Skip to main content

John 9-10

 Today we were introduced to a man who had been in double darkness ever since his birth.  He couldn’t see with his physical eyes and he had no spiritual sight either.  After Jesus came to him he had double light.  He had gone from double darkness to double light.  What marvelous grace God provides for us lost sinners!

An interesting question emerged in the first 2 verses of John 9.  At first glance it looks like a ridiculous question by Jesus’ disciples.  Think back to some ridiculous questions you’ve heard before.

1.      Where did you leave it?

2.      Why did you walk the weakest hitter on the team?

3.      Can God make a rock so big He can’t lift it?

4.      Where did they keep mosquitos on the ark?

5.      When is later, Dad?

Here, before us is another seemingly ridiculous question: “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

The disciples wanted to identify the cause of the blind man’s infirmity as sin.  They wanted to find out whom they could blame.  They were convinced that illness was the specific result of a particular sin.  They saw a direct cause and effect situation. If the effect was blindness, the cause must be sin.  

They were not the only one who thought that way.  V. 34 shows the Pharisees also saw the same connection.  So did Job’s three “friends.”

What could have prompted such a ridiculous question?

Jewish people did not believe in reincarnation, so that wasn’t it.

The Jewish people did believe that children were often punished because of specific sins of their parents.

But how could a baby born blind have sinned and caused his own blindness?  Many of the Jews believed that even a child in the womb could sin.  Jacob grabbed Esau’s heel.  The argument was that self-will could be shown by an unborn child.

Were the disciples, Pharisees and Jews correct?  Is all sickness the direct result of sin?  Many people believe that even today.  They have a sickness or a problem and begin to add to their sickness or problem a huge weight of guilt.  They conclude they must be in the middle of God’s wrath – they are being punished for some colossal failure or sin, but for the life of them, they can’t figure out what it is.

Please rest assured that although some sickness or trouble is a direct result of sin, there are other causes of infirmities.  There are many causes, but one in particular is given for us in this story. The reason the man was born blind had nothing to do with his own sin or the sin of his parents.  Jesus told us that. Look at v. 3.  The reason for his blindness was that the works of God might be displayed in him.  This is very similar to what we read in John 11:4 with regard to Lazarus: “But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘this illness does not lead to death.  It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God many be glorified through it.’”

Maybe that is the same reason you are going through troubled waters right now.  You are the means through which God will be glorified.  Don’t let hard times lead you to guilt.  Let them cause you to rejoice for being used to show God’s glory.
~Paul Thompson




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Colossians 1-2

Colossians 2 speaks of being rooted in Christ. How is that possible to be rooted in Christ? It is possible through growing in your relationship with Him, that comes with time. How long does it take for a tree’s roots to grow deep? It takes a while, it does not happen overnight. We grow in that relationship through the study of the Word, fellowship with believers, prayer and other spiritual disciplines. We grow in that relationship as we go through this life and turn to Him again and again. Reading through this chapter reminded me of this older song by Phillips, Craig and Dean. Chapter 2 speaks of being alive in Christ. We are alive in Christ! https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=_0_1jazh454 Actually, this week's Bible study touches on some of these same themes. Here is the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=_81kE14c6zI&feature=youtu.be

Revelation 12-13

As I read through Revelation, I am reminded who wins! Who wins! Jesus wins! God wins! So many things in life are so difficult and take our perspective away from that, yet we must live looking forward knowing that God wins! I don't know all of what you are going through in your life, but let me remind you that you God wins. It is in the name of Jesus that we continue and press on.  This song is a powerful and wonderful reminder of pressing on in the name of Jesus. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=XuLqNvCplYs    Pastor Tony

2 Thessalonians 1-3

There are a lot of significant thoughts about the return of the Lord Jesus in 2 Thessalonians, but there is something else of great importance that we can be doing right now. We can be praying for missionaries.    We talk a lot about the need for praying for missionaries.  We also need to talk a lot about how we should be praying for them.  Here is an acronym, taken from Scripture, that may be of some help. The acronym spells PEWBOARD.  It reminds us that although it may seem insignificant to us that all we are doing is sitting on a pew, we can be a vital part of missionary work.  We can pray.   There are a lot of missionary agencies, boards, and sending societies, on which we will never serve, but just because we are on the “pewboard” doesn’t mean we are ineffective in supporting those on the front lines.   All throughout the epistles we read of personal prayer requests from that great missionary – the Apostle Paul.  His specific prayer concerns can be a pattern to help us to