John 9:13-17 - Lesson #96

The miraculous hand of God came to earth, made some clay, and healed the eyes of a man born blind. One would think this would be a reason for great rejoicing - healing had occurred, a life made new! But this was not the case for those within the walls of the established religion of the day. The healing had not followed the understood and accepted rules. It seems God had operated outside His man-made box!

John 9:13-17
"They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, 'He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.' Therefore some of the Pharisees said, 'This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.' Others said, 'How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?' And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, 'What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?' He said, 'He is a prophet.'"

The Pharisees determined that Jesus had violated the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a day established by God for rest and worship; "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8). But over the 1500 years since the Sabbath law had been given, the religious leaders created specific rules as to how the Sabbath was to be kept holy. For example, one of the rules stated that it was a violation of the Sabbath to knead dough to make bread - or to knead anything on the Sabbath. And since Jesus had kneaded the dirt and spit to make mud, He had clearly violated the Sabbath.

Jesus most often healed on the Sabbath. And when He healed, it's as if He said, "Be healed, and go violate the established Sabbath law." For example, "Rise, take up your bed and walk" (John 5:8). In Matthew's gospel Jesus defended the picking of grain to eat on the Sabbath and then went into the synagogue and healed a man with a withered hand. These were done to give correct interpretation; "it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:12), and "the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8). The established interpretation had been wrong - God was not confined to man's box!

Though Jesus revealed the character of God, died for the forgiveness of sin, sent the Holy Spirit to guide us in all truth, and ensured His Word would be recorded and preserved, much of what we understand and how we worship is based on man's tradition and interpretation. Not all tradition and interpretation is bad, and much is necessary, but we need to understand the potential for placing restrictions on God. Jesus operated outside the box and He was either dismissed or rationalized away.

God will never violate His revealed Word, but He may challenge our interpretation, challenge our box. Let's worship the God "who is and who was and who is to come" (Revelation 1:4). Let's lift high and honor Jesus Christ, trust His guidance and never worship our self-created religious box.