Wednesday, May 7 – John 8 and 9

1. Who is the author and father of lies? (John 8:44)

2. How did Jesus reveal His existence beyond His earthly birth? (John 8:58)

3. What did the Pharisees accuse Jesus of in healing the blind man? (John 9:15–16)

John 8 and 9 recount events and teachings primarily set in Jerusalem, most occurring in the temple. In this section, John describes the controversies and traps the Pharisees and scribes attempted to set for Jesus.

The Pharisees were a conservative Jewish religious sect or party. The word Pharisee means “the separated ones.” They were strictly orthodox and deeply concerned with preserving the spiritual purity of their people; they rejected all attempts to introduce Hellenistic practices (the popular Greek culture of the time) among the Jews. Pharisees, Bibliatodo.com/en

It’s worth noting how the sinful nature and deceitful human heart can corrupt good intentions and noble purposes, such as the Pharisees’ founding vision. That original purpose can become a curse and a tool of the enemy, so much so that one ends up opposing God Himself. That is what happened when the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus.

“Those who are forward in accusing others, and zealous in bringing them to justice, are often in their own lives more guilty than they.” The Desire of Ages, p. 462

As Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God in the temple, the Pharisees and scribes brought before Him a woman they claimed had been caught in the very act of adultery. We know that they were more interested in trapping Jesus than in addressing the woman’s sin.

We can learn from Jesus’ wisdom. We should not allow ourselves to be manipulated by the enemy. We don’t always need to respond to his questions. When he sets traps before us, the right solution follows the path of redemption and grace.

The story of the healing of the man born blind in John 9 is both interesting and insightful. The disciples initially focus on the cause of the man’s suffering:

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2)

It is common to question the injustice inherent in human suffering. We can say that this is the injustice of sin, which Jesus came to correct. The disciples’ question was rooted in rabbinic teaching that linked suffering directly to guilt.

“Satan, the author of sin and all its results, had led men to look upon disease and death as proceeding from God, as punishment arbitrarily inflicted on account of sin. Hence one upon whom some great affliction or calamity had fallen had the additional burden of being regarded as a great sinner.” The Desire of Ages, p. 471

Another aspect of the issue is that, due to the injustice of sin, innocent children may suffer in various ways from the consequences of their parents’ sins and mistakes. However, they bear no guilt, nor is their suffering a punishment.

Let us consider Jesus’ response to the disciples’ question: “Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.’” (John 9:3)

This statement has often been misunderstood, as though it teaches that an innocent child was punished with blindness so that thirty-eight years later, God could reveal His power. A more accurate translation of the verse would be:

“Neither this man sinned nor his parents; but as a result of his suffering, the works of God will be revealed in him.”

“While Jesus corrected their error, He did not explain the cause of the man’s affliction, but told them what would be the result. Because of it the works of God would be made manifest.” — The Desire of Ages, p. 472

It is astonishing how, once again, those who claimed to be strictly faithful to God found themselves fighting against Him, aligning instead with the enemy. We can learn that this occurs when we reduce God’s commandments to our limited understanding, rejecting the guidance and teachings of the Holy Spirit.

A clear sign that this is happening is when we sacrifice compassion on the altar of our rigid understanding of the law. This is how the Jews came to accuse the Lord of the Sabbath of breaking it. The only way to prevent this is to know and trust Jesus and to be led by the Holy Spirit.
Let the Holy Spirit always guide our understanding of God’s law, and may we never lose sight of this truth: The ultimate goal of every interpretation is to affirm that Jesus is the Son of God, who came to save the lost.

May you have a richly blessed day.