Thursday Devo
Scripture:
John 9
13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.
17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”
The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”
18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”
20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.
17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”
The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”
18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”
20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
Commentary:
9:14 The belated mention of the Sabbath (cf. 5:9 and note on Matt. 12:8) recalls the earlier Sabbath controversy in John 5. Jesus had kneaded the clay with his saliva to make mud, and kneading dough (and by analogy, clay) was included among the 39 classes of work forbidden on the Sabbath (Mishnah, Shabbat 7.2). Jesus’ frequent conflicts with the Jews over the Sabbath suggest that by his coming he is changing the Sabbath requirements (see John 5:17).
9:18–23 The fear of the parents highlights one of the fundamental reasons in John why many do not believe. They fear people more than God (see 5:44; 12:42–43).
9:22 because they feared the Jews. This does not refer to all Jews, for the parents were Jews themselves. The expression, as often in John, refers here to the Jewish leaders who were opposed to Jesus, and to the ordinary people who followed their lead. synagogue. See note on Luke 4:16.
9:18–23 The fear of the parents highlights one of the fundamental reasons in John why many do not believe. They fear people more than God (see 5:44; 12:42–43).
9:22 because they feared the Jews. This does not refer to all Jews, for the parents were Jews themselves. The expression, as often in John, refers here to the Jewish leaders who were opposed to Jesus, and to the ordinary people who followed their lead. synagogue. See note on Luke 4:16.
Questions:
- So, as we've learned this week, the three components to your apologia (defense of your faith) are your conduct BEFORE conversion, circumstances OF conversion, and commission AFTER conversion. In other words, who were you before you met Jesus, how did you meet Jesus, and what has He done in your life since? What is YOUR apologia? How would you tell it to someone? Could you do so in a minute or less?
- One of the takeaways from Sunday was that you have STORY. You have a GOD story. You have an apologia. Sometimes if you try to defend your faith with theology, people love to argue that stuff. While we do need to be able to defend our faith in this way (we need to know scripture), and while we need to acknowledge that scripture is the final authority and ultimate truth (even over our experience), people will have a hard time arguing against your own experiences with God. Just like in John 9, you were blind but now you see! You have a powerful story that people need to hear. You've been through some stuff, but God as been faithful. Take some time today and think through the key pillars of your story and write them down!
Pray:
- Thank God for your apologia and all He's done in your life.
- Ask God to remind you of your story.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
1. Who is Jesus? I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
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