John 9: 24 - 41

 John 9: 24 - 41 

“I was blind now I see”. In the conflict between the man born blind and the Jews all the power credentials, authority, control, etc was on one side of the argument.  But the man born blind had experienced Christ. It has been said he who has an experience does not need an argument. Lifelong blindness had been changed to vision for the man born blind, nothing else needed to be argued. His experience with Christ provided him great courage. And it enabled him to stand up to the powers that were. His arguments though he was not educated were irrefutable. He was so forceful that the opposition was reduced to slander and putting him out. He may have been expelled from the synagogue or simply removed from their presents neither of which mattered to this man whatsoever.

 But we must never forget that the point of the experience is not the experience. A lesson that we desperately need to remember today.  The point of the experience is found in verse 38, “And he said Lord I believe. And he worshiped him”. That is what the experience is supposed to lead us to. Faith in Jesus Christ and worshiping Him. The word for worship here is a compound word. The first part is toward and the second part is kiss. It literally means to kiss the ground. This man put his face in the dirt before Jesus as an act of humility and acceptance of Jesus's lordship over him. Every experience needs to lead us to this point and to this place.

“Lord, keep me from seeking experience for the sake of experience, but rather as one more way to know You. AMEN.”

John 9:13-23

 John 9:13-23

“…and there was a division among them” vs 16. When it comes to Jesus He is the most controversial person in all of history. Everyone comes down on one side or the other. There is no middle ground, there is no spiritual Switzerland, there is no neutrality. Is Jesus of God or not? That is a dividing question. If He is of God then His claims about Himself are true, claims of divinity and authority. But if He is not speaking the truth in these claims then He is not of God.

The Pharisees claim Jesus broke the Sabbath. He did violate their expectations of Sabbath keeping but not the commandments of God. Jesus kneaded clay on the Sabbath, Jesus put salve on a someone's eyes on the Sabbath, and He healed a non-life-threatening illnesses on the Sabbath. All of which were man-made rules about Sabbath keeping but were not God's law.

A long list of behavioral rules may make us seem religious, pious and righteous but they neither change our inner condition nor put us in right standing with God. As disciples we must live to the highest moral and ethical standards. Not because we think that keeping rule upon rule will make us right before God.  But because holiness is part of our new life in Christ.  It is love for Christ and nor egotistical rule keeping that makes us want to do right.

“Lord, help me to love what is holy and righteous. AMEN”