GIVE GOD TIME
Prayer and Praise
Jesus said, “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” Matthew 26:40, so we start our journey of giving God time to work in us, by praying along with this hymn sung by Susan Boyle, “Amazing Grace“, at this link …
A WORD IN YOUR EAR
John 9:13-34 ‘…Now I see’…
(Complete Jewish Bible).
13 They took the man who had been blind to the P’rushim (Pharisees).
re. v.13. The healed man was frog-marched to the Pharisees.
14 Now the day on which Yeshua (Jesus) had made the mud and opened his eyes was Shabbat (Sabbath).
re.v.14. Why? Just because Jesus healed him on the Sabbath Day.
15 So the P’rushim (Pharisees) asked him again how he had become able to see; and he told them, “He put mud on my eyes, then I washed, and now I can see.”
re. v.15. AGAIN the man was asked how he came to be healed – so he told them!
16 At this, some of the P’rushim (Pharisees) said, “This man is not from God, because he doesn’t keep Shabbat (Sabbath).”
But others said, “How could a man who is a sinner do miracles like these?” And there was a split among them.
re. v.16. The Pharisees started to be divided.
- Religious leaders could only think of ways of catching Jesus out. How? Well, they would make do with breaking their Sabbath rules, if that meant they could catch Him on!
- But others spoke up and said ‘How can a sinner do miraculous signs?
17 So once more they spoke to the blind man: “Since you’re the one whose eyes he opened, what do you say about him?”
He replied: “He is a prophet.”
re.v.17. So they turned to the healed man, saying ‘What do you have to say about Him? After all, it was you He healed!’ – So the man replied, ‘He is a prophet!’
18 The Judeans, (ie. Jewish leaders) however, were unwilling to believe that he had formerly been blind, but now could see, until they had summoned the man’s parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
re.v.18. The answer wasn’t what they wanted to hear so they denied that he was born blind and asked for his parents.
re.v.19. So they asked, ‘Is this your son, and was he born blind? If so, how come he can see?’
20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind; 21 but how it is that he can see now, we don’t know; nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him — he’s old enough, he can speak for himself!” 22 The parents said this because they were afraid of the Judeans, for the Judeans (Jerusalem’s Jewish leaders) had already agreed that anyone who acknowledged Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah would be banned from the synagogue. 23 This is why his parents said, “He’s old enough, ask him.”
re. v.20. ‘He is our son’, they said, ‘and he was born blind, (21.) but how come he got his sight we’ve no idea, but you can ask him as he is old enough to speak for himself’. (v.22-23.) In that way, they were able to avoid answering the question. They had heard the Jewish religious leaders were going to ‘ban’ anyone from going to the temple who said Jesus was the ‘Christ’ (or ‘Messiah’) – so they were afraid of the leaders.
24 So a second time they called the man who had been blind; and they said to him, “Swear to God that you will tell the truth! We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he’s a sinner or not I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, now I see.” 26 So they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
re. v.24. So they recalled the healed man and pressured him by quoting Joshua 7:19 as their way to put him under oath, to tell the truth. But in reality, it was to try to make the man only say what they wanted to hear. It was ‘leading the witness’. They said, ‘Give glory to God. We know this man is a sinner’. They were talking about Jesus. They wanted the man to go along with their verdict. They wanted the man to be a witness that Jesus broke the Sabbath Day regulations.
re. v.25. But instead, he said, ‘All I know is, I was once blind but now I see’.
re. v.26. By describing Jesus using mud, they could say that was ‘work’ on the Sabbath! Then they could get Jesus for being a Sabbath Day breaker! Then they could use that to call him a ‘sinner’, and therefore have him cast out of the temple at the very least, which would mean no one would dare listen to Him for fear of also being cast out.
27 “I already told you,” he answered, “and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Maybe you too want to become his talmidim? (disciples?)”
re. v.27. The healed man said; ‘I told you already but you won’t listen. Do you want to be His disciples too?
re. v.28. Then the religious leaders resorted to insults and added, ‘you’ve become this fellow’s disciple. We follow Moses!’ (Notice they had started calling Jesus ‘this fellow’ – so they were trying to minimize Jesus.)
28 Then they railed at him. “You may be his talmid, (disciple),” they said, “but we are talmidim (disciples) of Moshe! (Moses!) 29 We know that God has spoken to Moshe, but as for this fellow — we don’t know where he’s from!”
re. v.29. ‘We know God spoke to Moses – but who knows where this man came from?’
30 “What a strange thing,” the man answered, “that you don’t know where he’s from — considering that he opened my eyes! 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners; but if anyone fears God and does his will, God does listen to him. 32 In all history no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t do a thing!”
re. v.30-31. The healed man then found the courage to say, ‘Well that is unbelievable! He opened my eyes and yet you say you don’t know if God is with Him? We know God only listens to those who obey Him.
re. v.32-33. No one has heard of a man who was born blind – being healed. So it proves God is with Jesus.
34 “Why you mamzer! (sinner!)” they retorted, “Are you lecturing us?” And they threw him out.
re. v.34. Result? The healed man was thrown out of the temple, after telling him he was born in sin, effectively asking; “Who do you think you are?” After all, they were the religious leaders! How dare he try to teach them anything!
—-Summary
30-31. The healed man found the courage to say, ‘Well that is unbelievable! He opened my eyes and yet you say you don’t know if God is with Him? We know God only listens to those who obey Him.’
- Today’s Verse…
Who is Jesus? v. 25. But instead, he said, ‘All I know is, I was once blind but now I see’.
- Today’s Challenge
Are you a good enough listener to enable Jesus to be able to heal any spiritual blindness you may have?
Prayer and Worship
“… He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” Matthew 14:23.
Jesus taught His disciples what we call ‘The Lord’s Prayer’; (Luke 11).
Listen here to Albert Malotte’s ‘The Lord’s Prayer’.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name,
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever;- Amen.
Prayer suggestions;-
- The world. (ie ‘For those in authority.’)
- The ‘suffering church.’ https://barnabasfund.org/nz/pray/daily-prayer/#previous-dates
- Your own situation. (Suggest ‘needs’ rather than ‘wants’.)
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