Doctrine of the Angelic Conflict, part 67 – The essence of God – Omnipotence (miracles). Mar 9:14-29; Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-6; 17:11-19.

Title: Doctrine of the Angelic Conflict, part 67 - The essence of God - Omnipotence (miracles). MAR 9:14-29; Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-6; 17:11-19.      

 

31. Healing of the man born blind. God’s power gives the believer the capacity to see the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ, JOH 9:1-41.

 

In seeing the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ you also see the error in false traditions, taboos, stumbling blocks, and false accusations designed to remove the credit for all healing of the soul to some explainable, logical, earthly explanation.
 

JOH 9:1 And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.

 

JOH 9:2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?"

 

What do we see the disciples making an issue out of immediately? Sin. What caused the deformity or the problem.

 

Rather than focusing on sin and the problems or analyzing the reasons for the problem, God wants us to focus on the solutions.

 

JOH 9:3 Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him.

 

JOH 9:4 "We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work.

 

The man was not made to be born blind so that Christ could heal him, that seems to be what it says in the NASB because of the punctuation, but there are not punctuation marks in the original manuscripts so we can freely read:

 

 “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but in order that the works of God should be manifest in him, we must work the works of Him who sent me as long as it is day.”

 

All our frailties are a result of the fall, but the fall becomes an opportunity for God to show His works through Christ, specifically the redemption of His cross.

 

JOH 9:5 "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." 

 

JOH 9:6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,

 

JOH 9:7 and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). And so he went away and washed, and came back seeing.

 

JOH 9:8 The neighbors therefore, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, "Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?"

 

JOH 9:9 Others were saying, "This is he," still others were saying, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the one."

 

JOH 9:10 Therefore they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?"

 

They shouldn’t be asking how but who. He is going to be asked “how” four times in vs. 10, 15, 19, and 26.

 

So often we’re overly concerned with “how” God does His miracles in us instead of just glorifying the Savior who alone can perform them.

 

We’re great analyzers and desirers of seeing the how instead of just having faith in the Whom. We will never be able to ascertain all the details of how God transforms our infirmities into divine power, there are too many and too many are unseen, and therefore we are to walk by faith and not by sight.

 

Think of how often this has occurred in our study of these miracles. Where are we to buy bread, how can we feed so many, by what authority do You forgive sin, how can you heal on the Sabbath, etc. Nicodemus asked how he could re-enter his mother’s womb, the crowd asked how Jesus could give them His flesh to eat, how, how, explain it all to me in detail first and then maybe I’ll believe. No you won’t!

 

HEB 11:1

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

 

JOH 9:11 He answered, "The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam, and wash'; so I went away and washed, and I received sight."

 

JOH 9:12 And they said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know."

 

JOH 9:13 They brought to the Pharisees him who was formerly blind.

 

JOH 9:14 Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

 

JOH 9:15 Again, therefore, the Pharisees also were asking him how he received his sight. And he said to them, "He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see."

 

JOH 9:16 Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, "This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." But others were saying, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And there was a division among them.

 

Over and over the Pharisees cannot see past their own Sabbath rules and their devotion to ritual blinds them to God’s truths, many religious are still like this.

 

JOH 9:17 They said therefore to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?" And he said, "He is a prophet."

 

Certain prophets in Israel performed miracles: Moses, Elijah, Elisha.

 

JOH 9:18 The Jews therefore did not believe it of him, that he had been blind, and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight,

 

The Pharisees have to quickly discredit the miracle so they conclude that Jesus switched someone else for the blind beggar who was known to sit on the temple steps. Hearing their son might be healed the parents come quickly.

 

JOH 9:19 and questioned them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?"

 

JOH 9:20 His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;

 

JOH 9:21 but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he shall speak for himself."

 

JOH 9:22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed, that if anyone should confess Him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

 

JOH 9:23 For this reason his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

 

The parents pass the buck and show their weakness. Their son, born blind, can now see. Nothing like this has ever been done and yet in the face of God’s power they are still afraid of the Pharisees. They as well as all of us should heed the council of Isaiah:

 

ISA 51:7

"Listen to Me, you who know righteousness,

A people in whose heart is My law;

Do not fear the reproach of man,

Neither be dismayed at their revilings.

 

ISA 51:12

"I, even I, am He who comforts you.

Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,

And of the son of man who is made like grass;

 

So, no help from the parents, so they interrogate the man again.

 

The Pharisees are stuck in Moses and have failed to see the reality that is Christ incarnate. Moses can only take a person so far, as the Law can only take a person so far. Christ is the culmination of what Moses prepared. No man is justified by the Law but every man who believes in Christ is justified.

 

In Moses, you have preparation; but in Jesus Christ, you have consummation.

JOH 1:17

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

 

JOH 9:24 So a 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."

 

“Give glory to God” is a statement that puts the man under an oath. Yet they pronounce judgment on Christ without evidence.

 

The man is in danger of excommunication as well, but he is not as weak as his parents, and he states the facts without fear.

 

JOH 9:25 He therefore answered, "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see."

 

What sets this man free is the basic fact that once he was blind but now he sees. How the Lord did it or the answer to all the interrogation questions is not as important as the faith that the sight is going to give to this man. This simplicity gives him definition, clarity of the issue, and determination and so he has courage. All of these flow from God’s power.

 

Lack of fear in the face of great adversaries is a manifestation of God’s power.

 

He is healed. He has experienced God’s power and now he is reflecting it from his own soul. It is much like Psa 27.

 

PSA 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?

 

PSA 27:2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.

 

PSA 27:3 Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.

 

PSA 27:4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to meditate in His temple.

 

PSA 27:5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.

 

PSA 27:6 And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

 

PSA 27:7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me.

 

PSA 27:8 When Thou didst say, "Seek My face," my heart said to Thee, "Thy face, O Lord, I shall seek."

 

PSA 27:9 Do not hide Thy face from me, Do not turn Thy servant away in anger; Thou hast been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation!

 

PSA 27:10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the Lord will take me up.

 

PSA 27:11 Teach me Thy way, O Lord, And lead me in a level path, Because of my foes.

 

PSA 27:12 Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.

 

PSA 27:13 I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.

 

PSA 27:14 Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.

 

JOH 9:26 They said therefore to him, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?" [what’s the trick?]

 

One can imagine the man getting quite impatient at this point. After all, he had been blind all his life, and there was so much now to see. He certainly did not want to spend much longer in a synagogue court, looking at angry faces and answering the same questions!

 

So now he goes on the offensive and brings the situation right down to the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

 

JOH 9:27 He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?"

 

JOH 9:28 And they reviled him, and said, "You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.

 

JOH 9:29 "We know that God has spoken to Moses; but as for this man, we do not know where He is from."

 

JOH 9:30 The man answered and said to them, "Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.

 

JOH 9:31 "We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing, and does His will, He hears him.

 

JOH 9:32 "Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.

 

JOH 9:33 "If this man were not from God, He could do nothing."

 

God’s power that results in the healing of the believer’s soul gives him the wisdom to see the simplicity of the truth which confounds the unbelieving.

 

This man is able to step out of the Sabbath box with all its added and silly rules and see the simplicity of the truth in the matter.

 

JOH 9:34 They answered and said to him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they put him out.

 

Preservatives, as opposed to conservatives, embalm past traditions in order to preserve them at all cost.

 

A conservative only guards the best of the past or the virtue of the past, inalienable rights graciously given by the Creator, for example, but will change things found to be wrong. A preservative doesn’t care for right or wrong but only for past traditions that are good for themselves.

 

We can assume that a few hours have gone by, but the Lord has not forgotten about this man.

 

The Good Shepherd knows and cares for His sheep. He never forgets any of their needs.

 

JOH 9:35 Jesus heard that they had put him out; and finding him, He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 

 

JOH 9:36 He answered and said, "And who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"

 

JOH 9:37 Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you." 

 

JOH 9:38 And he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him.

 

Faith in Jesus as a prophet does not save him. Faith in the Son of Man or Deliverer and Savior of the human race does save him.

 

John’s gospel is written to prove that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Son of Man; that He is deity and true humanity and there are many witnesses of that in this gospel this man is one as is the apostle John, and eye witness to it all.  

 

JOH 9:39 And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind." 

 

“do not see” - faith (they see); “who see” - no faith (blind).

 

JOH 9:40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things, and said to Him, "We are not blind too, are we?"

 

JOH 9:41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.

 

The sin He is talking about is the blasphemy against the HS, which was to witness the miracles of Christ and attribute that to the power of demons. If they were blind they wouldn’t have seen them. But if blind they would have to go on faith, but they say that they see, in other words, they see that the miracles are done by demons and that satisfies them.

 

32. Raising Lazarus. God’s power has overcome all types of death, even four days of physical death, JOH 11:1-44.

 

JOH 11:1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

 

JOH 11:2 And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. [mentioning that retroactively]

 

JOH 11:3 The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."

 

JOH 11:4 But when Jesus heard it, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it." 

 

This is likely the reply sent back with the messenger to the sisters. By the time they got this message, Lazarus was already dead.

 

Will we live by what the word of God says or by what sight says?

 

Notice that He refers to Himself as the Son of God. This is the ultimate power and infinite power and the Lord wanted the sisters to believe that. He will refer to Himself in the same way at the tomb.

 

PSA 50:15

And call upon Me in the day of trouble;

I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me."

 

JOH 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

 

JOH 11:6 When therefore He heard that he was sick, He stayed then two days longer in the place where He was.

 

JOH 11:7 Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." 

 

JOH 11:8 The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?"

 

JOH 11:9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

 

JOH 11:10 "But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."

 

The Lord is on a divine timetable. It is not yet His hour and He walks in the light while His enemies walk in the darkness, therefore no harm can befall Him.

 

JOH 11:11 This He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awaken him out of sleep." 

 

JOH 11:12 The disciples therefore said to Him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover."

 

They can’t be that dumb to think that Jesus is going to walk all the way to Bethany, into the very den of His enemies who want to kill Him, just to wake Lazarus up. They are saying that if Lazarus is sleeping it most likely means that he is getting better, so why bother going.

 

JOH 11:13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep.

 

JOH 11:14 Then Jesus therefore said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead,

 

JOH 11:15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him. " 

 

JOH 11:16 Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."

 

Thomas gets a bum rap for doubting the resurrection of Jesus and no one ever mentions this. He wasn’t always doubting.

 

JOH 11:17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.

 

JOH 11:18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off;

 

JOH 11:19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.

 

JOH 11:20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him; but Mary still sat in the house.

 

Mary probably loved Jesus more than any other as is evidenced by her anointing of Him after this. She also loved Lazarus and knew that Jesus loved Lazarus for He had a wonderful relationship with this family, and she is more than disappointed. The Lord sent word that Lazarus’ sickness was not unto death and here it is, four days after his death and finally the Lord shows up. How many others has He healed that were perfect strangers and yet He allows someone they both love deeply to die? She’s hurt and disappointed and will not come out to greet Him. It is definitely wrong to do this but I personally find it endearing.