The Blind Man Testimony
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The Blind man Testify
John 9:13-23
Then they took the man to the Pharisees. Now as it happened, this all occurred on a Sabbath. Then the Pharisees asked him all about it. So he told them how Jesus had smoothed the mud over his eyes, and when it was washed away, he could see!
Some of them said, “Then this fellow Jesus is not from God because he is working on the Sabbath.”
Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miracles?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.
Then the Pharisees turned on the man who had been blind and demanded, “This man who opened your eyes—who do you say he is?”
“I think he must be a prophet sent from God,” the man replied.
The Jewish leaders wouldn’t believe he had been blind until they called in his parents and asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he see?”
His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, but we don’t know what happened to make him see, or who did it. He is old enough to speak for himself. Ask him.”
They said this in fear of the Jewish leaders who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be excommunicated.
While the Pharisees conducted investigations and debated about Jesus, people were being healed and lives were being changed. The Pharisees’ skepticism was based not on insufficient evidence, but on jealousy of Jesus’ popularity and his influence on the people.
Sabbath Rest
The Jewish Sabbath, Saturday, was the weekly holy day of rest. The Pharisees had made a long list of specific do’s and don’t’s regarding the Sabbath. Kneading the clay and healing the man were considered work and therefore were forbidden. Jesus may have purposely made the clay in order to emphasize his teaching about the Sabbath—that it is right to care for others’ needs even if it involves working on a day of rest. The Sabbath had two purposes: It was a time to rest and a time to remember what God had done. We need rest. Without the time out from the bustle, life loses its meaning. In our day, as in Moses’ day, taking time out is not easy. Your Sabbath rest may be different from others’; to you, gardening might be restful while someone else would consider it work. Don’t get bogged down in laws and judging. God created a Sabbath for you. He reminds us that without Sabbaths we will forget the purpose for all of our activity and lose the balance crucial to a faithful life. Make sure that your Sabbath provides a time of both refreshment and remembrance of God.
