This morning, we continue our series, “The Miracles of Jesus.”
Before we get into the miracle, let’s look at the foundational scripture I will share with you all year.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. I pray you get refreshed and restored as we study each miracle.
(Read John 9:1-34)
The story of today’s miracles is pretty long, so I will attempt to summarize it in today’s message.
Setting the stage.
In John 9, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples wondered if his condition resulted from sin on the part of either the man or his parents. Jesus explained that it was neither.
Jesus then, using another unusual method, spat on the ground, made mud from the saliva-dirt mixture, put the mud on the man’s eyes, and told him to go wash it off at the Pool of Siloam. The man could not see, but he could hear. He could also feel it, so he knew something was on his eyes. I am sure that he did not completely know what was going on, but whatever was going on, he sensed it was the opportunity for his breakthrough. Something supernatural was about to happen. So he went to the pool by faith, washed himself, and just like that, the man was able to see!
His neighbors and some others who had seen him begging said, “Look! Is this the same man who always sits and begs? Is this the begger?” Some people said, “Yes! He is the one.” But others said, “No, he can’t be the same man. He only looks like him.” So the man himself said, “I am that same man.” He admitted that he was formerly blind. They asked him how it happened. The man told the account as he knew it. He said, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went there and washed. And then I could see.”
This miracle caused a great stir in the town and a follow-on investigation by the Jewish religious leadership. The people of the town brought in the Pharisees to see the man because the man was healed on a Saturday (a Sabbath). The Pharisees questioned him. They wanted to know what had happened. The man simply replied, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and now I see.” After all, that’s all he knew.
The Pharisees made the determination, amongst themselves, that Jesus could not be from God. Why? Simply because He kept doing things on the Sabbath that they did not approve of. They were not happy with Jesus’ methods and seeming disregard for the rules. Some of them, however, wondered if Jesus was from God because of all the miracles. They were divided, so they turned to the formerly blind man and asked him his opinion. The man told them that he believed Jesus was a prophet. The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind from birth, so they called for his parents and questioned them. Of course, his parents corroborated his story. They said, “Listen, our son was born blind. He can see now. We don’t know how. He is a grown man. You ask him.” So they turned back to the blind man one last time and asked him if Jesus was a sinner. The man replied with one of the greatest lines in the Bible, “I don’t know if he is a sinner or not. All I know is that I was blind and now I can see!“
The man went on to say, “This is really strange! You don’t know where he comes from, but he healed my eyes. We all know that God does not listen to sinners, but he will listen to anyone who worships and obeys him. This is the first time we have ever heard of anyone healing the eyes of someone born blind. This man must be from God. If he were not from God, he could not do anything like this.” The Jewish leaders answered, “You were born full of sin! Are you trying to teach us?” Then they told the man to get out of the synagogue and to stay out.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things:
1. You have a story to tell.
— The man born blind in this miracle did not know much, but he knew he was born blind, and he could see. That was his story, and he was not afraid or ashamed to tell it! Guess what? You have a story to tell, and God wants you to tell yours!
— Your story (testimony) does not have to be riddled with scriptures references or religious quotes. Just tell your story as you know it.
— Some might doubt your story like the Pharisees doubted the man in the text, but others will receive it. Those who reject what God has done in your life are not rejecting you; they are rejecting God. So don’t get offended. God will deal with them in due season. Just tell your story and if some don’t want to receive it, shake the dust off your feet, keep going, and keep telling your story. Even if only one person believes what God did for you and comes to God because of it, it is worth telling.
— God has been too good to you for you to keep Him and His goodness to yourself. Tell the world what God has done for you!
— Lastly, if you don’t tell your story, it may never be told! Because it’s YOUR STORY! Remember that.
2. The greater the assignment, the greater the attack.
— The Pharisees went to great lengths to discredit Jesus. They did all they could to disrupt His ministry. In the end, they were successful in orchestrating His execution, but when they thought they were killing Him, they were actually ushering Him into His destiny.
— If you have a great assignment from God, don’t be surprised by great opposition. I’m not telling you to look for it, but I am telling you to expect it. The devil will not sit back and watch as you become the man/woman God called you to be. He will do all he can to derail you from your destiny. But the good news is that he can’t! The only person that can stop you is YOU if you allow yourself to get frustrated and you quit!
— The enemy’s poison cannot stop your purpose.
— The more satan attacks you, the greater you get. The Pharisees, Sadducees, Sanhedrin, and all of hell thought they were winning when Jesus was going to the cross. But when the first drop of Jesus’ blood hit the ground, it sealed Jesus’ destiny! I like to say, “If the devil knew any better, he would leave you alone!”
3. The Pharisees and Sadducees were blinded by The Law and by their pride.
— Despite the undeniable evidence of the blind man’s healing, the Pharisees refused to believe that Jesus was from God.
— Their disbelief was not based on a lack of evidence but rather on their own prejudices and preconceptions about who the Messiah should be. They were looking for a Messiah who would overthrow the Roman government and establish a Kingdom in this world. They did not realize that Jesus’ Kingdom was not of this world!
— This reminds us that pride and stubbornness can blind us to the truth, even in the face of clear evidence.
— Spiritual blindness is more dangerous than physical blindness! While the blind man in this story was physically blind, the Pharisees were spiritually blind. They were so entrenched in their own beliefs and traditions that they could not see the truth, even when it was right in front of them. This is what religion can do to people. If you are not careful, you can get so caught up in religious practices that you fail to recognize the God you claim to serve, even when He is moving right in front of you.
— Jesus’ miracles were not just displays of power but signs of his divinity. The Pharisees missed this altogether because they were too focused on the RULES to realize that Jesus was God in the flesh! Jesus’ ability to heal the sick and perform other miracles was evidence that he was more than just a man, but rather the Son of God. But the Pharisees were so focused on the fact that He did things on a Saturday that they missed Him to be the Lord of every day.
— Belief in Jesus requires humility and an open heart. It also requires an acknowledgment that you don’t know everything and that God may move in a way that does not fit your understanding of Him. The Pharisees criticized what they did not understand. Unfortunately, many believers today are still doing the same thing. The Church of our Lord Jesus Christ is split into factions and sections that criticize one another without realizing that we are all on the same team. On any given Sunday, you will find Pastors on live streams all over the world criticizing other Christians for being too loud or not loud enough, for wearing jeans and sneakers in church or for wearing robes and priestly attire, for worshipping on Sunday instead of Saturday or for worshipping with instruments instead of just singing without them. These are just a few of the (what I consider to be “dumb”) things that Christians have allowed to divide us simply because of an emphasis on rules, practices, and what they consider to be norms. Jesus broke the norms of His day, and He was criticized for it. Sadly, the same is happening today. I pray the church would come together under the blood of Jesus. We have too much IN COMMON to be UNCOMMON with one another!
— Jesus’ message is for all, even those who reject him. Remember that! Don’t let anyone stop you. Don’t let criticism cause you to dim your light!
— Despite the Pharisees’ disbelief, Jesus continued to preach and perform miracles, knowing that His message was not just for those who believed in Him but also those who rejected him. This reminds us that Jesus’ message of love and salvation is for all. Jesus died for everyone everywhere! Even those who reject Him can be transformed by his grace. We must keep preaching Jesus and pray that they open their hearts to Him, despite their emphasis on the rules!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
You have done great things in my life, and I am not afraid nor ashamed to tell my story. I am going to tell my story and tell it everywhere I go!
As I do, as I walk in my divine purpose, as I fulfill my divine destiny, I know there will be opposition. I am not surprised by it, and I am not moved.
The enemy’s poison cannot stop my purpose.
Jesus died for everyone, but not everyone receives Him. I give myself over to You, Father, to be a conduit of Your love and light in this world. Jesus is in my word and deed. I pray that others will encounter Jesus through me.
If they reject the Jesus in me, I know they are rejecting You, and I pray that their hearts will be softened and opened to the gospel of Your amazing grace.
I walk into this day and this week OPEN to be Your love in what that others can see and experience.
Living this way, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
