Day 34 - John 8-9

OK, here's the second post of the day...

John 8 is one of the strongest cases for the oneness of Jesus Christ and the Father. In vs16-17 Jesus' judgment is the same as the Father's. Jesus claims that if you know Him, then you know the Father (vs19). Jesus speaks the same things as the Father (vs28). It is because of this "oneness" that Jesus can say with confident truthfulness, "I always do the things that are pleasing to Him" (vs29). Of course, the most striking statement in this regard comes at the end of the chapter when Jesus says, "Before Abraham was, I AM" (vs58). In this statement, He identified Himself as Yahweh of the OT (cf. Ex. 3:14).

Here again we see the importance of believing in Jesus. If you don't, you will die in your sins (vs24). Some do believe (vs30-31). The result of believing is that you become one of His disciples. Jesus makes it clear what true discipleship looks like. A true disciple abides in His word (vs31). A true disciple is no longer enslaved to sin (vs34-36). A true disciple loves God (vs42). A true disciple keeps His word (vs52).

Chapter 9 contains one of my favorite stories in this Gospel. Jesus and His disciples encounter this man who had been born blind. His disciples wrongly attribute this tragedy to specific, individual sin, but Jesus corrects their thinking--it's about God and His glory (vs2). Jesus then displays the glory of God by healing this blind man. Notice the reactions by different groups of people. The "people" in general were shocked (vs8), curious (vs10), scoffing (vs24-29), disbelieving (vs18), and rejecting (vs34). The Pharisees were divided (vs16): some denied that Jesus could be from God, while others were hinting that there is no way He couldn't be from God. The most interesting reaction is the progressive reaction of the man that was healed. He starts off as an "obeyer" (vs7). Then a mere reporter (vs11,15). Then he becomes more of a bold proclaimer (vs17,25). This leads to an act of defending Jesus (vs30-33). Finally, it is demonstrated that he is a believer and a worshiper (vs38).

It is interesting to me that in this story we see a blind man who is made to see because of the Light, but at the same time, there are "seeing" people who are blinded by the same Light!