Tuesday: The Healing of the Blind Man: Part 1
Daily Lesson for Tuesday 8th of October 2024
Read John 9:1-16. What did the disciples think was the cause of this man’s blindness, and how did Jesus correct their false beliefs?
The disciples made a connection between sickness and sin. A number of Old Testament passages point in that direction (compare with Exodus 20:5, 2 Kings 5:15-27, 2 Kings 15:5, and 2 Chronicles 26:16-21), but the story of Job should have led to caution about whether such a connection always occurred.
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Jesus sets the matter straight, not denying any connection between sin and suffering but, in this case, pointing to a higher purpose: that God would be glorified by the healing. The account contains certain affinities to the Creation story, that of God’s forming the first man from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7), just as Jesus makes clay to provide the blind man what was missing from the womb.
In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, miracle stories follow a common pattern: an expression of the problem, the bringing of the individual to Jesus, the cure, and recognition of the cure with praise to God.
In the story in John 9:1-41, this sequence is completed in John 9:7. But typical of John, the significance of the miracle becomes the much wider point of discussion, leading to a long interaction between the healed man and the religious leaders. This striking discussion revolves around two intertwined contrasting pairs of concepts—sin/works of God and blindness/sight.
The narrator does not tell the reader until John 9:14 that Jesus did this healing on the Sabbath, which, according to tradition and not Scripture, violated the Sabbath. And thus, He was counted as a Sabbath breaker by the Pharisees. Their conclusion was that He was not from God because they maintained that “He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others found it troubling that a sinner could do such signs (John 9:16).
The discussion is far from over, but already a division appears. The blind man is becoming more and more clear about who Jesus is, but the religious leaders are becoming more and more confused or blind as to His real identity.
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What should this story tell us about the dangers of being so blinded by our own beliefs and traditions that we can miss important truths right before our own eyes? |
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The blind man is becoming more and more clear about who Jesus is, but the religious leaders are becoming more and more confused or blind as to His real identity.
The religious leaders chose to confuse themselves as to Jesus's divinity due to their misinterpretation of their Bible in order to suit their narrative. They had too much pride to question their own lenses with fear of losing control of the people.
I was just watching a youtube telling of 7 countries where Christians are not welcome. Kind of fits in with John 9:1-16. Christ prediction. What do we do other than totally depending on the Lord to help us finish the work He started. Nothing other than what He directs. Thank God for dedicated missionaries.
Now about the religious leaders of Christ time, it is going light to say they were confused. Yes they were given conundrums, I do believe they saw the riddles, but their drive for self honor allowed them to lead others astray.
A tree always falls to the side its inclined to.To those who believe , a new Revelation of Christ only deepens their faith but to those who dwell on unbelief it will always find criticism .
May God open our eyes so that we don't get blinded with traditions. When we are so fixated with traditions, it's difficult to appreciate the immense power of God.
Amen, our churches nowadays are so blinded with traditions. Forgetting the important ministry, serving people.
It is easy to point a finger at the Church, but we should remember that it is our church and we are talking about and criticising ourselves. How blind are we to our own condition? Or, do we think we are on a higher plane of understanding than the Church. We are in this together!
The Pharisees were so focused on their religious laws, particularly regarding the Sabbath, that they couldn’t recognize the miracle Jesus performed. Their adherence to tradition blinded them to the significance of the healing and the divine power behind it. This lesson teaches that being overly attached and or clinging too tightly to our own ideas can prevent us from recognizing God's work, or important truths in general, that are happening right before our eyes.
The author of the lesson study asked the question, "What should this story tell us about the dangers of being so blinded by our own beliefs and traditions that we can miss important truths right before our own eyes?"
My response is as follows: When faced with new or contradictory information, we should be open to reassessing our beliefs. This process shouldn't be perceived as a threat, rather an opportunity to confirm the accuracy of our beliefs or adopt new, more enlightened perspectives.
An idea which I have often done was to develope my own idea rather than receiving it from the word of God. Often you keep trying to make the bible fit your preconceived ideas because of pride or something else. This idea is often found among sceptics and believers. You can choose to find evidence to doubt or believe depending on what you want. Don't get trapped in looking for what you think is right rather read the bible and look to believe it.
Our worst enemy is not outside but inside of us. We are our worst enemy. Preconceptions and ideas we cling to without a foundation of truth blind our eyes, while we base what we see on human tradition and reason. Is our judgment of facts founded on the Law of Love?
This story has always amazed and amused me. We have heard of the saying;"The blind leading the blind", however this is a case of the formerly blind leading the spiritually blind. There's a paradigm blindness that the Pharisees just can't seem to be cured of even when the proof is standing before them testifying that it was Jesus that healed him. Even though he didn't know his name, they knew. The fact that they were so incensed that Jesus "worked" on the Sabbath to heal, revealed by what spirit they were controlled. They were so blinded by the letter of the law that they couldn't see the spirit of it, or allow for any righteous acts to be performed on it.
Another interesting thing is the uproar they had over the blind man "carrying his bed". I mean it's not like he was lugging a Simmons Queen sized Beauty Rest mattress down the street. At best it was probably no larger and heavier than an exercise mat. Talk about "majoring in the minors!"
Do we ever have a self righteous attitude towards people who sin differently than us? Do we ever claim to see, when we are really blind? Are we so blinded by the letter of the law that we totally miss the spirit of it? We need to honestly contemplate these things.
This is why Jesus says test the spirit to see if they are of God see John 4:1-4 here which says
We ought not to judge quickly but pray without ceasing!
It's not like the pharasees obeyed the Sabbath so much that anyone who tried to violate it was to be tried and tested before their courts but it's only that they were ever looking for ways to bring down this Great Man who was righteous.