Now that's Hutzpah

We know that Jesus would silence the religious leaders, but what about the everyday person who has decided to follow him? Do we have that much confidence to silence erroneous leadership?

John 9 "As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered, 'It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.'"

It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

The disciples asked Jesus about the man this blog post will look at, who sinned so that this man has physical blindness. We learn from the book of Job that circumstances do not dictate if a person is righteous or not, but it is always a thought that comes from a human perspective on how the world should run. This blind's story continues where Jesus shows that he is God and the works of "God might be displayed in him."

"Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam' (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, 'Is this not the man who used to sit and beg? Some said, 'It is he.' Others said, 'No, but he is like him.' He kept saying, 'I am the man.' So they said to him, Then how were your eyes opened?' He answered, 'The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed and received my sight. They said to him, 'Where is he?' He said, 'I do not know.'"

The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.

Genuine 100% miracle! Jesus was proving who he was and the authority he had. The man was brought out of darkness and given his sight. Jesus said that while he is here, he is the light of the world. The miracle is quite enough, for the "works of God are displayed in him." When touched by God, displayed in action is the evidence of moving from darkness to light. The age-old Bible argument of saved by faith or works? The man is brought to the light, and what he does next is evidence of that. John 9 continues.

"'They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, 'He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.' Some of the Pharisees said, 'This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.' But others said, 'How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?' And there was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man, 'What do you say about him since he has opened your eyes?' He said, 'He is a prophet.'"

The blind man that needs a new nickname man stands up for Jesus.

"The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, 'Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?' His parents answered, 'We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.' (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) Therefore his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him.'"

OK, so the stage is set. It was evident from the blind man's parents that following Christ would get a person into trouble. God has truly touched this man, and consequences no longer matter to him. His parents have not seen the light of Christ yet and deflect the question. John records they bring the new sight guy (OK, that nickname probably won't stick) back in for questioning. The power of God is on this man.

"So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, 'Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.' He answered, 'Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.' They said to him, 'What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?' He answered them, 'I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?'"

Do you also want to become his disciples?

The opened-eyes dude knows he will get in trouble, and he knows that the Pharisees are trying to discredit Jesus yet he doesn't back down. He has seen the light of the world, and one thing he knows, that though he was blind, now he sees. The Pharisees are not happy.

"And they reviled him, saying, 'You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.'

Yeshua performed a legit miracle. God has touched this man. Earlier in John, the Pharisees are making the point that they know where Jesus comes from, but no one knows where the Messiah will come from. This scenario is where God's works are shown through a man that society thought sin was his problem. Now put to the question of whether the protagonist of this story will step in line with the Pharisees, the man touched by God speaks clearly.

"The man answered, 'Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.' They answered him, 'You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?' And they cast him out."

What kind of answer was that? Using the Pharisees' logic, the blind man should have stayed blind. Instead, they look at the man, formally known as the man who had been blind and denied that he could now see, and kicked him out of the synagogue. He presented their reasoning, and they basically said shut up, sinner, and go away. They did this even though . . . he was healed. They called the healer and the healed sinners, which goes against the pair having sin; according to man's thinking, circumstances dictate righteousness.

The religious leaders are crazy. Here is the takeaway, don't settle for ho-hum in our lives. God has touched and changed all that follow him! It is not a time to let others define what has happened. Let the works of God be displayed.