John 9:1-7
New International
Version 1984 (NIV1984)
9 As he went along, he saw
a man blind from birth. 2 His
disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his
parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his
parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his
life. 4 As
long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is
coming, when no one can work. 5 While
I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Having said this, he
spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s
eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home
seeing.
John 9:35-41
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,
and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man
asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in
fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and
he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become
blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him
say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would
not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
My format is a little different
today. I would really encourage you to
read all of John 9. This is a fascinating
story but I have left the middle part of the story out of the blog but have
placed the link to it for you to go to if you desire to read it. I would encourage you to do so.
I love this story from the very
beginning and I see just how relevant it is today as it was then. The disciples believe that this man, who was
blind from birth, must have sinned or his parents must have sinned because he
is blind. How many people jump to
conclusions regarding life situations and think that someone must be doing
wrong if they are suffering? People have
a false impression that if you do what is right, good will always follow. Our Father is the One that is good and He is
there with us in all situations.
Sometimes it is necessary for us or others to suffer in order for the
Father to be glorified. It does not mean
that we are always happy and content with our situation but if we hold true to
what the Father has taught us we will become stronger, not weaker, and all
things will be used to show the “work of God” in our lives.
I can attest to this on several
occasions but when I lost my job as a principal because of budget cuts, not
because of the job I did, and found myself out of the realm of education, I
hurt. I did not run from God but rather
ran towards Him. I asked a lot of
questions, I cried a lot, and I found comfort in His Words. That is when I began to write what I learned
and started sharing it in this blog.
Since that time others have had the chance to read of the Glory of our
Father and I hope many have been blessed with His words and are drawing closer
to Him as well. It did not mean that I
was happy and content in my situation but it meant that I was willing to go
through that in order for the Father to be glorified. I still miss my kids, I still miss the special
school that helped many parents and students out who were in situations that
made it difficult for them to be at school.
I regret that they are not being helped but I know without a doubt that
God is in control. Reading this story
today made it even more apparent to me and I praise Him for giving me these
words as a source of encouragement today.
If you read on, you will find
that this man was questioned by many. They asked who had healed him and he told them
His name was Jesus. They became angry
because Jesus healed Him on the Sabbath and they said that even God rested on
the Sabbath. I am so glad He does not rest on the Sabbath because I need Him every day, even the Sabbath day. The only time that I remember reading that
God rested on the Sabbath was after He created this world, a perfect world at
that time. Sin had not yet entered this
earth and He had a moment to rest.
This man’s parents would not even
stick up for him because they were too afraid of the leaders. They knew they would be thrown out of the synagogue,
public ridicule, if they claimed the power of God through Jesus. So, they told the people that they would have to
ask their son who healed him, after all, he was of age. Wow, parents who should have been overjoyed
that their son was now able to see would not give praise to the Father because
they were afraid of public ridicule.
I found it interesting that the
man called Jesus a prophet. He didn’t
recognize Him as the son of God but he knew He was a great man. Because he declared that Jesus was a man of God,
the leaders threw him out of the synagogue, the very thing his parents we
afraid would happen to them.
Now the comforting part of this
story and the entire reason for his blindness comes to light. Jesus found out about this man’s suffering and came to the man. He asked the man if he believed in the Son of
Man but the man did not know who that was.
When Jesus told him it was He, the man responded that he believed and
worshiped Him. The purpose of his blindness led him to the Lord.
I always say, there is a purpose
for everything. Sometimes we see healing
such as in this case, and other times we see that without the healing we are
closer to our Lord than with the healing.
Sometimes our struggles, our despair, and our strong faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ will draw people to Him rather than away from Him. We never know how our suffering may impact others. This man most likely was an outcast because
of his blindness and then when he could see, he was an outcast because he recognized
the great power of the One who healed him.
But, we know that he is not an outcast in the eyes of God and we, along
with this man can fall down at the feet of Jesus and worship Him.
As you seek Him, remember that He
is the purpose for our life, He is the One who created us, He is the One who
heals, and He is the One who will be there in whatever situation that comes our
way. We need not worry about what others
think of our situation but rather run to Him who will give us strength through
our suffering. He is the One True
God. We need to always keep in check
with Him, He is the Only One who is truly in control.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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