story. Instead, he said, (my own paraphrase) “Look. I’ve already told you what happened. I’ve told you the truth! You didn’t really believe me before, so why are you asking again? Do you want to become His disciples?” The blind man was clearly not stupid. He was even capable of a little sarcasm, and must have known he was risking punishment when he asked the Pharisees if they were interested in becoming followers of Jesus.

I think the Pharisees must have been steaming by this time. They reviled the blind man, saying, “YOU may be His disciple; WE, however, are MOSES’ disciples!”

One might ask, at this point, if they realized who they were claiming to worship: God, or Moses? Moses never asked or wanted to be worshiped or treated as God. He was not the creator of the Law; he was only the messenger whom God chose to bring the Law to the people. If the Pharisees worshiped God, surely they would have known, by their diligent study of the scriptures, that Jesus was something special! Indeed, they worshiped the Law more than they worshiped the Creator of the Law!

At least they acknowledged that God spoke to Moses. I want you to notice in verse 29 that in the second half of the verse, the words as for . . . fellow are italicized. That indicates that those three words were interpolated for clarity. If we omit them, that part of the verse would read, “This? We don’t know anything about Him!”

Do you see how disparaging their language was? They reviled not only the blind man, but also the Son of Man, referring to Him as if He were nothing at all. I can imagine them making dismissive gestures, shaking their heads, maybe even rolling their eyes at the worthlessness of Jesus, Whom they did not know and did not want to know. Part of the reason they hated Him so much was that so many of the people were amazed at His works and His words, and were actually following Him from place to place and spending time listening to His teaching.

They couldn’t tolerate it. Their authority was in question, and that had to stop!

Now I See!

John 9:22-25.

These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that He was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.

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.

The Pharisees were determined to convict Jesus of the crime of claiming to be God. Furthermore, they had decreed that anyone who stated that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. Rule by fear has always been used by dictators.Totalitarians want to tell us what is right to believe, and they are even more eager to tell us what is wrong to believe–and to establish penalties for their self-defined wrong beliefs. Human nature remains the same from one generation to the next.

To be banned from the synagogue was to be banned from the center of community life; banned from friends, even from family if they disagreed with you. It was a harsh sentence, leaving the convicted person with no support, no network in times of need. That is why the blind man’s parents refused to answer directly, but instead said, “Our son is of age. Ask him!”

The Pharisees then called the blind man back, acknowledging that he could now see, and said, “Give God the praise for your healing, not this Jesus, Whom WE know is a sinner!”

How did they know Jesus was a sinner? Well, he had healed on the Sabbath! It was clear, then, that He was a sinner. No other proof was needed. What they wanted from the blind man was confirmation that God, not the Man, Jesus, was responsible for his healing.

The blind man, like his parents, did not fall into their trap. He did not say Jesus was the Christ. What he said was, “I don’t know if He is a sinner. All I know is that I was blind, and now I see!”

Of course, that answer takes me directly to the beloved song, Amazing Grace. Here’s an extremely interesting story:

Questions, Questions

John 9:17-21.

They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of Him, that He hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.

But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.

And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?

His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:

But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.

The Pharisees believed they had finally found something for which they could put Jesus on trial, and take His life. Once again, He had performed a miracle (work of healing) on the Sabbath. Moreover, He had claimed to be the Son of God! Such heresy could not be tolerated.

They questioned the blind man again, asking him what he thought about his Healer. The blind man answered, “Well, He must be a prophet!”

The Old Testament scriptures were full of stories of the prophets performing miracles, even bringing someone back to life (I Kings 17:17-24). So it was well within the bounds for the blind man to assume was Jesus was another prophet.

The problem, of course, was that no other prophet had ever claimed to be God incarnate. The Pharisees needed more proof of Jesus’ crimes, so they questioned the blind man again, wanting proof that he had indeed been born blind.

The best witnesses, obviously, were the blind man’s parents. Did you catch the way the Pharisees framed their question? “Is this your son, whom ye say was born blind? How is it, then that he can now see?” Their question was set up to try to catch the parents and their son as liars.

The parents were wary, though. They said, “We know this is our son. We know he was born blind. We do NOT know how he regained his sight. He’s an adult. Ask him. He can speak for himself.”

Simple Truth

John 9:13-16.

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.

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.

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.

The man whose vision had been given to him was brought formally before the court of the Pharisees, who again asked him to tell how he was healed.

He told the story again, simply and without elaboration. “Jesus made clay, put it on my eyes, and told me to wash in the Pool of Siloam. I did, and now I can see!”

Now there was debate among the Pharisees themselves, who could not reconcile what was right in front of them. Some said, “This Man cannot be from God, for He did this work of healing on the Sabbath Day!”

Others said, “But how can a man who is NOT from God, and man who is a sinner, just like all the rest of us, perform such miracles?”

The blind man, who was most likely untaught, and obviously could not read the scriptures, presented the simple truth with clarity and conviction. He knew it was truth because it happened to him!

But the educated, the revered elders whose whole lives had been bound up in study of the scriptures, could see only one thing: Jesus did another miracle on the Sabbath!

It seems that those who could see were truly the blind men.

Sunday Morning Coffee: Life can Surprise Us!

Just this past Tuesday, I had an appointment with my pain control doctor. Gave him the good news that I was feeling really good. I hadn’t needed a shot for nearly a year, was sleeping well, and having no major pain episodes. He was happy. I was happy.

On Wednesday, things went south in a hurry. I do not have the foggiest idea why.

I woke up with a nauseating, head-banging migraine. Haven’t had one of those in a long time. And then the old places in my back kicked in, and by Friday I was in trouble. We had an important birthday party Friday evening, so I took an extra pain pill. Didn’t want to be a wet blanket.

I’m allowed one pill every 6-8 hours, so I decided to do that. I haven’t been using my meds very much at all so this was a major decision. I also chose to make my bed my home for the weekend, and because of the meds I’m sleeping a lot. Starting to feel better, moving more easily. Just moving with extreme care. Keeping my cane handy. Having several conversations with the Lord.

I’ve gotten spoiled over this past year, relatively pain-free. It’s amazing what you can learn to live with, though, and since my old friend PAIN has reared its ugly head again, I’ve realized that, as the saying goes, eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. Freedom from pain, in this case.

I mean, it’s never 100% pain-free. There’s always a little aching, a little jab now and then to remind me that my lower back is still falling apart. But with care, mild exercise, continuing slow weight loss, I’m doing okay.

So this setback has shaken me up a bit. Reminded me of what can happen, with no warning. It’s also made me thankful for good medical care. Knowing that if it doesn’t settle down on its own I can probably get an injection keeps me hopeful, as well.

Anyway, that’s why I’m late with my Sunday Morning Coffee post. It’s almost 2:30 p.m. here in the Eastern Standard time zone. I’m feeling sleepy, but I don’t want to sleep too much now or I’ll be awake in the middle of the night.

Oh, and a Happy Father’s Day to all you dads. I hope you realize how important you are in the lives of your children and grandchildren.

Where is He?

John 9:10-12.

Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?

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.

When the man who had been blind from birth declared that he was indeed the man, the religious rulers wanted to know how he had received sight. The man replied in simple terms, telling them exactly what Jesus had done. After such an amazing story, the first thing these leaders asked was not, “Have you told your parents? What is it like to be able to see? Were you nervous? Who helped you to the Pool of Siloam? Was anyone else there who saw you receive your sight?” No, nothing along those lines.

All they asked was, “Where is Jesus?”

And the blind man did not know.

Why do you suppose the leaders were interested in finding Jesus? Did they want to worship Him? Question Him? Seek help from Him for some problem of their own?

No, none of that. Remember, these are the same men who were upset with Jesus, accusing Him of heresy, wanting to kill Him for His plain teaching and preaching about His identity. These are the men who derided Him for saying Abraham had seen His day, and was glad.

Now, here He was again, performing a miracle–an act of work–on the Sabbath. They were not looking for Him to honor Him. They wanted to arrest Him and put Him to death.