John 9:30-34 KJV
The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.
If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.
They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
"...dost thou teach us?"
Arrogance is damning. The Pharisees, who were highly educated and thought much of themselves, could not conceive of an unlearned man imparting anything of value to them.
Yet the blind man had three advantages over the Pharisees
He had experienced the hardship of blindness (vs 1)
The handicap is an accurate picture of the sin condition
He had it since birth
It crippled everything he did
It impacted everyone who knew him
He now could see (vs 6-9)
This would be pretty difficult to fight against. They had done their investigation and were sure this was the blind man and that he could now see.
His confidence would be great
His testimony would be compelling
He had met Christ (vs 34-38)
While this was after his message to the Pharisees it is none the less true. The great difference between religious elite and a genuine believer is that one has met the Lord and the other only talks about Him.
This man was a natural teacher. His language to the Pharisees shows order, reason, and conviction. The best teachers of the Word of God are not those who have been taught, but those who have met the Lord in a personal way and are gifted of the Holy Ghost to tell their story.
If the Pharisees had allowed this man to teach them they would have been far better off.
The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.
If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.
They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
"...dost thou teach us?"
Arrogance is damning. The Pharisees, who were highly educated and thought much of themselves, could not conceive of an unlearned man imparting anything of value to them.
Yet the blind man had three advantages over the Pharisees
He had experienced the hardship of blindness (vs 1)
The handicap is an accurate picture of the sin condition
He had it since birth
It crippled everything he did
It impacted everyone who knew him
He now could see (vs 6-9)
This would be pretty difficult to fight against. They had done their investigation and were sure this was the blind man and that he could now see.
His confidence would be great
His testimony would be compelling
He had met Christ (vs 34-38)
While this was after his message to the Pharisees it is none the less true. The great difference between religious elite and a genuine believer is that one has met the Lord and the other only talks about Him.
This man was a natural teacher. His language to the Pharisees shows order, reason, and conviction. The best teachers of the Word of God are not those who have been taught, but those who have met the Lord in a personal way and are gifted of the Holy Ghost to tell their story.
If the Pharisees had allowed this man to teach them they would have been far better off.
Perhaps we all are guilty at times of marvelling at the "tool" and not the artist. When we look at a great painting, do we think of the brush? When we look at a great sculpture, do we think of the hammer and chisel? God, I think, does not make any man amoung us great...He simply does great things with any man He chooses. It would do me good to remember I am not the artist, but simply a tool privledged indeed to be taken up in the Master's hand.
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