Jesus – Page 23 – Three Minute Bible

February 5, 2019February 3, 2019

Understanding … Not – John 10: 6

Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
”Very truly I tell you Pharisees…” but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

Understanding requires a willingness to see something that you have not seen before. Sometimes being able to “see” something you have not seen before requires letting go of your present point of view – at least for a moment or two.

The Pharisees held firmly to the point of view that they were God’s chosen people and that they, in particular, were chosen to keep control of the rules that others had to live by. Jesus did not follow their rules (man’s rules) and instead followed rules that they did not recognize (God’s rules).

For the Pharisees to understand what Jesus was telling them, they would have to at least pretend for a moment that Jesus could be who he says he is. If they could have done that, they might have been able to understand what he was saying to them.

February 3, 2019February 2, 2019

Voiceprint – John 10: 2-4

The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

This little story is a parable. Jesus is offering his listeners insight into the truth about who he is. In the story, we see the relationship between the shepherd and his sheep illustrated by the familiarity of the shepherd’s voice. Like a fingerprint, each person’s voice is unique. The sheep, whether they can see him across the sheepfold or not, recognize the voice of their shepherd.

February 1, 2019January 30, 2019

Deep Thoughts – John 9: 39-41

Jesus said, ‘’For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, ‘’What? Are we blind too?”
Jesus said, ‘’If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

The prophet Isaiah quotes God as saying:

”As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)

This verse comes to mind as I ponder the meaning of Jesus’ words. It seems to me he is speaking metaphorically about blindness and sight, but he has also just healed a blind man and so he illustrates his point literally.

January 31, 2019January 31, 2019

Worshipful – John 9: 35-38

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, ”Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
”Who is he, sir?” the man asked. ”Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
Jesus said, ”You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
Then the man said, ”Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

The man born blind had never seen Jesus. He had heard his voice, but that was before Jesus knelt down to put mud on his eyes. He heard his command to go and wash, but he had no idea what to expect. He was just doing what he was told.

January 30, 2019January 29, 2019

Cheeky

To this they replied,”You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

You know that you have won the argument when your opponent gets so spittin’ mad that they resort to calling you names and throwing you out. It is instructive to read between the lines here and see how the man who was formerly blind responds.

January 29, 2019January 29, 2019

Logic – John 9: 29-33

“We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” The man answered,’’Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing’’

Do you remember who is speaking here? This was a poor blind man begging beside the road when Jesus found him. When asked why he was born blind, Jesus replied, “… so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

January 28, 2019January 27, 2019

Whose Disciple Are You? – John 9: 28

Then they hurled insults at him and said, ”You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! ”

The Pharisees claimed to be disciples of Moses. This is interesting because the function of a disciple is to be like their teacher. According to the Old Testament (Numbers 12: 3), Moses was humble. In fact, the Bible says he was the most humble person on the planet. In addition, as I read the books of Moses in the Old Testament, what seems to leap off of the page is that Moses did whatever God instructed him to do. He only improvised one time, that that one mistake kept him from entering the Promised Land. Even so, Moses trusted God and was faithful to follow his instructions.

January 27, 2019January 26, 2019

Guts

I wonder what I would think of a blind man sitting to the side of the road begging? For me, begging always seems to conjure up images of someone unwilling to work. Of course, if a person is blind, that makes it hard to do any kind of productive work. That doesn’t mean, however, that a blind person does not have brains or would not do work if they were able to.

Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

John 9: 26-27

January 26, 2019January 26, 2019

Facts

A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

John 9: 24-25

Have you ever noticed how some people will try and change the subject when they are losing an argument? In this story, the Pharisees are on the losing side of the argument, and whether they admit it or not, they seem to know it. When they demand to know the “truth” they are really saying that they think the truth is a lie. When they claim that Jesus is a sinner, they are making a claim to something that they really do not understand.

January 25, 2019January 23, 2019

CAUTION!

So far in this story, Jesus happened by a man blind from birth. When asked why the man had been born blind Jesus replied, “…so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Then, he healed the man. Immediately people started arguing about whether or not it was the same man. After all, it is not natural for a person who has been blind to gain their sight. The argument is continued in front of the Pharisees who, not believing the man either, demand to hear it from his parents.

“Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
“We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

John 9: 19-23

I give the parents full marks for caution. They literally did not “know” what had happened to their son. They answered as if they were in a court of law. (This was before Perry Mason was on TV, too!) They were wise to do this as in fact, they were in a kind of court.