The Word This Week
John 9:1…
Jesus takes a spiritual principle and brings it into the material realm. In this chapter we continue looking into the contrast between darkness and light – reminding ourselves Jesus has just proclaimed Himself the be, “the light of the world.”
The ‘darkness’ of the scribes and Pharisees had just been invited into the Light of Christ, but they had refused and taken up stones in an attempt extinguish the Light.
But of course they could not.
Exiting that contentious scene, Jesus passed by a man who had been born blind. His disciples asked Jesus a question prompted by their religious upbringing, which implied their understanding was physical maladies were directly associated with sin.
Although it is safe to say the fall of man and the sin nature of all mankind is indeed the root cause of all sin and depravity in the world, we cannot and never should look upon a physical malady in a stranger and presume it has been directly caused by the sin of the person afflicted.
In this case, they also include the possibility of the sin of the parents – since the man was born blind. Could their blind son be God’s punishment for his parent’s sin?
In answer, Jesus says it is nothing of the sort. He says something very startling: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the glory of God should be revealed in Him.”
More Light was needed to help them understand the glory of God. More revelation. Jesus would employ this humble blind man to provide that further understanding to His disciples and even to the ruling council had they been willing to see the Light, but they would not.
In the sixth of Jesus glorious miracles which the Gospel of John reports, we see Jesus spat of the ground to make mud and apply that mud to the blind man’s eyes. Given the irritation the mud would purposely cause, Jesus then commanded the man to go wash in the pool pf Siloam, just south of the Temple grounds. There was no explanation by Jesus for what He had done, and no expectation created by His actions.
But when the blind man simply complied with Jesus’ word, and went to the pool of Siloam and washed, he came back seeing. His darkness had been overcome by the Light of Christ, ever to remain. Again, the Light of Christ always drives out the darkness present in man – if only we do what He says.
Pastor Bill
Jesus takes a spiritual principle and brings it into the material realm. In this chapter we continue looking into the contrast between darkness and light – reminding ourselves Jesus has just proclaimed Himself the be, “the light of the world.”
The ‘darkness’ of the scribes and Pharisees had just been invited into the Light of Christ, but they had refused and taken up stones in an attempt extinguish the Light.
But of course they could not.
Exiting that contentious scene, Jesus passed by a man who had been born blind. His disciples asked Jesus a question prompted by their religious upbringing, which implied their understanding was physical maladies were directly associated with sin.
Although it is safe to say the fall of man and the sin nature of all mankind is indeed the root cause of all sin and depravity in the world, we cannot and never should look upon a physical malady in a stranger and presume it has been directly caused by the sin of the person afflicted.
In this case, they also include the possibility of the sin of the parents – since the man was born blind. Could their blind son be God’s punishment for his parent’s sin?
In answer, Jesus says it is nothing of the sort. He says something very startling: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the glory of God should be revealed in Him.”
More Light was needed to help them understand the glory of God. More revelation. Jesus would employ this humble blind man to provide that further understanding to His disciples and even to the ruling council had they been willing to see the Light, but they would not.
In the sixth of Jesus glorious miracles which the Gospel of John reports, we see Jesus spat of the ground to make mud and apply that mud to the blind man’s eyes. Given the irritation the mud would purposely cause, Jesus then commanded the man to go wash in the pool pf Siloam, just south of the Temple grounds. There was no explanation by Jesus for what He had done, and no expectation created by His actions.
But when the blind man simply complied with Jesus’ word, and went to the pool of Siloam and washed, he came back seeing. His darkness had been overcome by the Light of Christ, ever to remain. Again, the Light of Christ always drives out the darkness present in man – if only we do what He says.
Pastor Bill