The religious leaders were growing weary of the distraction that Jesus was causing and were beginning to plot more sinister things than discrediting Jesus. It was becoming more and more dangerous to be associated with Jesus.
His neighbors weren't sure what to do with him (how about throw a party?) so incredibly they took him to the religious leaders, the Pharisees. Even though the Pharisees were the spiritual leaders of Israel, scripture paints the picture that they led without compassion but were rather focused on following the letter of the law.
It just so happens that Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath...a day that a holy day of rest in the Jewish community. Keeping the sabbath day holy was one of the Ten Commandments. Yet, Jesus, as always, cared more about His mission than the letter of the law. Jesus, the living Word of God, clearly trumps the written Word of God. So, He breaks the Sabbath laws to both care for this man and show that He is Lord of the Sabbath as well.
Nevertheless, the Pharisees were focused on the Law instead of the transformation and healing of the blind man. (Seriously, what was wrong with all of these people that couldn't celebrate this?)
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 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.” 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. John 9:13-16 NIV
Remember, in today's world, the Pharisees would represent our modern church congregations most faithful members. They represented the "lifers", people who had been in church all their lives. Is it possible that, just like the Pharisees, we miss God's miracles because we are too focused on the way things are supposed to be?
How many church fights have broken out because God was doing something fresh and new among His people? Before we overly condemn the Pharisees, is it in anyway possible that we would act the exact same way? Jesus represented CHANGE in the minds of the Pharisees and they were afraid of change.
They were afraid to lose their way of life they had enjoyed for hundreds of years. They wanted things to stay the way they had had always been; for the status quo to be preserved? Sound familiar?
May it be said of us as followers of Christ that we were willing to change so that God could work miracles among us that we could never take credit for...or explain with our rational human thinking!
Prayer emphasis: Let's pray together today that God will give us the courage to be willing to embrace the moving of His Spirit among us...even if that means that we must embrace change. Let's also pray that God will give us a spirit of CELEBRATION when works miracles among us that we could never take credit for.
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