May 21, 2017

Paying Attention

43 minutes

As we continue our series called “The Master Teacher,” I’d like to begin by looking at an amazing encounter between Jesus and a man who was, in almost every way, ignored by the world him.

Starting with verse 1 of John 9, we read that “As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.”

His disciples asked him, “Rabbi… Why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”3“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Just after he said this, Jesus does something very odd. We see, in verse 6, that He spat on the ground and made mud with his saliva and spread the mud over the man’s eyes.

Then he tells this blind man to go to the Pool of Siloam to wash the mud from his eyes.

Now, the Pool of Siloam was a reservoir of freshwater built by King Hezekiah 700 before this story took place.

By Jesus’ day, it was a major tourist spot for ancient Jews making religious pilgrimages to the city.

So, the man does just what Jesus asked him to do. And when he does, he’s suddenly able to see… for the first time in his life!

In verse 8, his neighbors… and all those who had known him as a blind beggar began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”

Some were saying, “He is.” The others were saying, “No, he just looks like him.”

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By Vineyard Morris Plains