5/23/11 John 9:17 Jesus the Prophet

¹⁷ Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”

(Blind Man Tells His Story- James J Tissot
1886-96)

Thoughts: Why would the man born blind say that Jesus was a prophet?  For most of us the prophet is the one who foretells the future or speaks forth the Word of the Lord.  But prophets also were so close to God, and God used them to do mighty works.  So, Moses, the ultimate prophet, was used to provide water in the desert, a serpent on a pole to heal those bitten; So Elijah raised the widow's son; Elisha healing the Shunamite's son and healing Naaman's leprosy; Isaiah healed Hezekiah.  The work of healing and helping were not isolated from a prophet, but were part of the work.  The Westminster Shorter Catechism (below) speaks of Christ as a prophet because He reveals God's will for our salvation.  God is here to help us, to save us.  The healing of a blind man was part of the message of God's care for our needs. 

John Calvin Abridged: The more diligently they inquire, the more impressively does the truth of God appear.  They act as those who are trying to blow out a strong flame, but only make it higher.  So we do not need to be afraid when the wicked try to snuff out the truth of God- they will only succeed in making it stronger.  This blind man acknowledged Christ as much as he could (as a prophet) without knowing Christ is the Son of God.  How shameful it is for those who deny Christ when they know He sits at the right hand of the Father and will come back as Judge of the whole world.  The blind man did not quench the small spark of knowledge but openly confessed it.  We ought also to openly acknowledge the faith that blazes inside our hearts.



Westminster Shorter Catechism:
Q24: How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet?
A24: Christ executeth the office of a prophet, in revealing to us, by his word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.

5/22/11 John 9:13- 16

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ¹⁴ Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. ¹⁵ Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.

Thoughts: False expectations can blind us.  The Pharisees were called "blind guides" by Jesus (Mt. 15:14; 23:16,24) because they were supposed to lead the people but they were stuck in their ideology so that they could not hear the Spirit speaking in the Word of God.  Some Christians hold onto their ideology so tightly that they lose their balance and ability to hear God's simple, clear Word.  The Pharisees had complicated God's Word with their tradition.  Reformation and renewal often happen when the Church gets back to basics.  Yesterday some said that they knew the day and hour that Jesus was coming back (something Jesus said no one can know- Mt. 24:36).  Their expectations were not met.  Some of their group may lose faith.  Humanists and unbelivers will scoff more and become more blind themselves (2 Pt 3:2-4; Jude 1:18).  The Lord's Day is a day of rest, but also a day of healing and hope.  The Day of the Lord is the end of this world, but also the beginning of healing and hope.

Prayer: May I be open to hear your Word speaking to my life through your Spirit, Lord. 

5/21/11 The Second Coming Matthew 24:24-28, 36-44

²⁴ For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you ahead of time.
²⁶ “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away...
³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^[f] but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
⁴² “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

(Second Coming, Harry Anderson 20th century)

Thoughts: Harold Camping says he has mathematically figured it out: the world will end today- according to his calculations from the seventy weeks of Daniel.  With the number of natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, tornadoes), the global economic recession, the reaching of all nations with the gospel in our generation, the re-establishment of Israel, many think we are near the end.  But Jesus has warned of false prophets predicting His coming (24,26), and that "no one knows" (36) and that He comes like a thief in the night (43).  Thoughts of Christ's coming hopefully spur us to honor, worship, and serve Him.  However, false prophets make the truth seem irrelevant too.  Perhaps today you may use Mr. Camping's signs to broker a conversation with a neighbor, friend, or family member about Christ.  Christ is real, and not dead.  One day we will all meet Him either in death or when He comes back.  No one knows- not even Mr. Camping.

Prayer: Lord, may I always be trusting and not afraid of meeting you.  May I always love you and your presence more than anything or anyone else in the world.  May I always have the desire to speak of you- your love, grace, and mercy to others.

John Calvin Abridged: Christ warns many times against false prophets and Antichrists in this passage so that the elect would be on their guard.  Those who are careless and inattentive will be entangled by their snares.  At the same time Christ tells them to keep watch but not be troubled at the sight of false prophets who may even perform miracles. 

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2072748,00.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/20/eveningnews/main20064856.shtml

5/19/11 John 9:10-12

¹⁰ “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
¹¹ He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
¹² “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.

(Pool of Siloam re-discovered 2004; Photos Biblepalces.com Charles Lee Feiberg)

Thoughts: Three things are important here, and they have to do with how God often works even today.
1) Jesus said to do something that would help; 2) The man obeyed; 3) The actual presence of Christ was unseen.  We do not always see God's presence, but we see God's hand.  Our duty is to listen and obey. 

Prayer;  Help me to hear your voice and obey, O Lord. 

John Calvin Abridged:Isaiah (8:6) said, "They despise the waters of Siloam that flow softly. Jesus was rebuking the Jews for not being able to see the power of God at work.

5/19/11 John 9:6- 9

⁶ After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷ “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
⁸ His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

(Pool of Siloam, Bibleplaces.com Todd Bolen)

Thoughts: Jesus spit- made a salve and put it on the man's eyes.  Jesus was not opposed to salves, or potions or medicine that we know of.  But in a time in which medicine and knowledge were weak, Jesus helped beyond what humans could dream to do.  One missionary long ago told me of a South American tribe that had a missionary for many years, but would not respond to the gospel.  One day the missionary read this passage and hundreds came to Christ.  The tribes witchdoctors were called "spitters" because they would spit and heal people.  When they read this, they said aloud, "Jesus is the Chief Spitter!"  The missionary said he didn't know for sure why Jesus spit to heal this man, but maybe it was to reach that tribe with the love of God.  Jesus heals- not only with spittle, but most of all with His Good News.

Prayer:  Strengthen me with your love and grace, O Lord. 

John Calvin Abridged: Jesus appears to heal the eyes in an absurd way.  For he anoints them with clay blocking even more vision.  The blind man, by faith in the simple word of God, is fully convinced of Christ's healing he hastens to go to the place commanded and washes. As God the Father made us from clay, so Christ heals with clay. 

5/18/11 John 9:1-5

¹ As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

(Jesus the Lighthosue)

Thoughts: Jesus is the light of the world, and He made this visual when he healed the man born blind.  Christ opens our eyes to God.  He not only says He is the light of the world, but He tells us He is the light of the world "while" He is in the world.  In other words, while He walked the earth, Christ physically revealed the invisible God.  Light enables the eyes to see reality.  So Christ enables us to see what God is like.  The Pharisees were all wrapped up in how this man became blind- and (they thought) surely it was because of some wrong done.  Jesus focus is not on the man's sin or innocense, but on the glory of God - which was recealed when He healed the blind man.

Prayer: Open my eyes to you, O Lord.  Help me to look to you as my light and my salvation.

John Calvin Abridged: This man's blindness is incurable by human skill, so here Jesus proves His divininty.  Scripture testifies that all the sufferings the human race endures proceed from sin, so we tend to think that others suffer because of their individual sin. But this is wrong in three ways:
1) We judge others more severely than we judge ourselves; 2) We tend to turn others' small offenses into severe crimes. 3) We pronounce guilt on all without exception.  But sometimes God delays anothers' punishment; sometimes (as with Job), the faith and patience of the innocent are tested;  Christ does not say that the man was free from all blame, but says we should not seek the blame in the man's sin.  Consequently, when the cause of God's affliction is hidden from us, we should not jump to quick judgments.

5/17/11 John 8:48-53 Who Do You Think you Are?

⁴⁸ The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
⁴⁹ “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”
⁵² At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

(Pharisees in the Temple, Rembrandt)

Thoughts: The question that keeps resurfacing to Jesus is "Who do you think you are?"  John spends three chapters focusing on the answer to this question.  In chapter 8 Jesus is the light of the world, the truth, and even greater than Abraham.  Jesus said that these unbelieving Jews had the devil as their father.  The unbelievers responded by saying he was a hated Samaritan and demon-possessed himself.  Jesus appeals to God as the judge between them.  But He also appeals to the power of obeying Him.  Obeying Christ leads to eternal life, for the first item of obedience if believing and trusting in who He is- not the son of the devil, but the Son of God.

Prayer: My life depends on my trust in you, Lord.  Help me to grow in my belief and trust in you.

John Calvin Abridged: The Jews reckoned the Samaritans as apostates and heretics.  Having no more rational argument, they chose to randomly pull a taunt from the air.  They basically curse him because they cannot find anything to say.  Christ refutes both charges (Samaritan and demoniac) when he says he honors the Father.  Because Christ connects himself to honoring God- when they dishonor Him they dishonor God.