Last
week, we studied the discourse between Jesus and the Pharisees regarding
Abraham. These Pharisees didn’t realize that they were sinners in need of God’s
grace and truth in Christ Jesus. Jesus tells them that if they are Abraham’s
descendants, they would do as Abraham did. Abraham was a chosen, committed,
faithful, courageous, obedient follower of God.
Abraham was not perfect as we are not perfect. Abraham sinned at times by
not doing as God had instructed him, but he was more faithful than not! Jesus’
is called Faithful and True in Revelation. He is Faithful even when we are
unfaithful. Praise God!
Jesus reveals
that He is the Light of the world, but these Pharisees rejected the spiritual Light
Jesus, so they remain in spiritual darkness. Without Jesus there is no
spiritual light. There is none so blind as he who will not see. Jesus will use
a “natural” circumstance to illustrate His spiritual truth. He will heal the
man who was born blind, and will use his blindness to bring glory to God.
Blind Man
As
Jesus was passing by, He saw a man blind
from birth. John 9:1 This blind man couldn’t see Jesus, but Jesus saw him! This
man was destitute and an outcast. He couldn’t work because of his blindness so
he had to beg. The Pharisees and others would look down upon this outcast. Little
did the Pharisees who want to murder Jesus know that they were more destitute
and blind than this poor man. Theirs was a spiritual blindness. Jesus will give
this man physical light (sight) as
well as spiritual light. He will not only have his physical sight restored, he
will see the glory, grace and truth of God in the face of Jesus.
At the time of
Jesus, the Jews believed that suffering was caused by sin. Jesus’ disciples
asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, the man
or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus responded, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,
but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” John
9:3 Jesus will use this man’s blindness to show the glory and grace of God.
The prophet Isaiah said that when Messiah comes, the “the blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf
hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
(see Isaiah 29:18; 35:4-6; Psalm 22:26; Isaiah 61:1) Jesus used the Older
Testament scriptures to prove that He is indeed who He says He is because He is
fulfilling the Older Testament scriptures in their “seeing” and in their “hearing.”
Jesus was speaking to His Jewish disciples and the Jewish Pharisees. They
should have recognized this because they were well-schooled in the Older Testament
scriptures. When we receive Jesus into our lives, the work of God can be
displayed in our life. According to our willingness, Jesus will transform us
progressively to be more and more like Him.
Jesus continues, “As
long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent Me. Night is coming,
when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.” Jesus
is telling His disciples that while the Light is in the world, they must do God’s
work. Darkness (night) is coming when
no one can work. Jesus is speaking of the darkness that will come when He is
crucified. (see Matthew 27:45) As
long as the Light of Jesus is in the hearts and lives of His followers, we are
to do God’s work. We are in a world full of darkness. As God was revealed in
Christ Jesus, Jesus is to be revealed in and through us.
Jesus Makes Clay out of
the Water of His mouth and dirt – John 8:6
Jesus
does an unusual thing. “He spit on the
ground, made some mud (clay) with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.” Spiritually, the water of His mouth represents
the Word of God anointed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is doing a creative work in
this blind man. In the beginning, God created Man/Adam out of water and dirt
making clay. God lovingly and carefully shaped and formed Adam into a
full-grown spiritual Man out of clay and breathed the breath of life – both physically
and spiritually – into him. Jesus is doing a creative work of God in this blind
man. He will heal His sight both physically and spiritually. He will physically
come out of darkness and he will gain spiritual sight because He will see Jesus
and receive Him as His Savior and Lord.
Another use of
clay in biblical times was sealing documents. An important document would be
sealed with 7 seals made of water and dirt. If someone tampered with the
document, the seal would be cracked or broken. In essence, Jesus could also
have been sealing this man as His own not to be tampered with. Mankind who is
made of clay mixed with the Anointed Word of God will receive spiritual sight. We
belong to Jesus and the devil is not to tamper with us.
Then Jesus
tells the blind man to “Go wash in the
pool of Siloam. (this word means sent).” So the man went and washed and came
home seeing.” John 9:7 In literal
blind faith, this desperate, blind man obeyed Jesus and went to the pool of
Siloam to be cleansed. He came home seeing. Siloam means “sent.” The Sent One
of God – Jesus – sent this man to wash in the pool of living water. The pool of
Siloam is fed by the Gihon springs. Hezekiah dug a tunnel from the Gihon
springs into the city of Jerusalem to provide water to the land. Josephus
describes the pool as “sweet and abundant.” It is the pool where the water
moved when the Angel touched it, and the first one into the water was healed.
This “living, moving water” will cleanse this blind man and he will be made
whole. Obedience to Jesus’ Anointed Word that cleanses restored this man’s
physical as well as his spiritual sight. This living water cleansed the blind
man as we are cleansed by the sweet, abundant water of the Word and Holy
Spirit.
(to
be continued next week)
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