What are you scared of? I'm not talking about the normal laundry list of little things; I'm asking about the things that greatly unnerve you. What makes your heart race and your stomach turn over? This may sound weird, but the open sea scares me more than just a little. I'm not talking about being on a boat and sipping lemonade on the deck. I'm talking about IN the open water. There's no bottom in sight, much less touch. Your vision underwater is measured in feet instead of miles. You're at the mercy of whatever comes along...and you can't even see it coming. We went to a 3D movie a few weeks back and the camera zoomed in on a ship out in the ocean. Because of the angle and the 3D effect, it felt like you were swimming in the ocean toward the ship. I didn't like it. At all. Not one bit. What's funny is, I would love to get in a shark cage and watch a Great White shark go nuts except for the vast nothingness. I don't think I could handle it streaking out of the darkness going 40 miles an hour. Give me a half of a mile to watch it come and I think I would be all right…as all right as you could be with a cage keeping a shark away.
To be honest, it's really the unexpected surprise that terrifies me. I'm pretty sure that most of this is because of my severe near sightedness. I always joke that if they change the "E" at the top of the chart, I'd never know. Not being able to see can be a scary thing. For me, it's about power. Some of you ladies just rolled your eyes, but it's true. Not that I have to be more powerful than anyone else, I don't want anyone to have power over me! I want to be in control, and to lose my vision is to lose some of that control. Just like the murky water, I want to be able to see what is around me. I know these two topics seem completely unrelated, but it will all come together. We're still looking at the "I Am's" of Jesus but first I want to look at the story of a blind man. (pun intended)
In John chapter 9 there is a story of Jesus healing a blind man. In my last post, we looked at Jesus' statement that He was the Light of the World and we saw the Pharisees' disbelief. At the end of chapter 8, they are so mad at what Jesus was saying that they have picked up rocks and are about to stone Jesus. He miraculously escapes with His disciples and happens upon a man that has been blind from birth. Let's read in John 9:1-7.
9:1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 7 "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
This next paragraph is going to be slightly off track, but it is something that needs to be addressed so there is no misunderstanding. I know that for many people verse 3 poses some problems. If you take this at face value, it looks like God did this to the man to show off His power. This man has lived his entire life blind which, in that day and age, was close to a death sentence. It would be very easy to read this and see God as a careless being, who hurt a man for years just so He could make a point. To us that seems hatefully mean and infinitely unfair...and it is, if that's how you read it. Take a moment and set all that aside. My view point on this matter doesn't come from careful study of the Greek language, or hours pouring over in-depth commentaries. It comes from life; my life. I'm not the son born blind, I'm his father. My son was born with a genetic problem that has caused him problems for most of his 9 years which has culminated in a 6 month bout with pneumonia and a four month bone marrow transplant. This is how verse 3 reads to me, "Nobody sinned. These things just happen. But because this man is willing to trust me, the work of God might be displayed in his life." Bad stuff happens, how we deal with it either glorifies God or it doesn't. If the man had had no faith, had refused to talk to Jesus, turned and ignored Him, then God's work would not have been displayed in his life...he would have stayed blind. How do I handle two of my children having genetic problems, living apart from my son and wife for 6 months, taking care of three preschoolers alone, running a music program, running a youth program, and being the administrator for a preschool? It’s because of God's work in my life...period. There is nothing in me that is able to do this. God's work in my life allows me to do it and thrive! The story of my life has become a display of the work of God because I choose daily to trust Him. My wife's life has become a display of the work of God because she chooses daily to trust Him. My son's life has become a display for the work of God because he has seen that his mother and I trust God and he has learned that He is trustworthy because of our witness. My son trusts in God as much as any child can and God is working in his life. Let's continue reading. Pay close attention to the Pharisees rational as the story unfolds.
This next paragraph is going to be slightly off track, but it is something that needs to be addressed so there is no misunderstanding. I know that for many people verse 3 poses some problems. If you take this at face value, it looks like God did this to the man to show off His power. This man has lived his entire life blind which, in that day and age, was close to a death sentence. It would be very easy to read this and see God as a careless being, who hurt a man for years just so He could make a point. To us that seems hatefully mean and infinitely unfair...and it is, if that's how you read it. Take a moment and set all that aside. My view point on this matter doesn't come from careful study of the Greek language, or hours pouring over in-depth commentaries. It comes from life; my life. I'm not the son born blind, I'm his father. My son was born with a genetic problem that has caused him problems for most of his 9 years which has culminated in a 6 month bout with pneumonia and a four month bone marrow transplant. This is how verse 3 reads to me, "Nobody sinned. These things just happen. But because this man is willing to trust me, the work of God might be displayed in his life." Bad stuff happens, how we deal with it either glorifies God or it doesn't. If the man had had no faith, had refused to talk to Jesus, turned and ignored Him, then God's work would not have been displayed in his life...he would have stayed blind. How do I handle two of my children having genetic problems, living apart from my son and wife for 6 months, taking care of three preschoolers alone, running a music program, running a youth program, and being the administrator for a preschool? It’s because of God's work in my life...period. There is nothing in me that is able to do this. God's work in my life allows me to do it and thrive! The story of my life has become a display of the work of God because I choose daily to trust Him. My wife's life has become a display of the work of God because she chooses daily to trust Him. My son's life has become a display for the work of God because he has seen that his mother and I trust God and he has learned that He is trustworthy because of our witness. My son trusts in God as much as any child can and God is working in his life. Let's continue reading. Pay close attention to the Pharisees rational as the story unfolds.
John 9:8-34
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, "No, he only looks like him."
But he himself insisted, "I am the man."
10 "How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded.
11 He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."
12 "Where is this man?" they asked him.
"I don't know," he said.
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 do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided.
17 Finally 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 The Jews 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 Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ 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," 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 man 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.
I love verses 27 and 30. This "blind" beggar twists the tails of the "smartest" men in Jerusalem. There is a wealth of stuff here to talk about, but what I want to focus on today is the response of the Pharisees which have been underlined. First we come to verse 16. As we read in previous blogs, the Pharisees dedicated themselves to following the Law of God. They took it upon themselves to interpret God's Laws into specifics so that the common man could know beyond a shadow of a doubt if they were obeying the rules or not. Here's what God has said concerning the Sabbath.
Exodus 20:8-11
8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Exodus 31:14-17
14 "'Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. 15 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. 16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.'"
Take a moment and follow the link below to see the extensive rules that the Orthodox Jews still follow today concerning the Sabbath. Seriously, click on the link and just read through some of them. One of the ones I find most interesting is the fourth item, Finishing, and what it means regarding toilet paper.
I am not trying to disparage any religious belief. What I want to show is how man tries to add to the laws of God. Adding to God's laws is dangerous business for this reason - the law of God is perfect. Look at James' admonishment concerning this.
James 4:11-12
Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you — who are you to judge your neighbor?
By adding to to the Law, we are saying that God left something out. When we add to it we set ourselves up as a judge and take that right away from God. God has written down judgment on many things through His written word. If God has already judged something to be wrong, then it is not wrong for us to tell someone that what they did was wrong. But if we add one thing to it, we are looking to our own intellect instead of trusting in God. Here's an example; God spells out who it is OK to marry in Leviticus 18. In the list are Parents, Siblings, etc. Nowhere in the list do we find first cousins mentioned. In the United States only 20 states freely allow first cousins to marry. The main reason is the risk of genetic problems of possible children. This is a law that is from man which the Bible says multiple times that we should obey. That's fine. But if any of us were to say that it is a sin to marry your first cousin, then we would be adding to the Law and essentially using God's name for own purpose.
Once we start down the path of issuing judgments, it gets slippery...fast. You've heard the old saying, "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." This is what has happened to the Pharisees. For so long they have "interpreted" the Law for the common man that, as an institution, they have become addicted to the power and prestige. Jesus speaks against this himself.
Luke 11:46
46 Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
They have power. They are the respected in the community. They are the cream of the crop and they cannot let it go. Look at their responses throughout John 9. In verse 22 they have issued a decree that automatically excommunicates someone if they claim Jesus is the Messiah. In verse 24 they instantly say that Jesus is a sinner before hearing the testimony of the blind man. Now look at verses 28 and 34. When the blind man asks a simple question about their motives, they scream and holler insults at him. The mere suggestion that Jesus is the Messiah seems to drive them crazy. Why? Because if He is the Messiah then they must follow Him. If they were to follow Him, Jesus' teachings make it clear that they would have to give up their way of life. It looks like they don't want to do that. Let's finish up John 9.
John 9:35-41
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
36 "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."
37 Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."
38 Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"
41 Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
It's an ironic picture; the "church" throws a man out in the street...where He meets Jesus. And this irony is what Jesus is referring to. The men who have spent their lives studying and following the Law of God do not recognize God in the flesh. The man who has been a blind beggar all his life recognizes Jesus as the Messiah. The people who are ignorant of God's Law are judged less harshly. They are wrong, but it is a sin of "blindness". The Pharisees are not blind to God's laws. They study them day in and day out but instead of helping the common people, they lord over them. Instead of trying to give knowledge, they hold it back therefore making themselves better. Instead of recognizing the Messiah they have read about, they proclaim Him a sinner. This sets up Jesus' next "I Am". Let's read John 10:1-9
10:1 "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
When you or I think about a sheep pen, we probably imagine a white wooden fence or maybe one made of wire. This arrangement is great in our modern day where our main concern is to keep the sheep out of the road. In Jesus' time, the sheep pen was more than just a fence to keep the animals together. The farmhouse wasn't close by. Shepherds were outside of town in the wilderness with their flocks. There were any number of wild animals and bandits looking for food, so the sheep needed more protection than a little fence. From the little bit if studying that I've done, it looks like most sheep pens would have been caves with the opening partially blocked or a gully with steep sides that was blocked off. The sheep would be lead in at sunset and a man stationed in the doorway to keep everything else out. So let's break all this down into smaller pieces:
The sheep - followers of God
The pen - ultimately heaven, but also the security that a believer has in Christ while still on earth.
The gate and the shepherd - Jesus
The watchman - Holy Spirit
The owner (unmentioned) - God
The thief/robber - Anyone that teaches anything other than Christ as the "gate"
When you replace the pieces this way, you can see clearly what Jesus is saying. If you want to have the security of being one of God's followers, there is only way into His pen and that's Jesus. The watchman knows who the owner has provided as the shepherd and lets Him in. The watchman is not going to let anyone else in unless they are about the business of the owner. Those people who would teach anything other than Jesus as the way to God do not come from God. They are trying to use the followers of God for their own ends. The true followers of God will not be swayed, because they know the voice of their shepherd. They have studied His word. They have spent their life in fellowship with Him and know Him intimately. They cannot be tricked into following another voice.
To you or I, this illustration may be obscure, but the people of the day certainly made the leap because they grew up around shepherds. When Jesus said, "I am the gate," I'm sure they easily worked out the rest of the story. Look back at verse 6. John writes,
6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.
Did Jesus really expect anyone to understand what He was saying without a little help? Yes! Look at what God spoke 700 years earlier through the prophet Micah.
Micah 2:12-13
12 "I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob;
I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in its pasture;
the place will throng with people.
13 One who breaks open the way will go up before them;
they will break through the gate and go out.
Their king will pass through before them,
the LORD at their head."
I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen,
like a flock in its pasture;
the place will throng with people.
13 One who breaks open the way will go up before them;
they will break through the gate and go out.
Their king will pass through before them,
the LORD at their head."
The Pharisees, who made it their life's work to study the Law and scriptures, knew that God calls His people sheep. They knew what the pen represented. They knew that God was going to send the Messiah to lead them. Jesus has been performing miracles. He has been teaching like one of the prophets from the scriptures that they read daily. They should not have needed any help recognizing Jesus for who He was. So why didn't they recognize Him? They were blind. To be honest, the first person who gave instruction as to how to keep the Law probably had good intentions. He was most likely a devout man who sincerely wanted to help others. But after thousands of years, the Pharisees ended up worshiping the rules instead of the Rule Maker. Paul tells us in Romans 3:20 the truth concerning the law.
Romans 3:20
20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
So what do we take from this? What do we apply to our life? God has provided a way for us to come to Him and that is Jesus. If someone preaches anything other than Jesus, then they are not from God. I was walking around a large bookstore yesterday and wandered through the "Christianity" section. It was depressing to see all the books that added something, even just a little, to Jesus being the gate to Heaven. "You must believe in Jesus and..." There is no "and". You don't have to be a member of a certain church, a specific nationality, or do extra things. You want to follow God? Believe in Jesus. Follow Jesus. Love Jesus. And if you find yourself under a preacher or teacher that says anything else...ignore the sound of their voice. There are many self-proclaimed preachers of God's Word that are as blind as the Pharisees were. Guard yourself by knowing His voice. That doesn't come from listening to a 30 minute sermon once a week or even reading this outstanding blog! You know His voice because as His sheep you follow Him daily.
All Scripture taken from the New International Version
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