🦅 John Chapters 8 and 9

🙏 Heavenly Father – We are so thankful for Your Word, this family that You bring together tonight, and Your presence among us.  Feed our spiritual lives as we read Your Word. We ask You, in the name of our Lord, Jesus, that You strengthen and guide us as we grow closer to You. Amen.

8 ¹ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

² At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ⁶ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Points to Ponder: 🐇 Does this belong in scripture? Yes! See Leviticus 20:10, Daniel 5:5-6 and Daniel 5:25-28, Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:7,Genesis 2:21-24, Matthew 19:4-6, Matthew 5:27-28, Matthew 7:1-2 and let’s not forget Exodus 31:18 and Exodus 34:1

Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony

¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

¹³ The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. ¹⁶ But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. ¹⁷ In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. ¹⁸ I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

¹⁹ Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” ²⁰ He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

Points to Ponder: the 2^nd of 7 ‘I Am’ identities. LIGHT is always used to remember God’s presence and guidance. (Isaiah 42:6-7)  John’s 3 key principles of IDENTIFY, TRUTH through testimony/witness, and REACTION are each shown in this one section of Jesus’ claim to be the light of the world.  Jesus’ response of introducing ‘father’ at this point in the conversation is nothing short of brilliant and a little harsher than the response of ‘Go an call your husband,’ that was used with the Samaritan woman.

 Dispute Over Who Jesus Is

²¹ Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

²² This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

²³ But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

²⁵ “Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. ²⁶ “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”

²⁷ They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. ²⁹ The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” ³⁰ Even as he spoke, many believed in him.

Points to Ponder: The 3^rd and 4^th divine ‘I am’ responses by Jesus… the same name that God gave Moses in Exodus 3:14.  I am who I am or I will be who I will be… a name that blows our categories, it is too much for my finite brain to fathom! It brings to mind the term: ‘Begotten’ – another of the same. Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.  Only God the Father can give us God the Son.

Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

³³ They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

³⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. ³⁸ I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

³⁹ “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰ As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. ⁴³ Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! ⁴⁶ Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷ Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

Points to Ponder: I know that you are Abraham’s descendants… but,If you were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did.  Lineage and history doesn’t save you, but only Spiritual rebirth after receiving the freedom from sin that enslaves us, freedom that is not earned, but freely given – still, we must accept that gift through our trust and belief in the giver of Life, i.e., our faith.  So what did Abraham do?  His story begins in Genesis 12… he tells Sarai to lie about being his wife in Egypt… with God’s promise, he wanders through his own wilderness in chapters 13 and 14. The Lord demonstrates His covenant promise in chapter 15. Chapter 16 we see Sarai and Abram try to get the promise their way with Hagar and Ishmael. Chapter 17 renames Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah, promises Isaac, and every male must be circumcised. Chapter 18-19 three visitors announce Sarah’s upcoming birth and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Chapter 20 – Abraham tells Sarah to lie about being his wife again! Chapter 21 – Isaac is born, Hagar and Ishmael are sent away, and in Chapter 22 Abraham is tested in the call to sacrifice his son, his only son, Isaac.  (See also Hebrews 11:8-19)

 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.

Points to Ponder: The 5^th divine ‘I am’ response.  Exodus 3:15 … the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham… of Isaac… of Jacob… the language implies ‘current’ and ‘continual’… a distinction similar to how we would claim…  ‘Bob was my student’ differs from ‘Bob is my student.’  Used again in Matthew 22:32. He is not the God of the dead but of the living.  (I LOVE that Jesus doesn’t even address their accusation that He is a Samaritan!)

 Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

9 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 After saying 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.

Points to Ponder: the 5^th sign, healing a man blind from birth, removing the cultural blame-game of someone’s misfortune being tied to specific behavior.  Another story supporting Jesus’ identity claim of being the light of the world.  A teaching moment between Jesus and His disciples.

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.”

Points to Ponder: The people and the healed man testify/witness to the sign by simply telling the truth yet the Pharisees react with disbelief.

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.”

Points to Ponder: The Pharisees try to bring in a witness that will support their own opinions, but they will only talk about what they know. Their fear prevents them from any taking any leap of faith.

²⁴ A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling 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.

Points to Ponder: Experiential knowledge never has to justify itself to someone else’s arguments. We see this again with the apostles and the Pharisees… Acts 4:18-20 and Acts 5:27-29, Acts 5:41-42

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.”

Points to Ponder: The blind man has stood up to the test with the Pharisees and now calls Jesus, ‘Lord’. 

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Summary: We do well to remember that the training of a Pharisee involved memorization of the Torah – the first 5 books of the OT, by the time they were 12!  The ‘better’ students advanced to further study of the scrolls including the Psalms, the prophets, & the narrative history of Israel.  When Jesus speaks to the Pharisees, His language is more intense with this audience because they were chosen from the beginning to be a blessing to others.  When I don’t quite grasp all the words in red in those sections, I look at the surrounding stories for context clues. Jesus is gentler with the Samaritan woman, the man He healed, and His disciples.  These sections make us think about what we see and hear in the natural world and question what we believe as truth… Are we open to hear and see spiritual truths revealed in the Gospels?

It is interesting to think that we automatically want to trust what we see and hear in the natural world, and yet, recently so many argued whether a dress was gold/white or blue/black… Could we trust our eyes? We argued again as to whether a name was Laurel or Yanni… Could we trust our ears! If ever there was a time to wonder… should we really trust in what we see or hear in the physical world?

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🙏 Lord, we are so thankful for Your Word.  Stay near to us as we go through our week and bring to our minds all that You have shown to us as to who You are as revealed by Jesus. Open our hearts to a desire to know You more, then give us the desires of our hearts. 💕Amen