June 24th, 2014
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Stick to what You Know

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Opening Prayer

Holy God, I want to both learn more of Your Word and grow in obeying it better, also.

Read JOHN 9:13-34

[13] They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. [14] Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. [15] Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” [16] Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. [17] Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.” [18] They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. [19] “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” [20] “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. [21] But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” [22] His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. [23] That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” [24] A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” [25] He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” [26] Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” [27] He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” [28] Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! [29] We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” [30] The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. [31] We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. [32] Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. [33] If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” [34] To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright &copy 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.&reg Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Meditate

Look back on your journey in faith and give thanks to God for bringing you to this point in your journey.

Think Further

This section of the story can be divided into three scenes. First, the Pharisees interrogate the man (13-18) and we discover that the chief concern of the Pharisees is the breaking of the Sabbath and therefore “this man” cannot be from God. So the man is asked again about who healed him and at this point “prophet” is the highest category he can suggest (17). Unsatisfied with this answer, the Pharisees go on to interrogate his parents who are willing to acknowledge the fact of their son’s blindness but not the who and how of his healing (19-23). The final interrogation takes the Pharisees back to the man (24,33), demanding that he “Give glory to God” (24; cf. Josh. 7:19), the force of which is that the man should confess to lying about his blindness and admit that Jesus is a sinner. The man, however, cannot deny the miracle but it becomes clear that no amount of evidence is going to change their minds (28,29). This astounds the man. The enormity of what has happened to him can only mean that Jesus is a “man from God” (cf. 30-33). The Pharisees are outraged and throw him out of the synagogue (34; cf. 22). 

From the initial identification of “the man” (11), to “a prophet,” to “a man from God,” the man is progressing in his understanding of Jesus’ identity. The Pharisees’ tragedy is that they were becoming more and more blinded to what God was doing and by whom they were confronted. The blind man could only stick to what he knew, despite the cost. We, too, are called to stick to what we know God has done in Jesus. It may be costly, but to deny what we know is, in the final analysis, the costlier route. Just look at the Pharisees.

Apply

Has your faith in Jesus led to your exclusion from any group? How has this hurt or helped you?

Closing prayer

Dear Lord, I have made my claim to follow You. May I always live in the truth, whatever the cost may be.

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