Journey Through John预览

Scripture:

John 9:16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” 

Observation: 

Because of the Pharisees’ predetermined ideas about what was religious and what wasn’t, they missed out on recognizing their Messiah, for whom they had been waiting for centuries. They were so stuck on their human definitions of what it meant not to do any work on the Sabbath, that Jesus’ amazing, compassionate miracle of healing this dear blind man had no effect on their hearts. It is possible to create our own ideas, rules and system of what we think is Godly and what isn’t – and totally miss God in the process. 

Application:

This is still such a strong tendency for Christians. I need to constantly be on guard so that I discern what is really essential to God and separate that from what my religious culture has added on to God’s values. Most inter-Christian fighting comes from our add-ons or from areas God did not feel were necessary to make clear. If I focus on what Jesus identified as the core – to love God with all my heart and love other human beings as myself – I won’t miss it. Loving God is never wrong. Compassion for the suffering is never wrong. I want those values to be at the center of my life. 

Prayer: 

Lord, please don’t let me get caught up in going through the motions of keeping religious rules, while missing you and your heart in the process. Help me hold loosely to anything that we humans have filled in and added on to your truths. Help me stay focused on the core – loving you and loving others. Give me opportunities today to show compassion to the hurting. I love you Lord. Amen. 

Truths to notice:

9:3 We should not assume that physical ailments are put on us or on others as punishment for sin. 

9:3 God can use situations of physical suffering to display His ability to do good.

9:16 Humans often create religious rules and systems labeling who they feel is “in” and who is “out”. But these are often out of touch with God’s true values and standards. 

9:18, 30-34 If a person does not want to believe and has a hard heart toward Jesus, even the most amazing miracle won’t convince them. 

9:24, 28 Evil-hearted people can sometimes use very religious-sounding language. 

9:25 We don’t have to know all kinds of theology to be a witness for Christ. The most effective witness simply tells what they have experienced – which can’t be argued with. 

9:39-41 Jesus caused those who realized they were spiritually blind and needy to be able to see, while those who were overconfident that they could already spiritually “see” were exposed as actually being blind.