Chapter 9 Jesus heals a man who was blind from birth (9:1-12). As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind since birth. Rabbi, we asked him, was it the sins of his parents, or his own, that caused him to be born blind? Jesus said to us, His blindness has nothing to do with his sins or those of his parents. He was born blind so that you might see God at work in him. As long as it is day we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is at hand when no one can work. As long as I am here in the world, I am the light of the world. Having said this, he spat on the ground and made some mud with the saliva. Then he daubed it on the eyes of the blind man and said, Now go and wash your face in the pool of Siloam (the name means Sent). So the blind man went away and washed in Siloam. When he returned he could see. Mt. Hermon, north of Israel The blind mans neighbors and others who used to see him sitting and begging, wondered whether this could be the same man. Some said, Yes, hes the one. Others said, No, but he certainly looks like the beggar. But he kept telling them, Look, I am that man! But how is it possible that you are now able to see? they asked. The blind man answered, A man named Jesus made some mud, daubed it on my eyes, and said, Go to Siloam and wash your face. When I went there and washed, suddenly I was able to see. Where is that man? they asked. I dont know, he answered. Since Jesus has performed the healing on a Sabbath, the Pharisees conclude that Jesus cannot be, as he claims, from God. We see the power of a personal testimony and peoples refusal to believe the obvious when it doesnt agree with their beliefs (9:13-41). The day on which Jesus had made mud and cured the blind man was a Sabbath. So the people brought the man to the Pharisees, who asked him how he had been cured of his blindness. He answered, A man named Jesus put mud on my eyes. He told me to go and wash in Siloam, and when I did I was able to see. Some of the Pharisees said, This man Jesus cant be from God or he would not have broken the Sabbath laws. But others said, How could a man who is a sinner perform such a miracle? They turned to the blind man and asked, What do you say about him? After all, it was your eyes that he opened. I consider him a prophet, answered the man. Modern Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives But the Jewish authorities still did not believe that the man who could now see had once been blind. So they sent for his parents and asked, Is this your son? Are you sure that he was born blind, and if so, how is it that now he can see? Of course he is our son, his parents answered, and we know that he was born blind. But why he now can see or who it was that restored his sight, we do not know. Why dont you ask him? After all, he is of age and able to speak for himself. The mans parents answered in this way because they were afraid of the religious authorities. It had already been decided that anyone who believed Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. That is why his parents said, He is of age, ask him. So once again they called for the man who had been born blind. Own up and tell the truth, they said. This man Jesus is a sinner! The man replied, I dont know if he is a sinner or not. But one thing I do know: once I was blind, andnow I see. What did he do to you? they asked. How did he cure your blindness? The man said, I told you once and you paid no attention. Why do you want to hear it again? Could it be that you want to become his disciples? No! they responded in anger. You may be his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We know that God gave the law to Moses. But as for this Jesus, we dont even have the faintest idea where he came from. Floating in the Dead Sea This is truly amazing. said the man. I was blind and he restored my sight, yet you dont know where he came from. Everyone knows that God doesnt hear the prayers of sinners, but only the prayers of those who respect and obey him. Never in the history of the world have we heard of anyone able to heal the eyes of a person blind from birth. Jesus could have done nothing if he were not from God. The Pharisees, hot with anger, blurted out, You have been steeped in sin from birth. How dare you lecture us! So they drove him out. When Jesus heard what they had done, he found the man and asked, Do you believe in the Son of Man? Who is he, sir? the man replied. Let me know so I can believe in him. You have already met him, said Jesus. Whats more, he is the one talking with you right now. The man said, Lord, I believe, and bowed in reverence before Jesus. Then Jesus told him, By coming into the world I have brought judgment. As a result, those who are blind will see but those who see will become blind. When some of the Pharisees standing by heard this, they asked, Surely youre not implying that we are blind! Jesus answered, If you were blind you would not be guilty, but as it is, you claim to see, so your guilt continues. Chapter 11 Jesus learns that his good friend Lazarus has fallen ill but waits until he has died so that Gods glory can be displayed (11:1-16). A man by the name of Lazarus lay sick in the village of Bethany. His two sisters, Mary and Martha, lived with him there. (This was the same Mary who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume and wiped his feet with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was sick.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, Lord, your good friend is ill. When Jesus heard this, he said, This illness wont end in death. Its purpose is to bring glory to God, so that Gods Son may be glorified through it. Jesus loved Martha, her sister Mary, and Lazarus. So after hearing that Lazarus was ill, he stayed where he was for two more days. Then he said to us, his disciples, Lets go back to Judea. But Rabbi, we protested, just a short time ago those people were trying to stone you! Why would you go there now? Jesus said to us, There are twelve hours of daylight in every day. If you walk during the day, you have the light of the sun to keep you from stumbling. But if you walk at night you will stumble because the sun has gone down. Then he added, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, and I am going to Bethany to wake him up. Jesus words left us confused. But Lord, we said, if he has simply fallen asleep, he will get better. (We thought Jesus was talking about normal sleep, but he meant that Lazarus had in fact died.) So Jesus told us plainly, Lazarus is dead! And for your sake I am glad that I was not there with him. This way your faith will have a chance to grow. Come, lets go to him. Thomas (the disciple called the Twin), said to the rest of us, Lets go so we can die with him. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead to show that he alone is the source of resurrection and true life, and that those who believe in him will live forever (11:17-44). When Jesus arrived in Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, so many of Mary and Marthas friends had come from the city to comfort the two sisters over the loss of their brother. When Martha got word that Jesus had arrived, she hurried out to meet him. Mary, however, remained in the house. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if youd been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will do for you whatever you ask. Your brother Lazarus will live again, said Jesus to Martha. She answered, I know that he will be raised to life on the last day, when all the dead are raised. Ancient walls of Dan I am the resurrection and the life, declared Jesus. All who believe in me will live, even though they die. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? Yes, Lord, she replied. I am convinced that you are the Messiah, the Son of God. You are the one who was to come into the world. After saying this, Martha went back to Mary and quietly told her, The Teacher is here and wants to see you. When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went out to Jesus. He was outside the village, in the place where he had met and talked with Martha. The people from Jerusalem who had come to comfort Mary were still in the house. But when they saw her get up quickly and go out, they followed her, thinking she was going to the tomb to weep. Mary hurried out to where Jesus was. When she saw him, she fell at his feet and cried out, Lord, if youd been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw that Mary and her friends were weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and visibly distressed. Where have you laid him? he asked. Come and see, Lord they answered. Jesus burst into tears. So the Jewish people who had come to mourn said, See how much he loved him! Some of them said, This man cured the eyes of the blind man. Why couldnt he have done something to keep Lazarus from dying? Jesus continued to be deeply moved. He went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone across the entrance. Roll away the stone, he commanded. Ancient tomb with rolling stone But Martha, the sister of the dead man, objected, saying, Lord, by now the body will smell. It has been in the tomb for four days. Jesus said, Didnt I tell you that if youd believe you would see the glory of God? So they rolled away the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, Thank you, Father, for hearing my prayer. I know that you always answer my prayers, but I say this so all these people will believe that you sent me. When he had finished his prayer, he called out in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out of there! Right away the man who had died came out of the tomb, wrapped hand and foot with grave clothes, with a cloth around his face. Without knowing it, the high priest prophesies through the power of Gods Spirit that Jesus will die for the sake of the people (11:45-57). Many who had followed Mary from the house and had seen the miracle Jesus performed, believed in him. But others went to the Pharisees to report what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees called the Council into session. We havent accomplished much so far, have we? they said. This man is still performing miracles. If we let him get away with this, everyone will begin to believe in him. Then the Romans will get involved and that could affect our prestige, to say nothing of putting the whole nation in jeopardy. The high priest that year was a man by the name of Caiaphas. At this point he spoke up, saying, You gentlemen have failed to think this matter through. Dont you realize that it would be better to have one man die for the people than for the entire nation to be destroyed? Rural area in Israel Caiaphas didnt say this on his own, but as high priest that year he was prophesying that Jesus was about to die for the Jewish nation and not for that nation only, but also for the children of God scattered abroad, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on the Council started planning how to put Jesus to death. As a result, Jesus no longer went about openly in Jerusalem. Instead he went to the desert town of Ephraim where we stayed with him. It was almost time for the Jewish Festival of Passover. Many people from the rural areas throughout the country had gone up to Jerusalem to purify themselves in preparation for the Passover. They were on the lookout for Jesus. Standing around in the temple area, they said to one another, What do you think? You dont suppose hes decided against coming to the Festival, do you? The chief priests and Pharisees had issued an order that if anyone saw Jesus they should report it immediately to the religious authorities. That way Jesus could be taken into custody.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 22:15:55 +0000
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