1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." 6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. 8 Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?" 9 Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He is like him." He said, "I am he." 10 Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?" 11 He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I received sight." 12 Then they said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know." 13 They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Questions to Consider:
| This particular miracle that Jesus performed starts with a question from the disciples: "Who sinned, this man or his parents?" In other words--"who is to blame?" A woman was lying on her death bed in the hospital. Her body was ravaged by cancer and she had only a few days before death would arrive. Her mother looked down on her with disgust and said, "If you had faith, you would confess that you are healed, get up out of that bed and live." In other words: "You are to blame for your demise." It was bad theology and a total lack of compassion wrapped up in hubris. (I'll just leave out the part of what I wanted to say and do) Often, there is no-one to blame for the happenings of life. We live in a world that is under a curse and sometimes bad things happen to good people. Under the worst of circumstances and in all circumstances, it is always an opportunity for the grace of God to be released. Sometimes as an answer to the issue at hand and always as a comfort that brings peace. Jesus had compassion on the blind man and healed him. Jesus used an unorthodox approach. He spat on the ground, mixed it with the dirt and rubbed it into the eyes of the blind man. (This was never meant to become a normative way of approaching healing) Jesus then commanded the blind man to go and wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam. The blind man did as he was instructed and was healed. It created quite a ruckus when the miracle was revealed. A blind man--who was blind from birth--is healed. The neighbors and friends immediately took the blind man to the Pharisees. |
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RJ DugoneLead Teaching Elder: Archives
July 2020
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