Luke 11:1-16

The Death of Lazarus

1Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. 3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."

4When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." 5Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

7Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."

8"But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"

9Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. 10It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."

11After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."

12His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." 13Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

14So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."

16Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."



Dig Deeper

I knew it was coming. I could see that it was going to happen, but I also knew that I could use the situation for a greater good. I was coaching a basketball team of extremely talented young men during a very important summer tournament. Doing well in this tournament could mean a lot of attention and even more access to college scholarships for all of them. Yet, the problem was that they were far too cocky. They were going into this region of the tournament as though they had already won and should just be moved on to the next round and location. For those who don’t know, there can be a perception in America that black basketball players are better than white players. Sometimes black players buy into that stereotype as much as anyone else, especially the guys that were on my team that year. My players knew that they were going to be the only team that was completely or even primarily black in this whole region and they were convinced they were "going to tear through those white boys." I knew that these teams were better than they thought and that they were just not prepared mentally for this kind of challenge. I might have tried to convince them otherwise, although I’m not sure that would have worked. Instead, however, I used it as an opportunity to teach them a valuable lesson. They took the first game lightly and quickly got ran off the floor by a "bunch of hick white boys," as they lost by ten points. Now they were ready to listen and learn. They had lived something that they would never forget.

Opportunities to learn lessons through life like that don’t come across very often. They learned to always be prepared, to not take anyone lightly, and to not make judgments about people based on silly stereotypes. There is simply a reality that humans learn things better when they experience them through the realities of life. Jesus knew this as well and he often took advantage of those opportunities to teach about the reality of the kingdom of God and the new creation that was breaking into the present age. In chapter 9, John told us of an incident in which Jesus healed a blind man . Jesus taught his disciples that it wasn’t that God had caused this man to be born blind because of his sin or so that he could be healed. No, it was as a result of being born into a fallen world. But Jesus would take advantage of that opportunity to heal this man and teach this man and those around him, the truth of the new creation. In this chapter, Jesus will again take advantage of a tragic situation (not unlike equally tragic situations that happen in this fallen world all of the time) to demonstrate something about his ministry and the breaking into the world of the kingdom of God.

We aren’t given a great deal of detail about Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha (in fact John is the only of the four Gospels that even mentions Lazarus), but John does make sure that one thing we know as his readers is that Jesus loved this entire family. We don’t know the specifics but we do know that Jesus was particularly close to this family. In fact, in verse 5 John tells us that Jesus loved each of the three as he lists them individually, as if he wants to stress the special bond between Jesus and each person in the family. It makes sense, then that when Lazarus (a Hebrew name that was the short version of Eleazar) is taken severely ill, his sisters send word to Jesus. They don’t specifically request that he would come to see them but they clearly have a great deal of faith in him. Like his mother Mary at the wedding in Cana, these sisters don’t know exactly what Jesus will do but they do expect him to act somehow.

When Jesus receives word, he already knows that this will be an opportunity to demonstrate the power of God in the new creation. He declares that this sickness will not end in death but will be a moment when the power of the kingdom of God breaks through and brings glory to God and His Son. We simply don’t know if Lazarus was already dead when Jesus received word of his illness or if he died during the two days that he tarried, but we do know that Jesus knew all along knew that Lazarus was going to die, but that would not be the end of things. Through Lazarus’ death Jesus will unveil his greatest sign yet. This seventh and final step will show that the Son of Man has the power even over death.

It is only after two days of waiting that Jesus informs his disciples that they will be taking the trip back to Judea. It seems that John wants us to be clear that when Jesus did act, even though he might have been urged by a human to action, it is because it is God’s will. Jesus was urged by his mother to act at the wedding, he was urged by his brothers to go up the Festival of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, and he is urged to action here by Mary and Martha. Even though in each of these cases, Jesus does act in the way that he was being asked to, John is clear to point out that it is never the human instigation that leads to action on Jesus’ part. Jesus always waits and acts according to the will and timing of the Father. That is true even of actions that will lead to his death. Jesus will only take actions that fit into the economy and timing of the Father’s will.

Jesus’ disciples don’t have the same connection to the Father’s will that Jesus does, though, and they see no good reason to head back to Judea. Judea is the place from where they had come, where the adversarial events of chapter 9 and 10 had taken place. It wasn’t a good time to go back and face another potential stoning. Jesus replies with his cryptic words of verses 9 and 10 which mean basically that the time of work is limited to the daylight hours. His time may be limited, but it is not yet dark. He will not die yet because his hour had not yet come. If they follow him into the light, even though they might be puzzled as to what he’s doing, they’ll be okay. But if they try to follow their own understanding, they’ll trip in the darkness of their own worldly perspective. He will go to Judea, Lazarus will not die, and nothing will happen to him or them, at least not now.

The disciples are relieved when Jesus tells them that Lazarus has fallen asleep. They make the mistake of taking his words literally, although "sleep" was a common figure of speech for death in the Jewish world. If he is just sleeping, then that’s good news. It will help him heal and they won’t have to go to Judea. To clear up their confusion, Jesus speaks plainly, Lazarus is dead. He’s not just sleeping, he’s dead. Death was rightly feared in the ancient world as much as it can be today. Death was the constant stalker from which no one could escape. There wasn’t access to hospitals, flight for life, and medicine the way we have today so death could always be around the corner. Although that’s true in our world, it simply was more of a reality in their time. Death was a mighty scorpion that packed quite a sting and would gain victory over everyone. The only hope for Jews was the promise of the final resurrection, but even that carried little to no hope in the present age. The defeat of death would have to wait until the great day of resurrection.

Lazarus is dead and although many likely thought that the only hope for him was if Jesus had been there, it will actually be the benefit of all that he was not. Jesus doesn’t tell the disciples yet how it is to their benefit that he was not there, but they will find out soon enough. What he is going to do is so that they may believe. Yet, these are men that have already left everything to follow Jesus and shown faith in him. How is it he can speak of doing something so that they may believe? The answer seems to be in the fact that they have a certain amount of faith in Jesus, but to truly believe in Jesus as the Messiah they will need to have even a small amount of faith in his power over death. This miracles will serve as the vehicle for that faith.

It is unique that Thomas steps up as the spokesman for the twelve in verse 16, as that is usually Peter’s role. This might indicate that Peter was not present during this event. If he was not present it might also serve as at least part of the reason why the other three Gospels make no mention of this miracle. If Peter didn’t see Lazarus raised then he wouldn’t have included it his recollections which, according to early church history, became the book of Mark. It seems that Matthew and Luke used Mark to some degree as a source and so did not include this incident. Whatever the case, Thomas utters words which are difficult to understand and we are left with two possibilities. He has either stepped into a brave understanding of what Jesus’ mission is and shows his dedication to him by declaring that if Jesus is going to die that they will follow him into that death and die with him. It is also possible that the "die with him" refers to Lazarus and that Thomas was speaking sarcastically saying in essence, "if we go to Judea we’re all going to wind up dead like Lazarus. Most commentators prefer the former option rather than the latter. Either way, it is of note that, despite the danger, the disciples were ready and willing to follow Jesus. He was marching ahead into dangerous territory and they would be right behind him.



Devotional Thought

Despite the obvious dangerous situations that could arise from going back to Judea, Jesus was going to go because it was the will of the Father. The disciples knew the dangers well but they were determined to follow Jesus anyway. Are you willing to do the same? Are you willing to follow Jesus regardless of the dangerous, challenging, or uncomfortable situations and places that he might call you to? Where is Jesus calling you to go right now?

John 10:31-42

31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"

33 "We are not stoning you for any good work," they replied, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."

34 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are "gods" '? 35 If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed 41 and many people came to him. They said, "Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true." 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.



Dig Deeper

Everyone hated her. She was, after all, perfect. She was a new student in town and she seemed to take over everything, though she was not pushy or arrogant about it. Within a matter of months, however, she had not only made the girl’s swim team, the gymnastics team and the track team, but she had won state championships in all of those sports. She was wildly popular with many of the students and was a favorite with the teachers, partly due to her 4.0 grade point average and her newly voted position as student council president. Yet, off to the side, there were many who hated her. Why did they hate her? Mostly because she was, in their eyes, perfect. Many people tend to dislike other people when they appear to be perfect. It’s a strange part of human nature. I have seen teams that are undefeated go into championship games and have many people cheer against them for the sole crime of being too good. We tend to feel threatened by people who can clearly do something that we can’t do.

The Jews, in that respect, were no different from most humans. They had been given the Law by God, something which in God’s eyes made them special. It set them apart from the rest of human kind, not because of their own ability but because of His grace and the opportunity that He had given them as possessors of God’s perfect law. Yet, right from the start, they failed to follow it. As Moses was being given the law, Aaron was down the mountain allowing God’s people to engage in unspeakable idolatry, and things never got much better after that. It had come to be accepted that God had generously given the Jewish people His law, but that it was completely impossible to perfectly keep and uphold that law. This was something that no human could truly do, which is why God gave atonement provisions in His law. He had called His people to be holy because that was His nature (Lev. 19:2), but everyone knew that that wasn’t actually possible. Suddenly, though, Jesus burst on the scene claiming that he came directly from the Father and could and was doing His will perfectly. How dare he? No one could do such a thing and to claim that they could, proved them to be worthy of hate, derision, and death. The one thing that most of the Jewish leadership never considered, was what if he was telling the truth?

In verse 30, Jesus’ assertion that he and the Father were one, was no small claim in the eyes of the Jews. The term that Jesus used for "one" is neuter not masculine, so Jesus is not claiming that they are one in identity or the same person, but rather, that they are one in unity and purpose. He has already claimed that he does the work of the Father, and now Jesus claims to be one with Him in unity and will. This was not only impossible in the eyes of the Jewish people but was an assertion that had crossed over far into the realm of blasphemy. No one could do God’s will perfectly and be completely united with Him. Psalm 8 had declared that God had made man and "crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet." God had created man and given him lofty ideals and ability, but surely no man had or could live up to such a high place. They clearly heard, however, Jesus making just such claims.

Leviticus 24:16 states that "anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death." This judgment was to be carried out, however, only after a fair hearing and judgment brought against the accused. The Jews here were willing to enact the judgment of the law but apparently had no interest in first upholding its requirements of a fair hearing and trial. It’s interesting that many critics of Christianity and even many cultic sects of quasi-Christianity claim that Jesus was not divine and never made any such claims. The people who stood toe-to-toe with him, apparently didn’t think so. They understood that he was putting himself on an equal plane with God and was a mere man who was claiming to be God. When Jesus said that he and the Father were one, he was resolutely inserting himself into the most beloved of all Jewish prayers, the Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4, which states "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." When Jesus declared that he and the Father were one, he was committing nothing short of the worst kind of blasphemy in the eyes of these Jews and he needed to suffer the consequences of the law for committing such a crime.

Weren’t they just following the law, though? Can we blame them? Jesus answers that question, first with a bit a scriptural logic, and then with a clear explanation of why they should have accepted his words rather than having rejected him as truth and instead declaring him to be a blasphemer. Jesus’ line of argument in verses 34-36 can be difficult to follow if we don’t comprehend the Jewish understanding of Psalm 82:6, the passage from which he quotes. Psalm 82:6-7 says, "I said, 'You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High.' But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler." Jews of Jesus’ day understood the words from this Psalm to be spoken by God to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai when they were given the law. God said that "they were gods" because in receiving and living according to the law, they would truly be holy and live like heavenly beings (they did not mean that humans were mini-gods or anything like that, but simply that God was showing them the high status that they would be emulating by following the law). But because they had sinned in worshiping the golden calf, God said that they were "mere men" who would suffer the fate of every other human embroiled in sin. The early church agreed with that assessment and argued that Jesus was the fulfillment of Psalm 82:6 and Psalm 8. He was the only human being who attained the lofty heights for which man, free from sin, was intended (they did not argue, we should note, that if men did not sin they would be just like Jesus. He was still, they were clear, the unique Son of God).

Jesus’ logic goes like this, then. If God, when he inferred the law on the Jews, could refer to them as "gods," then why should Jesus be charged with blasphemy if he, who was set apart by God Himself and sent into the world with a specific vocation, referred to himself rightly as God’s Son. Jesus had just used their own understanding of Scripture to demonstrate that they had no legitimate grounds for their charge of blasphemy. On this point, Jesus says, the Scripture cannot be broken. If a matter was laid out Scripturally, then for Jesus that made it authoritative, period. The irony of all of this was that during the very time when they were celebrating the cleansing and re-dedicating of the Temple, they were rejecting the one who had been set apart or dedicated by God to cleanse the world.

With his scriptural argument firmly in place, Jesus now makes a plain statement. They should not just take him at his word if he cannot back it up with any evidence. But he has. He has done the works of the Father. He was preaching the good news to the poor, restoring light to the blind (cf. Isa. 61:1-2); in short, he was doing the work of the Father, the sorts of things the prophets said that the Messiah would do. They didn’t need to believe him necessarily, all they needed to do was to believe the works. Then they would know and understand the perfect unity and mutual relationship between the Father and his Son. If they would drop their preconceived notions concerning the Messiah and just look at what he was doing through the eyes of the Father, they would see the mutual indwelling relationship between Jesus and the Father. This was simply too much for the Jews and they try to seize him again. John doesn’t necessarily demand that we see a miraculous escape by Jesus here, but simply enforces the reality that no one was going to harm him or take him before his appointed hour. His time had not yet come, but it was nearing.

At this point with the opposition of the Jerusalem Jews reaching a fevered pitch, Jesus withdrew across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Jesus had gone to Jerusalem, the place where we might have expected that God’s people would embrace and welcome him but they had instead tried to stone him. Here, though, in the remote parts of Jewish world, many came to him and believed.



Devotional Thought

Jesus was quite comfortable in being judged by his works rather than his words because he knew that they were perfectly aligned. Could the same be said of you? If people were to judge your stated beliefs by your actions, your works, and how you spend your time and resources, would they find continuity or would they find contradictions? Would you be as comfortable as Jesus was in being considered and judged by your works?

John 10:22-30

Further Conflict Over Jesus' Claims

22 Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon's Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly."

25 Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one."



Dig Deeper

I was walking down the hallway when a young woman suddenly stepped in front of me. I almost ran into her because I was looking down at some papers as I walked and I really didn’t see her until the very last moment. Not only did I nearly bump into her, I was startled a bit as she stepped right in my path. She quickly thrust a piece of paper at me as she introduced herself. She was inviting people to a multi-religious group that was having an ecumenical (a word that essentially means universal belief) discussion about God. She explained that they really felt that all religions had certain aspects of the truth of God and that they all had much more in common than they had differences. I smiled as I listened to her reasoning and explanation but didn’t say much right away. She explained that they wanted everyone to come together and realize that we all share and worship the same God. Then she asked me, "well, you do believe in God don’t you?" This left me in a bit of a difficult position. I felt like I simply could not say "yes." You might wonder why not. Of all people, shouldn’t a minister be able to answer that question quickly. The problem was not in whether or not I believed in God but in what her understanding of God was. I could not just say "yes," because, based on what I knew she believed God to be, a "yes" answer would have been difficult and misleading. My answer to that question needed a lot more explaining than a simple "yes" could provide.

Some people might ask, "what’s the point with all of that?" She asked a simple question, why not give a simple answer? Sometimes, in cases like that, a simple answer would actually be outright misleading. If I had said I do believe in God, she would not have been hearing at all what I was trying to say. We see this same principle at work in the life of Jesus quite often. There are many times when Jesus seems to be rather cryptic and mysterious about his work and identity. Why, we wonder, didn’t he just come out be much more direct about things? Why didn’t he just tell people who he was, that he was the Messiah? For the same reason that I couldn’t simply say "yes" to the young lady who wanted to know if I believed in God. If Jesus just came out and said certain things, it would actually have been misleading, because they would have been understanding and hearing something much different than what he was actually saying.

In the second century B.C., Israel and Jerusalem was under the rule of the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus IV, also known as Antiochus Ephiphanes, oversaw the area. Among other things he had deposed the standing High Priest Jason and put Menelaus in charge as priest. While he was fighting in Egypt, Jason gathered up 1,000 soldiers and attacked Jerusalem forcing Menalaus to flee. As Antiochus returned, he violently took Jerusalem with a vengeance, killing many Jews. He destroyed large portions of the city and even took control of the Temple. He outlawed Judaism and began to offer pigs in sacrifice to Zeus in the Holy of Holies. The Festival known as Dedication or Hanukkah began as a celebration of the re-dedication of the Temple after Antiochus was defeated in a revolt led by Judah Maccabaeus. Judah took control of Jerusalem and began a line of kings that lasted for a hundred years. Thus, this festival came to be associated with the ideas of Kings, the Temple being cleansed, and liberation that came from God.

John informs us that it was exactly during that festival, with all of those ideas swirling about, that this scene takes place. Jesus was in Solomon’s Colonnade, a covered area of the Temple that would have provided shelter against the cold, winter winds. Perhaps John points out the double time marker that it was winter as a symbolic marker of the cold and biting attitude with which the Jews gathered around and hemmed in Jesus.

The one question on their mind is whether Jesus is the Messiah or not? What is translated as "How long will you keep us in suspense," is actually a figure of speech in the original language that is not nearly as nice or innocent sounding as it is in the English translation. They are confused, frustrated, and yet cannot just dismiss Jesus’ claims because of his mighty works and growing following. They want an outright statement on their terms. Is he the Messiah or is he not. Does it seem too much to ask, we might wonder, for Jesus to just plainly state that he is the Messiah? Isn’t it true that the only reason he wouldn’t just come out and say it plainly was if he wasn’t the Messiah? Well, in a word, "no".

The Jews had very clear expectations for the Messiah. They wanted a great kingly political and military leader like Judah Maccabaeus who would lead the people of Israel in revolt. They wanted the pagan Roman hordes out of Jerusalem. That’s what the Messiah would be and that’s what he should be doing. So, if Jesus just says, "Yes, I am the Messiah," this would actually be a misleading and problematic answer. He was the Messiah, but not at all the Messiah that they were expecting.

Jesus did tell them but they did not believe. Many commentators puzzle over these words because nowhere in John’s Gospel does Jesus tell the Jews that he is the Messiah in a straightforward manner. Rather than attempting to come up with some sort of theological gymnastics to explain those words, we just need to turn to the rest of verse 25 to see Jesus’ explanation. He did not tell them in words but he told them clearly in actions. The problem was that they had their own expectations and assumptions about who the Messiah was and what sorts of things he would do. That’s why he performed works and miracles. He was showing them what the Messiah did. They had to see who God’s Messiah really was and what he was doing rather than just be told. If he just said, "yes, I’m the Jewish Messiah," the Jews would have heard something completely different than what Jesus would have been saying. Their idea of Messiah had to be completely redefined and that could be done far better through actions than through just words.

This is so valuable and instructive for those of us who are surrounded by a world that often thinks of something far different when they hear the term "Christian" than what we mean when we say that we are Christians. The world’s concept of that term and what it means to be a Christian is so conditioned, misinformed, and defined by false concepts, false ideas, and even false Christians, that simply telling them we’re Christians can often be misleading. Perhaps we need to follow Jesus’ example and find ways to demonstrate and live out our Christianity first so that these types of people can experience true Christianity before we try to define it with words. We need to learn to give out "free samples," as it were. When Jesus did this, those who wanted to find the truth responded to the actions of the true Messiah and came to genuine faith. This shouldn’t be used, of course, as an excuse to never talk to anyone or share our faith, but it is a call to think about how our words are going to be taken before we carelessly utter them.

When all is said and done, though, they didn’t believe him because they were not his sheep. His sheep are the ones that are genuinely looking for God’s truth not for a missing piece to fit into their own preconceived mold. When they hear the voice of his actions, when they encounter the new creation, they immediately know the shepherd and they follow him.

To Jesus’ sheep he gives eternal life, the life of the age to come, and the assurance that no one will snatch them out of his hand. Jesus’ sheep are not just in his hands but also the hand of the Father, since he and the Father are one in purpose. They are inseparable yet distinguishable from one another. With his promise that no one will snatch his sheep from his hand, Jesus balances the certainty and security of the promises of God and His power with the weakness of man’s will and ability. If we stumble from the life of Christ it is not from the lack of God’s love or grace, or the vicious power of God’s enemies, but is a result of our own neglect to stay in the life of Christ that God has so mercifully made available to us. God will not violate our free will, but He gives us every opportunity to protect ourselves from ourselves, but we often don’t take advantage of those safeguards. In Romans 8:38-39, Paul notes that nothing in all of creation can separate us from God’s love, but the one thing he does not mention is our own will. No one can snatch us from God’s hand and God will never drop us from His care, but we can walk out of the life of Christ and reject God’s love. True sheep, however, will never leave the shepherd’s fold.



Devotional Thought

Can you think of people that you talk to regularly who may have an entirely different perception of what it means to be a Christian than what you mean. They might even have a very negative view based on our cultural version of American Christianity. How can you go about in your own life representing what Christianity really is? How can you follow Jesus example of speaking with your works rather than just words?

John 10:11-21

11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

19 The Jews who heard these words were again divided. 20 Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?"

21 But others said, "These are not the sayings of someone possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"



Dig Deeper

Quite a few years ago, my wife and I decided to take our two sons to a corn maze during the month of October. For those not familiar, a corn maze is a place where a farmer who owns a huge field will carve out rather complex and intricate mazes in their corn field and then charge admission for people to walk through and try to find their way out to the exit. I’m not quite sure why Americans find this enjoyable, nor why we paid money to get lost in someone’s field, but pay we did and lost we got, nonetheless. After about an hour we were getting rather frustrated because we just could not find our way out. This was after all, just supposed to be a quick scouting mission as we checked the maze out to see if it would be good to hold a pre-teen event there. We certainly weren’t supposed to get lost but we undeniably were, as were many other people in the maze that we passed from time to time. At one point we looked down a path that curved out of sight about seventy feet down from where we were. I told my then eight year-old son to stay with his mom and six-month old brother, who was in the stroller, while I looked to see if this path went anywhere or was a dead-end. I charged him with taking care of his mom and little brother and being their protector. As I disappeared from sight, I waited a few seconds and then came tearing back around the bend with a look of frightened horror on my face. That was more than enough for my little warrior. He took one look at me running in what he thought was panic and fear and quickly abandoned his post of protection. He took off running like a scared rabbit and left his mom and little brother to fend for themselves.

Granted, he was only eight at the time and any eight year-old who thinks that their father is scared of something is sure to become overcome with fear themselves, but the fact remains, he was willing to watch over them while things were good. As soon as things became seemingly dangerous, however, he was out of there without a second thought. There was no time to think about protecting others when he thought his own life might be in danger. He had the mentality that Jesus refers to here as a hired hand rather than that of a good shepherd.

It’s important to note that although Jesus is using familiar imagery, he is also distinguishing himself from even good shepherds of his day. For this reason, he specifically notes that he is the good shepherd not merely a good shepherd. He is in a category by himself. If a Jewish shepherd were to die in protecting his sheep, it would most likely have been accidental, certainly not an intentional act. A shepherd dying would have been a disastrous situation for the herd of sheep who would subsequently be without defense. Even a good shepherd would not intentionally go to his death in defense of the sheep, although he would defend them vigorously. Jesus is the good shepherd, though. The word used here isn’t quite captured with the word "good". The word "kalos" means beautiful, eminent, surpassing, or admirable. Jesus isn’t just a pretty good shepherd, he is the one of the most excellent quality imaginable.

The Old Testament was full of enigmatic prophecies which spoke of both God and His Messiah coming to shepherd God’s people. There were also many passages that spoke of the Messiah in kingly terms, but also spoke of a suffering servant (Isa. 40-55). The idea of the suffering servant who would die for others was so counter to the Jewish concept of Messiah that most Jews did not associate this figure with the Messiah at all. So this is how it would all come together. The good shepherd will lay down his life but this would not be a tragic and quite potentially fatal accident for the flock. Rather, this is how the flock will be taken care of. This is how they will find life.

In Jesus’ day, the hired hand was required to fight off one wolf, but had no such expectation if two or more wolves attacked the flock. In that case he was free and clear. The vocation of the good shepherd, though, is quite different. The way that he will protect his flock is by laying down his life. He will not fight or run. As Jesus declares that is he is the good shepherd, this is the fourth of John’s "I am" sayings in his Gospel.

As we have seen, it was quite common to talk of God and His Messiah coming to shepherd the sheep of Israel. It was also well known that the promises from God to make Abraham a great nation would be for the purpose of blessing all nations. Yet, the function of the Old Testament law kept, and always would keep the Jews separate from all other people around them. Paul, in Galatians 3, described this exact paradox. He says that the promises made to Abraham were made to his seed, a singular function that referred to Christ alone (Gal. 3:16). The law was given as a temporary measure to quarantine Israel until the Messiah had come (Gal. 3:19). Now that the Messiah had come, observing the law was not necessary because that would always encourage a situation of separate sheep pens that consisted of Jewish Christians, Gentile Christians, etc. Through faith in Christ and by being baptized into his life, all people can come together as one people, as "Abraham’s seed" (fulfilling the promise that the seed would be singular because we are all in the life of Christ) and are "heir’s according to the promise."

This is precisely Jesus’ point. He will lay down his life for the sheep, but his sheep are not just confined to the sheep pen of Israel. He has been sent for the benefit of the whole world (cf. 3:16). Jesus looks forward to the time when his death will be proclaimed to all people of the world and they will be brought together with Jewish believers into one pen and be one people. There will be one flock and one shepherd.

The only way to accomplish all of this, though, was the act of laying down his life. This was not something to be avoided, it was his very purpose. This is what Jesus means in verse 17. He isn’t saying that he will lay down his life and then the Father will love him because of that act. His point is that the father loves Him and directs His life through His will according to that love. God’s will and His love are leading Christ to lay down his life because it is the best possible path and outcome. When he does so, it won’t be an accident or evidence of evil run amuck. It will be the moment when Christ is fulfilling the whole of God’s will in his life. This is no doubt instructive for those of us who would like to think that God’s will only leads us to good and pleasant things in our lives. It is also encouraging for those who struggle with thinking that God only loves us when we do things that earn that love. God loves us and because of that love He calls for us to lay down our lives, the best possible thing for us to do. He doesn’t love us because we lay down our lives, He calls us to lay down our lives because He loves us.

His death will result in what God had promised all along, one flock and one shepherd. His death won’t be the end of the story, though. He will lay down his life but the next part of the plan is that he will take it up again. Despite Pilate’s claims to have the power of life and death (19:10), Jesus had the power to fulfill God’s will. It was God’s will that he would die, but it was just as much God’s will that he would be resurrected. You simply can’t separate the two.

As John has pointed out time and again, Jesus’ words, his logos, divided those listening. Some believed him to be demon-possessed and raving mad, while others pointed out that these were not the sorts of things that a demon possessed mad man would say or do. And even if they wanted to, could a demon open the eyes of the blind? A good friend recently asked me how we could know the difference between Jesus’ claims to be the Messiah and some crazy individual who might say the same thing. If we look carefully at Jesus’ life, we see at least four good answers to that question. First, no crazy person can point to over three-hundred separate and very ancient prophecies about their coming that were specifically fulfilled in their life the way that we can with Jesus. Second, is the fact of the signs and wonders that Jesus performed. This is the point of those who believed in him here. Even Jesus’ critics couldn’t deny his miracles, they simply sought to assign the power behind them to something other than God. Third was the incredible teachings of Jesus, which was also cited by his supporters here. Madmen don’t generally offer up some of the most beautiful and incredible teaching that the world has ever known. The final piece of evidence is what Jesus hinted at here in verses 17 and 18. He would lay down his life when he was ready; no one had the power to take it before his time. But he would also rise from the dead. No one else in history could or has even tried to make that claim.



Devotional Thought

Jesus didn’t just prophesy that he would lay down his own life, he called his disciples to lay down theirs as well. There is nothing more challenging in Jesus’ teachings than his comprehensive call for his followers to die to themselves and enter in to his life. When you look at particularly challenging passages like Matthew 6 or John 6 in which Jesus described aspects of that life, what is your response? Do you act more like he is the good shepherd leading you through that valley for your own benefit or do you act more like those teachings come from the mouth of a madman? You might not ever say something like that, but when we read Jesus’ words and don’t obey them, aren’t we acting like he is a madman rather than the good shepherd?

John 10:1-10

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

1 "Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

7 Therefore Jesus said again, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.



Dig Deeper

There was at least a dozen kids upstairs playing, running, shouting, and being loud in general. Downstairs there was a room full of parents that were laughing and having a good time. Every know and then, though, a distinct cry could be heard above the noise upstairs and the conversation downstairs. What amazed one young single person who was downstairs with the collection of parents was that every time a cry or scream was heard, one of the parents seemed to know instantly not only that that was their child, but that they could also tell immediately what the purpose of the cry was, whether it was anger, injury, or the desire to tattle on someone else. Generally the parent would then call out "come here" without actually going up the stairs and without fail, the upset child would immediately know that that was the voice of their parent, even above all of the noise and commotion. No matter how noisy or chaotic, parents know the sound of their child’s voice and children know the comforting sound of their parents voice.

Shepherds will tell you that sheep have the same ability. They know their shepherd’s voice. It is not uncommon to have groups of different sheep collected in one spot only to have the shepherd of some of those sheep call for those that belong to him. Rather than all of the sheep coming to him, however, only the sheep who know the voice calling as the voice of their shepherd will come. This is the concept that would have been quite familiar to those that Jesus was speaking to.

The Old Testament is full of sheep and shepherd imagery which refer to God or His Messiah as Israel’s true shepherd (Gen. 48:15; 49:24; Ps. 23:1; 28:9; 74:1; 77:20; 78:52; 79:13; 80:1; 95:7; 100:3; Jer. 31:10; Ezek. 34:11-31). Much of this likely stems from the famous Psalm 23 which describes God as the perfect shepherd and protector of His people. The Psalmist writes, "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake" (Ps. 23). The prophet Jeremiah picked up on this motif and charged Israel’s leaders with being poor shepherds: ""Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD" (Jer. 23:1). He goes on to promise that the Lord Himself will return to "gather the remnant" of his "flock" (Jer. 23:3) and "will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid" (Jer. 23:4). He goes on to declare the word of the Lord which decrees that the days are coming (presumably this is how the Lord will gather the remnant of His flock) when He "will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely" (Jer. 23:5). The prophet Ezekiel, after sharply criticizing the leaders of Israel as evil shepherds for scattering the flock and only feeding and worrying about themselves, says that "I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them" (Ezek. 34:10), and that he Himself will "search for my sheep and look after them" (Ezek. 34:11).

This passage is a continuation of the discussion concerning the healing of the blind man from chapter 9, which is demonstrated by Jesus’ "Very truly I tell you," which, in John’s Gospel, always connects the present discourse as an explanation on the previous scene rather than an indicator of a new discussion. The issue at hand here, in essence, is who represents God, who is the true leader of God’s people, and who can truly shepherd others towards God? Is Jesus the true son of God who will one day be vindicated by the Father to sit at His right hand? Jesus uses imagery to make his point that is beautiful, familiar to his original audience, biting, and challenging all at the same time.

Jesus points out that there are two ways to enter the sheep pen, the gate or some other way. The one who enters through the gate shows that he is the true shepherd of the sheep, while those who try to enter any other way are shown to be a thief and a robber. When the real shepherd comes in, his true sheep come at the mere expression of his voice. They might not even see the shepherd, but they know through faith and experience that this is their shepherd. The shepherd is the only one that has the right to lead the sheep anywhere. Shepherds in Western countries often herd sheep with the use of dogs, but shepherds in this part of the world led sheep solely through the sound of their voice. He would go on ahead, calling the sheep and they would follow. Sheep trained in such a way simply would not follow the voice of someone else. Jesus’ point here is clear, although the Pharisees don’t understand what he was telling them. In the immediate situation, Jesus is explaining that this blind man is prepared to follow Jesus because he is one of his sheep. The Pharisees, though, are thieves and robbers. They are trying to lead the sheep but they have not entered through the gate. That’s why the true sheep are walking away from their leadership and following Jesus. They know his voice that speaks the word, the logos, of truth.

Because of their lack of discerning what Jesus was saying, we might expect that Jesus would explain the same concept in another way but by this time, we should know better than to think that Jesus will do what is expected. He doesn’t re-explain the concept that he is the true shepherd that is leading out his sheep that hear his voice and who reject the callings of the thieves who have climbed into the sheep pen through nefarious means. Jesus shows that there are two ways of viewing him. He is not only the shepherd, he is himself, the gate into the sheep pen. The gate that the thieves have so pointedly stayed away from is nothing other than his very self.

But how can that make any sense? How can Jesus be both the shepherd and the gate? John has already hinted at this in the opening prologue and will continue to show how this can be throughout his Gospel. "In him was life, and that life was the light of men," John has already told us (1:4). God would save the world "through him" (3:17), because the Father granted that he would have "life in himself" (5:17). He is "the gate" (10:9) and "the life" (11:25; 14:6). Only those who would believe in the life of the Son and enter into that life will have life themselves (11:26), life in his name (20:31). The fact that Jesus made clear was that he is the only true gate (the third of John’s "I am" saying from Jesus’ lips in his Gospel) to enter into the sheep pen of God’s people.

Jesus is the shepherd who gently calls and leads his sheep to the kind of complete life and salvation that the prophets had written of so long ago. This explains how the prophets could speak of both God Himself coming to shepherd His people (Ezek. 34:11) and the kingly Messiah being the one to accomplish that (Jer. 23:3-6). The shepherd would be God and he would be the Messiah. But he would also be the gate. God didn’t send someone else to work out a reconciliation between Himself and His creation that was marred in sin. Jesus was the true Son of God and all those who wanted life would have to lay down the claims to their life and enter into the life of the Messiah. Jesus was quite literally the gate to life. Those who enter through him will be saved and those who do not enter through his life will not be saved.

The true shepherd will lay down his life (v. 11) so that the sheep may find pasture and have the life of the age to come. That is, in fact, the only way that such a thing could happen. Jesus’ life is the only life that will enter into the age to come and be resurrected. Those who remain in their own life will never see such things. In contrast to the true shepherd who is the way, the truth, and the life (14:6), all who have come before him are thieves and robbers that come only to steal and kill and destroy. They have gone into the sheep pen to steal the sheep, to kill them for food that would benefit themselves, and to destroy the sheep. The Pharisees (this is the immediate context but surely Jesus intended to include all of the leadership of Israel at the time) were the shepherds that Ezekiel spoke of who did not "strengthen the weak, heal the sick, or [bind] the injured" (Ezek. 34:4). They "cared for themselves rather than for [God’s] flock" (Ezek. 34:8). These false shepherds were worried about nothing except for their own welfare, despite the veneer of godliness. The true shepherd, however, would lay down his own life solely so that the sheep may have the life of the age to come which is not just the ability to live eternally after death but also includes the full life of the Christ that is available now to all those who believe and enter into his life.



Devotional Thought

Jesus said that he came so that his sheep might have life to the full. Do you view your life in Christ as something that could be described in such positive terms? Have you been living the life of Christ by holding to his teaching and experiencing the freedom from sin that comes in that kind of obedience (8:31-32)? If you see your life in Christ as something burdensome then there is something wrong in the way you have been viewing or embracing that life. For starters go back and see if you have really been holding to Jesus’ teachings and being obedient to his word. Have you really died to yourself and fully entered into his life with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength?

John 9:35-41

Spiritual Blindness

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

36 "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."

37 Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."

38 Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.

39 Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"

41 Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.




Dig Deeper

My oldest son, whom I love very much, has a curious but lovable quality that we give him a lot of good-natured teasing about. It manifests itself quite a bit, but I’ll give one example to make this quality clear. I was driving him over to the house of a friend of his one day. I had never been to this friend’s house but he had. As we were driving, I wondered out loud if the intersection coming up was the correct turn. He replied that it was not and I should keep going. I asked him if he really knew that or just thought that to be correct and he said he was sure. As I drove on, I soon realized that we had gone too far. As we doubled back I realized that the road we had passed by was indeed the correct turn. I began to laugh and ask my son why he had told me he was sure that this wasn’t the right way when he clearly was not. It was only then that he mentioned that he merely thought that was the right way. And there is that trait of his in a nutshell. He will answer questions as though he knows the answer when he really doesn’t. I cannot tell you how many times I have asked him to only answer if he absolutely knows the real answer, only to have him answer and then find out later that he was wrong and just thought that he knew. I tell him all the time, "If you don’t know, say that you don’t know. Don’t try to act like you know if you’re not sure." The problem is that it’s very difficult to get at the truth when you act as though you know something when you really don’t.

Acting like you know something or can see when you can’t can be flat out dangerous. If you don’t believe me, go to a room somewhere that you are not real familiar with that is full of furniture and other items. Now close your eyes or make it so that it is pitch black in the room. Walk through the room quickly at the speed you would if you were hurrying but could see. How painful was that? Hopefully you just thought about it and didn’t actually do it. The point is obvious, though, and one that Jesus is about to make loud and clear to the Pharisees who have been interrogating the man who was healed of blindness. Acting as though you can see when you can’t, can be as hazardous to your spiritual health as it can be to your physical health.

I absolutely love the low-key sentence, "Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him. . . " It tells us so much about Jesus and his genuine concern for others. Jesus didn’t just perform a incredible miracle and then leave this man to his own devices. He heard what had been happening to this man and that he had been thrown out of the synagogue and went looking for him. Jesus didn’t just see this man as an opportunity to advance his ministry with little care for him as a person. Jesus heard that this man had stood up to and defied the religious leaders. This man wanted the truth and didn’t care about anything else, and Jesus was determined to give it to him. That’s the way Jesus is, even today. If anyone truly desires the truth, Jesus will find us. He’s never very far from us (Acts 17:27). This man has reached out in faith, and Jesus will answer that call.

When he finds him, Jesus asks a question that I have to believe, John wants to ask all of us as well. Do you believe in the Son of Man? Some readers may not, some may, but he is moving all of us towards that goal (20:31). The man’s response is inspiring. We might expect him to respond that he doesn’t even know who the Son of Man is, but he doesn’t. He wants to believe in whatever Jesus has to say and in whomever Jesus tells him to if he will only point the way. It’s easy to dismiss this as the natural response of someone who had been so miraculously healed, but a quick review of chapter 5 will show us that not everyone who was healed by Jesus responded in such faith. It’s amazing how two people can hear the same message or experience the same thing and respond in completely different ways. This man is full of faith and ready to believe. Oh that we were all so eager to embrace whatever Jesus said.

Jesus’ response couldn’t have been all that shocking, but it certainly must have been special. Jesus says, "you have now seen him." This was likely the first time that the man actually saw Jesus considering that he was healed only after being sent to the pool at Siloam. Just a little while ago, he could not see at all, now he is looking at the very object of his faith. He can see the one speaking to him. He can see him! The man had come to such a point of humility and faith that he was ready to hear any logos, any word that Jesus had for him. Jesus’ genuine disciples, after all, are the ones who hear his word and hold to it (8:31).

The man needs to ask no questions nor does he ask for a further sign to meet his messianic expectations (cf. 6:30). Jesus has said that He is the Son of Man, a reference to the messianic hopes of Daniel 7, and the man believes him. Period. His response at Jesus’ word is simple worship. This man sees more than any of the religious leaders of Israel. This is the only example in the Gospel of John of someone worshiping Jesus before his resurrection (cf. 20:28). In verse 24, the Pharisees challenged this man to give God the glory, and now he is doing just that. Jesus has revealed the new creation to this man and because he was searching for and ready to believe in the truth, as soon as Jesus told him that he was the Messiah, the Son of Man, he believed and worshiped him.

John doesn’t tell us whether the Pharisees were close by and overhearing this conversation or whether verse 39 starts a conversation that begins at some later point. If the Pharisees were close by and observing this conversation between Jesus and his newest disciple then we can presume that they would have gone absolutely berserk when this man starts to worship Jesus and Jesus allows it. That probably indicates that verse 39 begins a conversation that took place sometime later than verse 38.

Jesus declares that he has come to bring judgment into the world. Jesus said in 3:17 that he did not come into the world to condemn the world but to save it. Both statements are true. Jesus came to open and to be the door into the age to come but that act of salvation that brings the saving of those who believe, also bring the judgment of those who reject belief in his life. The message of the gospel is shocking and turns the world upside down because it challenges all of the values that the world holds so dear. The world tells us that we must provide for ourselves and lift ourselves up or no one else will. The gospel tells us that we must humble ourselves before God and die to ourselves and only then will he lift us up. Those who realize that they are blind and that their life will never be worthy of God’s presence will be able, through faith and because of God’s mercy and grace, to enter into the life of Christ. They will see. Those who think they can see, however, who think that there is some value to their lives, they will never come to faith. They will truly be shown to be blind.

The Pharisees heard Jesus’ charge and are quick to assume that he is speaking of them. They ask him if they are blind too and they clearly expect him to answer in the affirmative. They expect him to charge them with being blind and needing to come to him to see. Jesus could have met their expectations and simply said, "yes, you are blind spiritually," but as always, Jesus is far too smart and far too unpredictable to the normal ways of thinking to just do what they expect. Jesus says quite the opposite of what they expected. They are not blind, they can see. Has Jesus just complimented the Pharisees? We, as John’s readers, probably already know better than that. If they were blind, they might have an excuse. They would know and they would be searching for the light. They would have come to Jesus in faith. But the very fact that they haven’t, shows that they think that they have the ability to see. Jesus never actually says that they can see, but they claim they can see. It is because of their self-deceiving ability to "see" that they will reject faith in the life of Jesus and their guilt remains. It is not their sin that keeps them from God. Thanks be to God that our sin never keeps us from God. What keeps them in their guilt is not their sin but their belief that they have value to their life and can see. It is the rejection of God’s grace, not their sin that keeps them from salvation. We can be truly grateful that we don’t need to be good enough to earn God’s salvation, we just need to recognize that we



Devotional Thought

Thinking that we can see when we cannot is dangerous. Are there any areas in your life that you have convinced yourself are okay but that you haven’t truly turned over to Christ? Do you think you can see when you are really blind? Sometimes the best way around that condition is to humbly ask others what they see in us.

John 9:24-34

24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God and tell the truth," they said. "We know this man is a sinner."

25 He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

26 Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"

27 He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?"

28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from."

30 The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

34 To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.



Dig Deeper

I had a major crush on this girl but I wasn’t sure if she even knew I was alive. I was thirteen years old and I had no clue about God’s desire for relationships, dating, marriage, and things like that, so I had pretty much the same view of those things that everyone else in the world around me did (I’m eternally blessed that my own thirteen year-old son has a much better handle on those things than I ever did). At the time, though, I really liked this girl and wanted to be her boyfriend. I tried to talk to her and be around her every chance that I got. There was a short time when I thought all of this was working and that she was understanding that we were destined to be boyfriend and girlfriend. This was bigger than both of us and nothing could stop it. Except for one small problem. It turns out, she didn’t like me "in that way." She suddenly showed up at a school holiday party with her fifteen year-old boyfriend. She had rejected me and my way of thinking and I was devastated. Yet, I handled it with a great deal of grace and maturity. I hope you don’t believe that because what I actually did was to immediately sink to the level of anger and discrediting her. "I never liked her anyway," I declared. She was stupid and ugly and so was this guy she was dating (even though it was pretty clear to anyone at the time that none of that was true).

In short, I had done what so many people do. When I couldn’t get my way I was reduced to name-calling and trashing the character of the person who had rejected me. This is exactly what the Pharisees encounter with this man who had been born blind. They saw themselves as the leading minds and spiritual leaders of their day. People were supposed to listen to them and change their actions and opinions based on what the Pharisees thought. But here comes this man who was born blind, an obvious sign of God’s punishment on him in their opinion. He would not, however, bow to their intimidation or their opinion. This was not acceptable to them but it reduced them to the level of name-calling and trying to discredit him personally. When the new creation breaks in and you won’t accept it, you’re not really left with much else than to attack the character of the person who has embraced it themselves.

The Pharisees have tried to intimidate the man and to question his parents, but it surely became clear to them the questioning of his parents was not going to go anywhere or give them any new information. In that sense, their fear-mongering worked so well with the parents that it actually worked against the Pharisees. If the parents did know anything, which it appears that they did not, then they certainly weren’t going to say anything because they just did not want to get involved. With that, they turn back to the man who had been blind. Perhaps a second round of questioning will cause him to get tripped up, offer up information that he had withheld, or maybe the fear factor will finally kick in and cause this unschooled sinner to back down.

The first time they questioned the man, the Pharisees were trying to demonstrate that this man hadn’t really been healed, but they now seem to drop that line of argument. When someone has been truly touched by the new creation, there is little denying it. They now attack him on his understanding of the miracle. This man was little better than a pagan because he was attributing this healing to Jesus. Their argument was that something this incredible could only be the work of God, so this man should give glory to God and tell the truth, and to stop giving undue credit to Jesus. Jesus had broken the Sabbath traditions and was thus a sinner in their eyes. If this man wasn’t so ignorant he would know all of this. Verse 24, of course, is dripping with irony, because in giving credit and glory to Jesus, this man is beginning to realize with each question, seemingly, that he is giving glory to God. In fact, the more he sticks to his story and the truth and gives Jesus credit, the more he is granting glory, not just to where it is due, but to God in the flesh. As for Jesus breaking the Sabbath; it’s the same thing really. Jesus’ action didn’t show that he was a sinner but that their view of the Sabbath was wrong. The more he stuck to doing God’s will, the more he was going to bring about God’s new creation, especially on the day that was to be holy to the Lord.

The formerly blind man doesn’t make any attempt to counter their charge that Jesus is a sinner. There is simply no level of intimidation or finely-crafted theological theory that can shake the convictions of someone who has has entered into the new creation. He may not be able to answer whether or not Jesus is a sinner in the face of all of their theology, rules, and tradition, but there is one thing that he does know. He has experienced it. He was blind but now he can see. When we have truly experienced Jesus, there is nothing that will shake our faith. This man was touched by the perfect love of the Word that became flesh and it was indeed driving out any sense of fear that he might have had (1 John 4:18).

Again the Pharisees want to hear the story of the healing but it was only to get a contradiction or some further information with which they could hold against Jesus. They were not genuinely seeking the light, they were trying to extend their darkness. This man continues to show a surprising amount of pluck and firmness for a man who presumably spent his life as an outcast and a beggar. He, again, will not directly answer their questions, and why should he, they don’t want genuine answers. Yet, he asks them anyway if they want to become disciples of Jesus, although the question is worded in the Greek in such a way that it expects a negative answer. He doesn’t appear to be mocking them, but is perhaps giving them an opportunity to come to the level of enlightenment that he is quickly achieving. His question also indicates that he is now numbering himself among Jesus’ disciples. He has seen the light of the world and realized that believing in him is the only way to life.

This was too much and the Pharisees are reduced to what seems to be the most common response when darkness is confronted by the light. They try to discredit and hurl insults at the light. He is following an unknown quantity and only fools do that, but they follow what they know and value. They are disciples of Moses. That really brings into focus the major question in this confrontation. For whom does Jesus speak? It was well known that God spoke to Moses when he revealed the law to him, but what about Jesus? They don’t believe his word, his logos. Despite the fact that Jesus has been offering up all along that he speaks not for himself but for God, they have already rejected that as a possibility. Moses spoke for God but they have already decided that Jesus does not. Why would anyone view him as a Messiah. In fact, they don’t even know where he comes from (there is another irony here in that in 7:27, some argued that Jesus couldn’t be the Messiah because no one would know from where the Messiah came). In Jewish legal proceedings, it was necessary to check the background of a person being charged with lawbreaking. The Pharisees, by their own admission, had failed to really do this. They have no clue where he is truly from and for whom he really speaks, but this formerly blind man does.

To further confound the Pharisees, this man who had been blind, and likely a beggar, his whole life, proceeds in verses 30-33 to unfold a logic and understanding that belies his background. These great religious leaders can’t figure out where Jesus comes from and who is the blind one here? If they would just open their eyes they would see his works and recognize that Jesus was doing things that only God could and would do. He makes two assertions that are both solidly biblically based. The first is that God does not listen to (or assist) sinners (Ps. 66:18; Prov. 15:29; Isa. 1:15). The second is that God does listen to those who do His will (Ps. 34:15; 145:19; Prov. 15:29). Jesus could not do things like this unless he were from God (cf. 3:2). Nobody, he says, has ever heard of such a thing. There was, in his mind, simply no other explanation. A miracle had been done. There was no debating that. In the Jewish mind the only two possible sources for wonders and signs was either God or Satanic. Yet, making the blind see was just not something Satan would do, so what was the choice that they were left with? In their blind anger and disdain, they failed to recognize that healing the blind would be one of the signs of the onset of the Messianic age.

The Pharisees seem to be completely dumbfounded by the man’s solid logic and reasoning and are left with nothing but name-calling and personal attacks. His blindness from birth was, in their eyes, evidence that he was cursed by God. He had no standing with them. How dare he try to teach them. Perhaps they failed to see that, in their rage, they confirmed that he had been blind from birth and that a miracle had taken place, the very things they were hoping to disprove. Their anger flared to the point that they followed through on their threats and kicked him out of the synagogue (cf. v. 22). John clearly wants his readers to see that the blind man is the only one in this scene who is seeing things clearly at all.



Devotional Thought

Have you ever been in a situation where people try to discount your beliefs or ridicule you for being a Christian? Don’t get caught up in their attacks or arguments. Stay with what you know and what you have experienced. As the grand old hymn, "Amazing Grace" says, you "once were blind, but now [you] see." It might be difficult or costly (the man here was expelled from the synagogue) but sticking to the truth of what you know is the only way to truly give God the glory of what He has done in your life.

John 9:13-23

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see."

16 Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath."

But others asked, "How can a sinner perform such signs?" So they were divided.

17 Then they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened."

The man replied, "He is a prophet."

18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. 19 "Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"

20 "We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself." 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."



Dig Deeper

Fear is a powerful motivator. It can make people do things that they perhaps never thought they would, or it can keep them from taking actions that they normally would think was a part of their natural character. German protestant pastor, Martin Niemoller, an ardent critic of the Nazi regime, captured the powerful motivation that fear can have in keeping us from defending others and acting in self-preservation. In 1946 in Frankfurt, Niemoller uttered what has become a famous quote: "When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats. I remained silent; I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist. When they came for the Jews, I remained silent; I wasn't a Jew. When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out." Most everyone believes that they would step up and defend those that need defending, but history shows us that most humans actually will back down from those actions in the face of fear. It is a brave and select few that will step up in the face of fear and act without concern for self.

This is an important component to understanding what is going on in this scene. The Pharisees and other Jewish leaders kept their power through respect, tradition, knowledge, status, and if all that didn’t work, fear. They would resort to intimidation and bullying if need be. It had become quite clear at this point, that Jesus was not going to be intimidated. Fear would not control his actions, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t still a powerful tool. They would continue to use fear as a means to keep people in line. The people of Israel were standing on the precipice of the new creation, but those who were firmly in charge in the old world feared anything new, especially when it came from within Israel itself. They feared it and they feared losing their status and position, so they would use fear to keep people safely in tow. Fear would be their best weapon.

The crowds were amazed by this latest sign of healing the blind man and didn’t quite know what to do with this man, so they took him to the Pharisees. This probably wasn’t an act of trying to "get him into trouble," but was rather, out of a genuine desire to determine what had happened. They likely determined that this was a spiritual healing, so they would take this man to the spiritual leaders of their world. The Pharisees, however, seem far less concerned with the sign that has been done than with the details of it. They are far more concerned with the fact that this man was healed on a Sabbath than with the incredible truth that a man blind from birth could now see. They were so blinded by their own religious rules and expectations that they could not see the light that had broken into the crack of their dark world.

In the eyes of the Pharisees, this was not a life-or-death situation, and so, should have been put off to the next day. And that is part of why Jesus chose to work on the Sabbath. The Sabbath regulations represented the old creation. They were both well and fine for what they were. God had declared the old creation "very good" (Gen. 1:31). The old Sabbath regulations had a purpose, but this was the time of the new creation. Jesus intentionally brought light into the darkness on the Sabbath to demonstrate the power of God’s new creation. The Pharisees, though, couldn’t see any of this. All they could see was that he had broken the Sabbath rules on three accounts. First, he should have, as we have already mentioned, put the healing off until a non-Sabbath day. Second, He made clay by kneading the earth with saliva and kneading was one of the thirty-nine classes of work that was forbidden on the the Sabbath. Third, Jewish tradition forbade someone to anoint the eyes on the Sabbath. The Jews had made so many rules and traditions to enforce the old creation that they could not see when the new one began to break in. All they could see was that he did not keep the Sabbath.

Not everyone felt this way though. As Jesus always does, he had divided the crowd. Some focused on the "rules" and could not conceive of Jesus’ signs as being from heaven. While others focused on the signs and could not envisage them not being from heaven. It was all about perspective and expectation. This is still the challenge for humans today. Will we look at the things of God and measure them with how they match up with our will, or will we look at our will and see how it matches up with the things of God?

The fact that they turn to the previously blind man and ask for his opinion is an amazing development. This is just not something that Pharisees would normally do. The fact that they do ask him demonstrates just how flabbergasted they were. Perhaps he can shed some light on this whole thing. Of course, there is a load of irony in the fact that those that saw themselves as the leaders and lights of the Jewish faith are reduced to asking this insignificant formerly blind man what is going on. The man replies that Jesus is a prophet. For what he knows of Jesus, this is probably the highest category that this man can come up with in his current understanding to assign to Jesus. The dichotomy between this man’s increasing enlightenment and the Pharisee’s increasing blindness are stark as this scene unfolds. The blind man moves from calling Jesus a "man" (v. 11), to a "prophet" (v. 17), to one worthy of having a following of disciples (vv. 27-28), to one from God (v. 33), and finally the Son of Man who is worthy of worship (v. 38). The Pharisees who are opposed to Jesus, however, start with the declaration that he is not from God (v. 16), question whether he performed a miracle at all (v. 18), call him a "sinner" (v. 24), and finally are shown to be the true blind sinners (v. 41).

What becomes quite clear is that this man can see more than just physically. He has been touched by the new creation of the age to come and he is not afraid despite all of the intimidating circumstances that are being thrown at him. On the converse, however, stands his parents. The Pharisees did not want to believe that something miraculous had happened, so they sent for his parents. The parents quickly understand that this is more than just friendly questioning going on. The Pharisees have already threatened to expel from the synagogue anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah. The Jewish synagogue of this time was far more than just the religious center of life. Being put out of the synagogue would have been a virtual exclusion from village life, as the synagogue was the center of Jewish life. This was probably a localized and temporary ban that would only be systematized much later but it was still an intimidating circumstance. So intimidating, that the man’s parents were more than willing to throw off any scrutiny from themselves and back to their son. They leave him, as it were, swaying in the wind saying in essence, "don’t ask us, he’s a big boy, and we have nothing to do with the situation he’s gotten himself into." They understood the threats that were out there against anyone associating with Jesus and are quite prepared to let their son take the full brunt of the questioning and the consequences. The true gospel, as Jesus himself promised, will cause the people around him to "be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law" (Luke 12:53). Jesus was also clear that to follow him, people needed to be willing to lay down their lives (Luke 9:23-25). The parents of the healed many obviously had no intention of anything like that.

This story is a perfect example of the difference between fear and faith. Genuine faith always brings us closer to God. Fear always drives us away. Truth has touched a man that could not see. He has his physical sight, but he is beginning to truly see who Jesus is and what he is doing. Those who are so sure that they can see and know, are the ones that are truly blind. They have missed the light because of their own fear of the new creation. They were steeped in fear and using intimidation to cause fear in others. John would sum this all up perfectly when he wrote in 1 John 4:16-18: "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."


Devotional Thought

Who can you more relate to in this scene, the son that was blind and stood so boldly in front of the religious leaders of his day with nothing but faith in what God had done for him or the parents who cowered in fear. You may not face anything like this situation but you will surely face challenges in your life which can be met with fear or faith. Which will you choose. The man that had been healed by Jesus stood in faith because he focused on what Jesus had done for him rather than worrying about what might happen to him as a result of standing in faith.

John 9:1-12

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

6 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 7 "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means "Sent"). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" 9 Some claimed that he was.

Others said, "No, he only looks like him."

But he himself insisted, "I am the man."

10 "How then were your eyes opened?" they asked.

11 He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."

12 "Where is this man?" they asked him.

"I don't know," he said.



Dig Deeper

It just seemed like the fair thing to happen. The high school boy’s team that I coached was full of young men that were not supremely talented, but they were hard-working. They were, in fact, a great group of young men. They were a real joy to be around. They worked hard in the classroom, they were respectful to their teachers and other classmates, and they had the respect of all of the other players and coaches around the Conference. Everything they had accomplished that season, which was just a few victories, they had worked hard for and absolutely earned. We were getting ready to play a team in the opening round of the playoffs, however, that was just the opposite. They were loud, obnoxious, talked a lot of trash, barely listened to their own coach, and never seemed to work very hard or take things very seriously, yet they had not lost a game all year. The match-up seemed like a movie in the making. The young, plucky upstarts against the hated foils who didn’t seem to deserve their spotless record. Everyone agreed that an upset would be fitting and fair, and seemed like a very real possibility. It started out so well as we scored the first four points of the game, but then everything fell apart and we lost the game by over forty points. Life just isn’t fair sometimes.

We’d all like to think that the world is a place of divine justice where good people are rewarded and bad people are punished. We’d like to think that when things in the world seem unfair, it is because they only seem that way. If we only knew the truth, we tell ourselves, then we would realize that when bad things happen it is because of some divine justice or secret sin that we simply don’t yet understand. Yet, that’s simply not the case if we’re honest. My team really deserved to win that game, but they didn’t. Infants are born deformed, children get cancer, a young man with the world in front of him, dies in a tragic car accident at the hands of a drunk-driver who walks away without a scratch. The reality is, we do live in a fallen world. We cannot simply dismiss or diminish evil as though it doesn’t exist. Evil is real. It exists. And it there simply is no perfect justice or order to which we can appeal to give ourselves anything more than a false sense of security. In fact, if we want perfect justice and to live in a place where everything really is fair, then the only place to which we can turn is the new creation, the age to come. That is exactly the point that John will make through this sixth sign in his Gospel (the previous signs have been in 2:1-12; 4:43-54: 5:1-15; 6:1-15; 6:16-24).

It was a common belief in the ancient world that there was a general cause and effect relationship of some type between sin and suffering. If someone was suffering, then they, at least at some level, had deserved that situation through their own sin (in a past life according to some beliefs), or at the very least, through some sin of their parents or ancestors. The Bible does not deny that suffering or illness may at times be the result of sin (Rom. 1:18-32; 1 Cor. 11:30), but that is not an automatic state of affairs (2 Cor. 12:7; Gal. 4:13). Jesus’ disciples, in fact, are operating under this sort of assumption. If this man had been blind from birth, then it must be as a result of his sin or his parent’s. This explanation is nothing more than a way to make sense of evil in the world. Humans don’t like the idea of being somehow at the mercy of evil. Christians are not immune to that sort of thinking and neither were the Jews of Jesus’ day. If there is an all-powerful, kind and loving God that rules over the universe, then how can evil exist? One way around that is to claim that things only seem unfair but they are not. This works well, of course, for those that are well-off and able-bodied. Jesus denies that simplistic sort of thinking, however. It was not the sin of this man or his parents that caused this. This man was blind as a result of a fallen world entangled in sin. That sort of answer might seem hopeless, but the reality of a fallen world is that God was doing something about it. This man’s blindness was simply a sign of the old creation despoiled by sin and an opportunity for the works of the new creation of God to be displayed.

This is, above all else, a moment of new creation. It was a sign that God’s new creation, the age to come, was breaking into the here and now. What John presents goes far beyond just an act of restoration. He harkens back to the very imagery of God’s creation of the universe. Genesis 1 and 2 gives us a picture of a created world in a state of chaos and darkness. It is God who steps into this chaos and creates light where there was darkness. He alone is the one capable of creating man from the very clay of the ground. While Jesus is alive, it is the day, and during the day he must do the creative works of the Father who sent him. Jesus has brought the day himself and he steps into the chaos and darkness of this man’s blindness. He picks up the clay from the ground and brings forth the light. He is the light of the world doing the type of work that only God can do. In 1:4, John told us that life was in him, and we see that more clearly nowhere than we do right here. He is the creative almighty that can bring order from chaos, light from darkness, and life from the clay on the ground. This man who was blind from birth has just been touched by God’s new creation and he can now see. What Jesus did for this man is precisely what God desires to do for the entire creation through Jesus.

Everything that Jesus said and did was a challenge to the old world and the way of thinking that accompanied the old creation. Not only did his brining of the light challenge and overwhelm the darkness of the world, but at the same time, his words challenged the belief that when the Messiah came, he would at that time begin the messianic age that would last forever. That was true, but not in the way that they thought. He would be the light of the world while he was in the world, but that time would be for only a little while. His stay would be short, his time limited. The Messiah would bring about the new creation but there would be a period of time, of which we are now a part, but he would go away. The reconciliation of the creation to God would be a process completed by those who followed the Messiah in faith (cf. 2 C or. 5:16-21), not by the Messiah himself. This is what was so puzzling about his message. The age to come would not be brought at the end of time through some great battle or act of God but through his own death. The new creation would enter into the present world, one act at a time, one person at a time. These outposts of the new creation would anticipate the age to come itself which will only come when the Messiah returns.

Jesus sent the man to the pool of Siloam, but has not yet healed him. Like Naaman, whom Elisha ordered to dip in the Jordan river, this man must go in faith based on nothing but the word of Jesus and wash in the pool of Siloam (perhaps John wants us to see a connection between Jesus’ repeated statement that he is "the light of the world" during the Feast of Tabernacles and the fact that the water for the great water pouring ceremony came from the Pool of Siloam). When he acts obediently based on this faith, the man encounters the new creation. Being blind didn’t mean that this man or his parents sinned. The truth is far more powerful than that. All humans are stuck in the darkness of a fallen world. There is no fairness or justice in this kind of place. But Jesus stepped into that world and brought this blind man into the light of God’s new world, and those who had known him his whole life weren’t sure what had happened. Could this be him? Perhaps it merely looked like him. In all of this lies the wonderful, mysterious truth of God’s new creation. He brings light and life out of the chaos and darkness of the old order. When we come to Christ in faith and act obediently, we too enter into the new creation (2 Cor. 5:16-21) and people may have just as hard of time recognizing us.

This man will have no part of denying that Jesus has done something incredible. He is the man that was healed and Jesus is the man that did it. His eyes were opened, not through his own effort or anything that he did. He was brought into the light simply through faith and the life-giving miraculous power of the son of God. He stands in contrast to the man healed in chapter 5, who seemed more than happy to distance himself from and blame Jesus for his alleged acts of law-breaking. This man didn’t seem to know much about Jesus, but he knew enough to take him at his word. This too stands in contrast to the Pharisees and chief priests who didn’t really know much about Jesus but were quite convinced that they knew all that they needed to.

How did all of this happen? How did this man come in contact with the miraculous, with the new creation itself? Through Jesus, which is the only way to experience it. In him alone, is life (1:4). New creation does happen. The broken chaos of the old can be transformed and healed, but it comes through Jesus alone. The world is so busy frantically looking around for bits and pieces of something that can only come through the man they call Jesus. So where is this man Jesus? The healed man didn’t know, but John wants to make sure that through the pages of his Gospel, we do (20:31).



Devotional Thought

Who do you know who is spiritually blind, unable to see or even recognize that they are lost in a world of darkness and chaos? Don’t be fooled by how nice they are, how much you love them, or even how many good things they might do. Those who are not in Christ, who are not part of the new creation, are in darkness and their ‘good works’ are little more than attempts to find the peace and light that comes only in Christ. Let God move your heart this week and allow him to put someone that is still in the dark on your mind and heart. spend a significant amount of time each day praying for them to experience the new creation that comes through Jesus alone. Also spend some time praying that God would reveal what you can do to bring them to the new creation in Christ.

John 8:48-59

Jesus' Claims About Himself

48 The Jews answered him, "Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?"

49 "I am not possessed by a demon," said Jesus, "but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death."

52 At this they exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?"

54 Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."

57 "You are not yet fifty years old," they said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!"

58 "Very truly I tell you," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.



Dig Deeper

There is a hilarious scene that takes place during a winter day in the classic American movie, A Christmas Story. A groups of students gathers around one of the young boys named Flick and another boy named Schwartz begins to challenge him. He dares Flick to stick his tongue to the flagpole in the freezing weather, telling him that if he does so, his tongue will surely stick to the pole. Flick doesn't believe Schwartz but is quickly challenged by his confronter with a "double dare." The narrator of the movie informs us that "The exact change and nuance of phrase in this ritual is very important," as he describes this amusing showdown between boys during a school recess. Flick replies that he will not stick his tongue to the pole because it's "dumb". But Schwartz fires back that Flick doesn't want to because he knows his tongue will stick. He then offers a pointed "double-dog dare," which causes the mouths of all the onlookers to open aghast and induces the narrator to inform us that "now it was serious." Flick again laughs it off but Schwartz emphatically says, "I triple-dog dare you." At these words, everyone gasps and the narrator tells us that the triple-dog dare was sinister and that "Schwartz created a slight breach of etiquette by skipping the triple-dare you and going right for the throat." At that, Flick is left with no choice but to step up and prove that he is not afraid. He gallantly sticks his tongue on the pole only to find that it really did stick. Suddenly the bell rings and everyone abandons poor Flick on the playground, stuck to the pole.

This scene with Jesus, and what has turned into a mob of sorts, is certainly not humorous, nor is the challenge quite the same, but it does remind me of the scene in that movie in some respects. Jesus is surrounded by accusers who simply are not buying into what he is saying. He's got some things to prove and he is being challenged to do so. As the scene grows more serious and the tension builds, it comes to a head. Jesus has to either back down or stand up the challenge of his identity. In this scene, though, it's not the challenge that draws the gasps and bug-eyed looks, it is the response that Jesus gives. And in his response, he creates more than just a humorous "slight breach in etiquette." He commits pure and unadulterated blasphemy in the eyes of the Jews.

Here's a simple question. Who would possibly accuse the people of God of being children of the devil? Who would dare do such a thing? In their own eyes, there were two possibilities. Someone who was demon-possessed or a Samaritan, and there wasn't much of a difference in their view between those two categories. Isaiah 52:5 speaks of those who mistreat God's servant as blaspheming God Himself. Surely, when Jesus accused them of being children of the devil it was because he was cursed himself. Yet, it is in that very passage that it speaks of God Himself sending his servant with good news for all people, and that those who truly revere God will recognize what God is doing. This passage goes on into the famous Isaiah 53, where God's servant will be rejected, despised, and brutalized by the people who would consider min stricken by God. The Jews mistakenly thought they were the servant being mistreated, but in reality they were the ones blaspheming God by mistreating His true servant.

It was not that Jesus was possessed by a demon, quite the opposite. They have responded to Jesus' charge of being in league with Satan with a retort similar in kind. It's almost like a small child in our culture who will respond to an insult with the classic line, "I know you are but what am I?" Jesus is not demon-possessed. He honors the Father, but they dishonor Jesus, so they by default, dishonor the Father. He is not trying to grab glory for Himself but for the Father. If they would simply stop and look at his words and works compared to theirs they would see that he truly is God's servant, representing him fully and that they are on the path to death and destruction, both as a nation and as individuals. The only hope for them was not to stand there and accuse Jesus of being possessed or a hated Samaritan but to obey his word. Those who would align themselves with the logos would find eternal life.

Now he's done it. What was merely a question about demon possession in verse 48 becomes a full-out angry charge in verse 52. Jesus has crossed the line by saying that the only way to escape death was his words. Wrong. It was the prophet Daniel who promised that "at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan. 12:3). How dare Jesus claim that they needed something other than being the children of Abraham to take part in the resurrection. Did he think he was somehow superior to Abraham. Did he think that he would have some power over death and access to resurrection that Abraham and the prophets did not? They did not (but we, as John's readers do) understand the irony in all of this.

Again Jesus asserts that the reason that they do not recognize or know him is not any fault of his own, but is because they simply do not know the Father, a charge similar to the one made against Israel by the prophet Hosea (Hos. 4:1; 6:6). They claim that the Father is their God, yet he is glorifying Jesus, how could they possibly explain that. In fact, that has put them in a difficult position. No one could or even tried to deny that Jesus had performed incredible miracles and signs. The question was what was his source of power. Their only two choices were to acknowledge that he was from God or to charge him with being from Satan. They chose the latter which put them in the untenable position of denying God. When we charge the things of God as coming from Satan or being evil or wrong, we paint ourselves into a corner with nowhere to go. If Jesus denied that he had come from the Father, which is what they wanted him to do, then he would be unfaithful to his mission. All Jesus is doing is obeying God's word, something he consistently called his disciples to emulate (cf. Matt. 7:21-27; Luke 6:46; Matt. 6:10; Luke 11:27-28; Matt. 28:20; Jn. 14:23-24).

They have charged Jesus with the ironic claim of thinking that he is greater than Abraham or can some how bring about resurrection in a way that Abraham and the prophets could not, for not even they could escape death (Ps. 89:48; Zech. 1:5) but were left to wait on the Lord. They could not overcome death with their own words. Only God could do that. Jesus picks up on this charge in verse 55 and says that Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing his day. It was common Jewish belief in Jesus' day to assert that (based on passages like Gen. 15:17-21) God had revealed to Abraham the mysteries of the Messianic age. In fact, Jesus said that Abraham saw his day and was glad. Some have claimed, based on Genesis 22:4 that God revealed the coming mystery of the Messiah when he was to sacrifice Isaac (There are two primary reasons for that: The first is that the word rachowq, which is translated "in the distance" can also mean "in the future"; the second reason is that Abraham tells Isaac that the Lord will provide a "lamb" for the sacrifice [22:8] but in that scene a "ram" is provided [22:13]. Some have asserted, based on that, that God had revealed the sacrifice of Jesus to Abraham and that this was the "lamb" of which he spoke.)

The Jews mistake Jesus' statement, accusing him of seeing Abraham, for he said that Abraham saw him. How could this be? He wasn't even 50 years old, which in Jewish thought was the end of the working life and the full maturity of a man (cf. Num. 4:3, 39: 8:24-25). Jesus wasn't even a fully mature man, how could he claim to have known Abraham? In their eyes Jesus was making a ridiculous claim, so they would respond with pointing how ridiculous this assertion was.

Truly what they didn't know could kill them. Jesus answered them by echoing God's revelation of Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" Jesus says that before Abraham was born, I Am. This is as close as Jesus comes in his own words to what John stated about him in 1:1-2. Jesus is clearly echoing God's words, but the question is, was he claiming divinity here? If Jesus was simply claiming that he existed before Abraham but was not God (as groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses claim), then he would have said, "Before Abraham was born, I was." Jesus was not merely claiming pre-existence, but was claiming that he was divine. He and the Father were so unified and one in essence and nature (Phil. 2:6) that Jesus could rightly refer to himself with the sacred identifier that the Father had used for himself. The response of the Jews makes it clear that they understood that Jesus was not just claiming eminence for himself but divinity (cf. 10:33). He had committed blasphemy and the punishment for blasphemy was stoning (Lev. 24:16). Yet, his hour had still not come, so Jesus hid himself (probably miraculously) and slipped away from the Temple grounds.



Devotional Thought

The people of Jesus' day thought that he was crazy to say the things that he said. In a similar way, those that truly hold to his words and teachings are often accused of being evil, mean, intolerant, and are often as maligned as Jesus was in his day. Yet, Jesus would never let negative public opinion dissuade him from obeying the Father. How about you? Do you hold tightly to the words of Jesus and boldly proclaim them despite the reactions you might get from those around you, or do you tend to shrink back from situations where the true gospel might not be embraced or appreciated?