Winning by Losing

John 9:35-38 – Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

Quite often we have to give up something of value to get something of more value. It costs to invest. We usually have to sacrifice near term pleasure to gain much more in the long term.

Earlier in John 9 the parents of the man who been born blind but miraculously regained his sight at the hands of Jesus were not willing to even admit what Jesus had done because they were afraid to lose the social acceptance they had as members of the synagogue. The man himself, though, was another story altogether.

The spiritual journey of this man through the chapter is fascinating. He started the chapter as a blind beggar with no hope for any better future. Then Jesus came, and because of his touch, the man born blind was able to see for the first time through his physical eyes. However, repeated interrogation by the Jewish leaders forced him to describe what had happened, and he began to see intellectually, as well. He recognized there was something different about this Jesus. In response, he made a bold refutation to those leaders, “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” (vv 32-33) Those leaders did not want anyone to talk back to them, and they kicked him out. The very price his parents were not willing to pay, this man paid.

Yet in his getting kicked out, he got something more. Verse 35 above says when Jesus heard about the man’s loss he came to him. The rejection by a group of self-centered, uncaring men was replaced by the sincere love of an all-powerful savior who took the effort to meet him at his point of greatest need and offer him a gift worth far more than what the man gave up: himself.

The once blind man’s response shows he made the complete journey to not only seeing physically but also spiritually. In his act of worship he understood Jesus was the divine Son of Man who fulfilled the prophecy of Daniel 7:13. Whatever little he had given up in the acceptance of an uncaring club was replaced by eternal life granted by a truly loving savior. If you have not yet made a similar response in faith to Jesus, do not hesitate. It is the greatest trade off of all time.

The Price of Acceptance

John 9:20-21 – His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.”

Imagine you and your spouse are getting ready for the birth of your first child. The joy and excitement for the day delivery far outweighs the pain and discomfort of carrying a baby for nine months. You know you will love this child with all of your heart. You dream together of what kind of person your child will be. You envision great opportunities for a wonderful life. Then the birth occurs, and something seems different about the baby. You love him anyway, but as he grows you realize he cannot see. The dreams of great career success in your culture are now replaced with the awareness his life will be one of dependence on others.

There is always a hope something will change. You love your child, so you do everything you can. You pray. You see doctors. You ask others to pray, but nothing changes. You try to find a way for him to provide for himself, but in your society there is only one way, to beg. As he becomes a young man, begging is what he does. You still love him. You would love to see his life different, but life goes on.

Then one day you get word that your son is now seeing. The most popular and powerful people in your community call you to a special meeting, and there he is. It is your son, and he is looking you in the eye for the first time in his life. You are filled with overflowing joy. All of your dreams for him that were dashed when you discovered he was born blind come rushing back. You go to him, hug him, and ask him what happened, and he says to you, “The one called Jesus made mud, put it on my eyes, told me to wash, and now I see.” Suddenly that joy is turned to fear.

You know you must choose between celebrating an incredible life change in your son and losing acceptance by the powerful and popular in your community. You know they have said, “Anyone who confesses this Jesus as the Christ will be put out of the synagogue.” (John 9:22) That would make you cultural rejects.

You ask yourself, “Is it worth losing acceptance by the popular people who don’t really love us to celebrate the change in the one we truly love by recognizing the one who did it?” What would you say? The parents chose the acceptance of people over giving credit to Jesus. 

So many of us today are like the formerly blind man’s parents. We have experienced dramatic life change at the hands of Jesus. We have received from him what so much of the rest of the world truly desires and Jesus willingly gives to those who ask, but fear of the rejection of others keeps us silent. We would rather have the acceptance of others than share the story of what Jesus has done for us and risk their rejection. When we stay silent we may keep their approval but we lose Christ’s. We also lose the opportunity to see some of their lives changed if they respond to what we share. How much is acceptance really worth?

From Blame to Opportunity

John 9:2-3 – “And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

When things are not going well, do you look for someone to blame? Some people are perpetually bitter about their circumstances and the people they believe are responsible.

John 9 tells the story of a blind man. Living without sight would be a horrible circumstance to spend your life in. Jesus’ disciples understood that. They immediately looked someone to blame. “Whose fault is it?”

Notice Jesus’ response. Instead of seeking blame, Jesus pointed out the opportunity. What was a horribly difficult life for that young man was completely turned around when he met Jesus. He was then able to see. He was able to go from being a beggar to providing for himself. He had a complete turnaround that could not be explained except for the work of God.

Jesus said the man’s blindness gave an opportunity for the works of God to be shown in him. If we never go through anything negative, we never experience the miracle working power of God. It is in life transformation, whether from physical blindness to seeing, release from addiction, from depression to joy, or from purposelessness to clear purpose, that we truly know and appreciate who God is and what he can do. It is also the way others can see, know, and believe him.

Who have you been blaming lately? What are the situations you are blaming them for? Instead of a life of bitterness, instead allow God to display his work through your circumstances. 

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Tense Matters

John 8:56-59 – “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Most of us want peace. It can seem that mutual acceptance of one another’s views is the best way to get there. A big debate is raging on whether or not people of other faiths worship the same God, just in different ways. It is tempting to say, “Yes,” to find harmony. Yet, depending on what we mean when we say, “We worship the same God,” we may find some real challenges that cannot stand in reality.

It usually works best to build relationships from points of agreement, and there is much in common with humanity’s search for meaning through seeking the true Source of life. There are also several components, such as some standards of morality, which are common among different religions. However, at their cores, do they have the same definitions of God?

John 8 describes the culmination of Jesus’ debate with the Jewish leaders, and it reached its climax with who Jesus is. The Jews kept falling back on their status as descendants of Abraham, but Jesus put himself in a position of superiority. We get to see this clearly in the original language.

Greek has a very specific and detailed verb structure that can be used to communicate nuances of meaning, and that happens here. Both the Jewish leaders and Jesus started referring to Abraham in the aorist (simple past) tense. That makes sense, because he walked on the planet 1,800 years before John 8 was written. Yet, Jesus turned the tables when he said, “Abraham saw my day.” In the context of the passage, Jesus disputed the Jews’ understanding that Abraham was dead (vs 53) with the claim he lives eternally because he was observing Jesus’ ministry at that time.

That statement spurred another attack from the Jews to which Jesus gave the strongest claim of his divinity he could have, “Before Abraham was, I am.” These verb tenses do not make sense in English. They do not make sense in Greek, but they are intentional because they communicate something far beyond the normal sense of things.

“Before Abraham was” is driven by the past (aorist) tense was and indicates Abraham was born as a natural individual. The next phrase, “I am,” is loaded with the present tense verb am. How can something be in present tense when it is referring to a past tense event? The only way to make this connection is to go to a third language – Hebrew – the language of the Old Testament. In Exodus 3, God revealed himself to Moses with the name “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). This verbal phrase became embedded in the personal name of God – YHWH – often said in English as Yahweh or Jehovah but not pronounced by many devout Jews for fear of breaking the Third Commandment.

There is no way to overplay the significance of Jesus’ statement, “Before Abraham was I am.” He was unmistakably identifying himself as God. Much of the mystery of the Trinity is revealed in this chapter as some distinction between Father and Son is described along with clear unity. The Triune God of Christianity is distinctive; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; One God; three persons. The divinity of Christ in central to the Christian faith and incompatible with nearly every other belief system.

We can and should seek peace. We are best to start our conversations from points of agreement, but we must ensure we never compromise what matters most

Getting Free and Staying Free

John 8:31-32 - So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

You are probably not a slave in the normal sense. While certainly there are still slaves and human trafficking victims in the world, if you are reading this, you most likely have never been the property of another person. You are like these new believers Jesus spoke to in John 8:31-32. They responded to Jesus’ words much like you or I would. “[We] have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” (John 8:33b)

Jesus explained that they were slaves of another kind – slaves to sin. To people in America today who do not attend church, this saying may seem archaic and irrelevant. How can I possibly be enslaved to something called ‘sin’? Yet, Jesus’ words are as true now as ever: “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34b) Think about it. Every drug addict, every alcoholic, every shopaholic, every food and sex addict, and every person with out of control anger is enslaved to their behavior. Billions of dollars are spent by people trying to get free from their addictions and compulsions. We may not like calling these things sin, but their power to enslave is undeniable.

Jesus has the way to freedom for you and me. In John 8:31 above, he says if we abide in his word, we will know the truth that will set us free. I and millions of others have experienced that freedom that can come from no other source. Yet, this freedom is not a one-time event Notice that the condition is “abiding” in Jesus’ word. The Greek word meno has the connotation of “living” in a place on an ongoing basis. It can also be translated “remain.” Jesus says people who get free and stay free make their home in his word and stay there for a lifetime. These are the ones who are free indeed.

Of course, reading and learning the Bible is a big part of abiding in Jesus’ word. It is also living out what scripture says. As we do that through faith and relationship with Jesus, we get the powerful work of the Holy Spirit in our lives through whom Romans 8:13 tells us we can put to death the corrupt things are bodies do. 

If you find yourself bound today, please come and make your lifelong home in Jesus’ word. When Jesus sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)

Grace to Change

John 8:11 - And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

The story we often call The Woman Caught in the Act of Adultery is a powerful story of grace. She was dragged to Jesus by a bunch of legalistic Jewish leaders as simply a tool to get him in trouble. There will multiple witnesses of her inappropriate behavior. There was no doubt of her guilt of the charge that may not mean much in America today but gave grounds for her to be killed by people throwing stones at her under the Jewish Law. Those Jewish leaders reminded Jesus of this. “In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” (John 8:5 ESV)

They knew this would put Jesus in a tough spot. If he said, “Stone her,” he would fulfill the Law, but the message of grace he had been preaching would be nullified. If he said, “Let her go,” he would be violating the Old Testament Law. Instead, on another of his brilliant moves of righteous grace, Jesus responded, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7 ESV)

As those vicious leaders thought about Jesus’ challenge, one by one they left, because they realized they each were guilty of doing wrong things in their own lives. None of them were eligible to throw that first stone. Once Jesus saw that they all left he uttered the unforgettable words to the woman: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:10-11 ESV)

As the only sinless person to walk this earth, Jesus could have condemned her, but he didn’t. His wonderful promise extends to all of us who come to him. He forgives. He does not condemn, but notice that forgiveness is not a license to continue in the sinful behavior: “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11 KJV)

Our modern world is often caught between the two bad options the Jewish leaders thought they had limited Jesus to. Either we slam the “sinners” around us with condemnation or we endorse their sin and say there is nothing wrong with doing evil things. There are plenty of well-meaning Christians who have planted themselves on both sides of this dilemma, but Jesus’ way is still best. Let us forgive those who have done wrong (because we all have), yet see that forgiveness as the first step in a new life in which behavior changes because wrong is still wrong. Grace is the gateway to change.

The Light of Christmas

John 7:52 - They answered him, “You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.”

The first century Jewish leaders held their scriptures – our Old Testament – in high regard. However, they missed the best part of those scriptures’ message: the true nature of the coming Messiah. They got Jesus’ birth place right (see Matthew 2:4-6). They knew that as Son of David the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, but they missed a key prophecy from the Old Testament prophet who wrote the most prophecies of all.  

The Prophet Isaiah lived more than 700 years before the First Christmas yet gave many prophecies about the coming of the Christ that were given in so much incredible detail that there is no way Jesus could have fulfilled them by chance or even by his own effort to try and seem like the Christ. The only realistic explanation is that he was the Christ prophesied by Isaiah and many other Old Testament prophets and writers hundreds of years before he came.

Isaiah Chapter Nine contains several of these. Verse One prophesied the exact location his ministry would begin: the Land of Galilee, which was part of the Old Testament tribal land of Naphtali. The Jerusalem-based leaders described in John 7 and 8 had a real snobbery against the low-life Gallileans. That is why the responded the way they did above not realizing that if they had taken to time to study the scriptures, they would have found Isaiah Nine fulfilled that challenge and told not only where the Christ was to come from but also what he was to be like and what he would do.

Verses Six and Seven revealed the unique fully divine/fully human nature of the Christ as memorably put to music by George Frideric Handel in his Messiah:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Unfortunately, most of those early Jewish leaders got it wrong. They were not willing to take the challenge to search the scriptures for themselves to see that this Jewish was the promised one. Many today are in the same situation, while others have sought and found that Jesus is their Savior.

The greatest gift of Christmas is ours when we do receive his gift. Then we get to discover the wonderful truth Isaiah spoke of between the other two prophecies in Verse Two of Chapter Nine and learn what Jesus came to do for us:

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

It is my prayer that his light will shine on you this Christmas and throughout the coming year.