John 9:18-25 - Lesson #97

The Pharisees lived their life trying to honor God and obey His commands. The problem was that the system they created to honor God was full of interpretations which were wrong. They created hundreds of man made rules and then over time fell in love with their system rather than the One whom the system was designed to honor. The result was a failure to believe even when the evidence was clear.

John 9:18-25
"But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, 'Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?' His parents answered them and said, 'We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.' His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him.' So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, 'Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.' He answered and said, 'Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.'"

The Jews simply could not believe a man who did not fit into their religious system - and Jesus did not fit. Their system would not allow this type of healing on the Sabbath so they were determined to find another solution. They questioned the parents who confirmed their son was born blind and could now see, but they were too fearful to say how their son had been healed. The parents knew Jesus had healed their son - if they had not known they would not have been concerned about being put out of the synagogue - but they conformed to the system by shifting the responsibility of reporting the truth to their son.

With the parents confirming their son had been born blind and could now see, and the son stating that Jesus performed the healing, the only way to make this situation fit the religious system was for the son to change his story. The Jews had to accept the healing, but they commanded the one who was healed to remove any association to Jesus, the "sinner." The system would allow for an unexplainable act of God, but not for a man claiming to do the work of God who worked outside the system. Rather than enter into the religious debate, the man who received his sight simply stated what he knew to be true, "I was blind, now I see."

Today we have MANY religious systems called denominations. I have three challenges for those (including myself) who are part of one of these systems. First, do we understand why we believe what our system says we ought to believe? Second, do we feel pressure to conform to what we know is not true in order to remain within the system? And finally, do we have the kind of relationship with Jesus Christ which allows us to say: I may not have all the answers, but one thing I know...I was blind and now I see!