DAY #159: John 8:46-9:7

Jesus did not respond to the charge of being “a Samaritan devil”; he did refute the charge of being demon-possessed. Jesus told the leaders that they were dishonoring him by such a charge because Jesus always sought to honor and glorify his Father. Jesus was not seeking any glory for himself. The Father would seek glory for his Son and judge those who dishonor him.

For Jesus to claim that he could prevent death was for him a claim to be greater than the prophets—indeed, it meant he was claiming to be divine. These Jews were convinced that only a madman (someone who was possessed by a demon) would make such a claim.

The crux of the matter was that the Jews did not know the Father from whom Jesus came, even though they claimed to know him. The one who really knew the Father and kept his word knew that these Jews were lying.

Jesus had not claimed to be a contemporary with Abraham or that he had seen Abraham; instead, Jesus astounded them with his answer: “The truth is, I existed before Abraham was even born!” Abraham, as with all human beings, had come into existence at one point in time. But Jesus never had a beginning—he was eternal and therefore God. He was undeniably proclaiming his divinity. No other religious figure in all of history has made such claims. Either Jesus was God or he was a madman. His claim to deity demands a response. It cannot be ignored.

This was too much for the Jews; these words so incensed them that they picked up stones to kill him for blasphemy in accordance with the law (Leviticus 24:16). The leaders well understood what Jesus was claiming; and because they didn’t believe him, they charged him with blasphemy. In reality, they were really the blasphemers, cursing and attacking the God whom they claimed to serve!

The healing of the blind man affirmed Jesus’ identity as the Messiah, for the Old Testament predicted that the Messiah would come to heal the blind. For ages, saliva was thought to have medicinal power. But the Jews were suspicious of anyone who used saliva in healing because it was associated with magical arts.

Jesus used the mud to help develop the man’s faith (he had to do as Jesus said, which was to go and wash in a certain pool). Jesus then mixed mud with his hands in order to put it on the man’s eyes. This constituted “work” on a Sabbath day and would upset the Pharisees. Jesus had much to teach them about God and his Sabbath.

The pool of Siloam had been built by King Hezekiah. His workers had built an underground tunnel from the Spring of Gihon in the Kidron Valley outside of Jerusalem. This tunnel channeled the water into the pool of Siloam inside the city walls. The man went and washed, and came back seeing! He did as he was told, and his faith healed him.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

The Pharisees began all those years ago what so many cults (Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, Christian Sciencetoligists, Humanists, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, etc..) continue today - they all lower the deity of Jesus. For their own selfish reasons, they could not and would not bring themselves to believe and see that Jesus was divine. For if Jesus is God, then what He claimed was true, and if what He taught and preached and claimed was true, then the Pharisees were toast.



So, rather than respond to the truth they heard in a righteous manner, they sought to eliminate the truth. Rather than walk toward the light, they sought to extinguish the Light. Oh Lord, make known the truth about Jesus to the San Ramon Valley. Break through the self-centeredness and heard-heartedness. Raise up followers of Yours who will be the hands of Christ and the feet of Christ and the example of Christ.

"Learn the truth and never reject it. Get wisdom, self-control, and understanding." Proverbs 23:23 (NCV)