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201. All for God's Glory


John 9 & 2 Corinthians 12:7-12
Key Verse: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."
John 9:3

In this event John records my personal favorite from all four gospels. I love it for its detail. I love it because it demonstrates so much of our human frailty. It shows us how powerful our fears can be in the midst of God's amazing grace and glory.

First, we have the disciples who are suffering under the misconception that sickness and unfortunate circumstances are the result of sin only. They are thinking like Job and his friends. If you obey you will always be blessed and if you sin, God will punish you for it. They couldn't imagine that God could have possibly designed this man, blind, for His own glorious purposes.

Then we have the neighbors who are all amazed, but then what? What do you do when the mold has been broken? This man was blind and now he's not. How should they deal with this change of reality?

Then there are the parents, who should have been rejoicing, but fear of the religious prevented them from doing so. It was more important for them to remain upstanding members of the Synagogue, than to praise God for their son's new found freedom. What would it be like to live like that under such religious tyranny?

Finally, we gain a clearer understanding of just how the cruel and powerful leadership had twisted the Jewish religion. First of all, Jesus healed on the Sabbath. Well, we've heard that before. Then, Jesus made mud, which is work so that adds to the complaint. Next, we see them, once again calling Jesus’ paternity into question when they tell the healed man, "We know that God spoke through Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where He comes from." (John 9:29) Then, instead of rejoicing over this man's healing, it is more important to kick him out of the synagogue so that he can't proclaim what Jesus has done for him. How can any of this be for God's glory?  Instead of God's work being on display, it only seems to have been trampled on and discredited.

But then, there is the blind man himself. He was just sitting and doing his daily work, begging for a living. Along comes Jesus, who doesn't even ask, but just spits on the ground, smears the mud on his eyes and tells the man to go wash at the pool of Siloam. The man obeys, whether out of faith or the need to clean up, we don't know. When he does wash, however, his sight is restored and he becomes an unshakable witness for Jesus. This humble, broken man becomes bold before his parents, his neighbors and the leadership and God's work is on display to the shame of all the others.

When Jesus finds the man, he is already resolved to become a follower. Amazingly, he doesn't recognize Jesus by sight. He was healed outside of Jesus' presence, but he believed and recognized him when Jesus approached him in the end. "Who is He, sir? Tell me so that I may believe in Him."

"You have now seen Him; in fact, He is the one speaking with you."

"Lord, I believe." (John 9:36-38) Forsaking all others that day, he took up his cross and followed Jesus. Belief is for our soul no matter the opinions of others. May we be as bold for Him when our turn comes. May we never let fear of others silence our praise and gratitude to our loving Creator.

Hymn: Blessed Be the Name of the Lord

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