JOHN 9 THOUGH I WAS BLIND NOW I SEE

February 19

JOHN 9
24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. – John 9:24-34

JOHN 9 THOUGH I WAS BLIND NOW I SEE
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When you believe in Jesus, you will be given sight
All those things you didn’t see will now be visible and clear
He frees us from what we were enslaved with and gives life
He directs us from a life of darkness into his light
If you allow him to be your Master, you will discern
Free yourself from all bondages, come to Jesus Christ.

It is tiring to hear of these Jewish leaders who kept on pursuing unbelief and legalism. They had to ask the former blind man again and again how he regained his sight. It is such a futile activity to go around in circles and miss what is being shown to them. They cannot even hear what the man was saying because they want him to say what they want to hear. On the other hand, the man born blind did not just get healing for his sight, but his spirit was also healed when he began to claim that Jesus can only be able to do what he did because he worshiped God. This angered the Jews. They do not want to hear the truth.

REFLECTION
• Share some things that you used to be blind from and now you see.

JOHN 9 CONTINUED UNBELIEF

February 18

JOHN 9
18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 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.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
– John 9:18-23

JOHN 9 CONTINUED UNBELIEF
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
If someone continues with his unbelief, he will pursue logic
Man’s mind will do its best to understand what it cannot fathom
When a man leans too much on his own mind, he will not believe
Because of unbelief, there’s no way they will see signs or receive it
Continued unbelief leads to double-mindedness and confusion
They are tossed and blown like the wind and they are unstable.

In this account we see how relentless the Jewish leaders are to investigate the healing of the blind man from birth. They will never believe or admit or even entertain that it may be true that Jesus healed him. So, they summoned the parents of the man to further ask them with the threat of excommunication if they didn’t show up or give them sufficient answers to satisfy their investigation.
In Ezra 10:18, we see an example of the consequences of excommunication. It says that those who failed to come within three days would, if the leaders and elders so decided, forfeit all their property and be expelled from the assembly of the exiles. According to a commentary by Dods, they are treated like lepers and entirely cut off. We can therefore understand why the parents were so terrified and deflected answering anything about the healing of Jesus to their son who is already “of age.”

REFLECTION
• Share some insights about the effects of continued unbelief to people.

JOHN 9 THE DOWNSIDE OF LEGALISM

February 17

JOHN 9
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”– John 9:13-17

JOHN 9 THE DOWNSIDE OF LEGALISM
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When we have a legalistic view, we become slaves to rules
We develop a tunnel vision to focus only on what we know
We do not want to hear anything that opposes our mindsets
We become blind to other people’s knowledge and belief systems
Legalism brings conflict; it enslaves others to only go with your flow
It is not proactive but reactive; it wants to live in what it knows.

In this account, we see the downside of legalism. The Pharisees had to investigate the former blind man. They were looking at all kinds of loopholes to charge Jesus with something so he could stop the signs he was doing. They were threatened by what Jesus could do and their insecurities were activated by Jesus’ big following. They had tunnel vision which only focuses on the law that Jesus broke. He healed the blind man on the Sabbath. How ridiculous was it to grill someone who freed the blind man from being in the dark all his life? This is what happens to legalistic people. They cannot see anything good. They are so obsessed with following rules and they want to control everyone else around them to do so. They do not care if you have another view because that will negate their knowledge which will make them lesser and activate their inferiority complex.
Instead of believing that Jesus was the Son of God, they had to prove that Jesus was a sinner. It would make them right to find fault in Jesus and feel a sense of control over it.

REFLECTION
• Share how legalism or legalistic people have destroyed themselves and others.

JOHN 9 FAITH VERSUS UNBELIEF

February 16

JOHN 9
8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
– John 9:8-12

JOHN 9 FAITH VERSUS UNBELIEF
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
If you have faith like a mustard seed the impossible can happen
Because of his faith, the blind man was given sight for the first time
There were those who saw him who couldn’t believe he was the same man
Their unbelief led them to many questions and inability to receive the sign.

It is interesting how the neighbors of the blind beggar couldn’t recognize the man who is now able to see. They were so used to seeing him without sight. Because of this mindset, they were also unable to believe that the Son of God can do the impossible. It is sad how unbelief can make us ask many questions because our minds are so limited. They had to interrogate the man and ask how Jesus gave him his sight. They had to process in their minds through reasoning how the impossible happened. They cannot just receive it because that would mean that their thinking process is wrong which is illogical. Many of us get stuck in our mindsets that we cannot see the new life that Jesus has given us. We get so used to the old sinful ways that it becomes hard to give up the habit of sin.
This man had faith which was manifested when he obeyed Jesus to go to the pool of Siloam to wash the mud that he placed on his eyes. David Guzik comments “Still as a blind man he had to find his way down to the pool of Siloam and down its steps to the pool itself. He likely could think of a dozen reasons why this was a fool’s errand, but he went and washed in faith and obedience, because Jesus told him to (and because there was mud in his eyes.”

REFLECTION
• How have you grown your faith since you became a servant of the Lord Jesus?

JOHN 9 GRAB OPPORTUNITIES TO DO GOD’S WORKS

February 15

JOHN 9
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. – John 9:1-7

JOHN 9 GRAB OPPORTUNITIES TO DO GOD’S WORKS
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Whenever an opportunity comes to you to bring the gospel
Do not miss it but grab it for it may not come again
We do not know when the Lord is coming back
Let us have the urgency to glorify the Lord.

What did Jesus mean when he said that we must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. There seems to be an urgency in his statement. We know that he knows when his time on earth is at an end, so he was using every opportunity to praise and glorify his Father. He didn’t waste time to do the work that the Father sent him to do. Spurgeon comments on this verse “I must work is a marvelous statement of Jesus. The Worker is a well-earned title to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the worker, the chief worker and the example of all workers.”
Do we have that urgency to use every opportunity we can to do God’s work? In this account, he found a blind man and had compassion for him and he healed him even on the Sabbath because he knew he didn’t have enough time to glorify his Father. His hour is coming soon. This is probably what he meant when the night is coming when no one can work. Darkness will soon take over when he is killed on the cross but his sacrifice will bring again light to the world because his Father’s wrath will be appeased and sin will no longer have power if we believe in him.

REFLECTION
• How can we emulate Jesus’ urgency to do the work of glorifying the Lord?

JOHN 8 IF YOU KEEP GOD’S WORD

February 14

JOHN 8
48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. 50 Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ 55 But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. – John 8:48-59

JOHN 8 IF YOU KEEP GOD’S WORD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Those who claim to believe in the Lord must keep his word
If you do not follow his word, you will be consumed by the world
It is the word that will bring you discernment from what is not true
It exposes what lies the enemy uses to destroy and kill you
So, keep being faithful to seek the truth in God’s word
It will free you from the bondage of sin propagated in this world.

We continue to witness the violence that the Jewish leaders are throwing at Jesus. They are so mad that they don’t hear anything Jesus says. They were hyper-focusing on arresting him and killing him. As Jesus continued to expose their unbelief and not understanding what he was saying, they got more and more violent to the point at picking stones to throw at him. But, of course, we know that God won’t allow that as it is not yet Jesus’ hour at that time. They aren’t able to hear the truth because they are of the devil.

REFLECTION
• What benefits have you enjoyed when you keep God’s word?

JOHN 8 WHEN YOU BELIEVE LIES

February 13

JOHN 8
39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” – John 8:39-47

JOHN 8 WHEN YOU BELIEVE LIES
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
The devil is the source of all deceptions and lies
If you believe his lies, you will surely die
Because he is the father of lies, there is no truth in him
So, when you follow his mindsets, you will always sin
If you believe lies, you won’t hear the word of the Lord
Because you will be held captive by the system of the world.

It is sad that many people cannot distinguish a lie from truth. Because the world system has penetrated our thinking and because we do not really hunger for truth that only comes in God’s word, the devil has a big playground in our minds to twist and give us half truths just like he did in the Garden of Eden when he enticed Adam and Eve.
Jesus was telling the Jewish leaders that because their father is the devil who is the father of all lies, they were unable to hear the truth and believe that he comes from the Father up above. They can’t hear because they do not belong to God.

REFLECTION
• How do we discern lies from the truth? In what form do lies hide?

JOHN 8 ONLY TRUTH SETS YOU FREE

February 12

JOHN 8
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”– John 8:31-38

JOHN 8 ONLY TRUTH SETS YOU FREE
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
If you justify your sins and continue to practice it
You are definitely a slave to sin and you need Jesus
If you believe in Christ, you will follow his word
When you do so, you will be set free by the truth.

There are some followers who truly do not understand what being a true Christian means.
When you believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells in your heart and you will be changed. You will no longer long to follow your sinful nature which wants to cater to pleasures of the flesh. You will become aware of sins because the word of God will expose it and lead you to do what is right and true. You will no longer make a habit of sin. Even though you are still a sinner, you no longer are bent to follow it. Because the Holy Spirit leads you to give glory to God and to Jesus, you will become aware when you are being self-focused.
In this account, Jesus promises freedom to all those who will believe in him and follow his word. The Jews claimed that they are offspring of Abraham and thought they weren’t enslaved to anyone but Jesus was talking of spiritual slavery to sin which they didn’t understand. He identified the slave to sin by saying they practice it, meaning they make a habit of it. Jesus confronted them that they are unable to be free because their Father is not God but he was referring to the devil as their father.

REFLECTION
• What may hinder a Christian from being truly set free?

JOHN 8 DEPENDING ON GOD ALONE

February 11

JOHN 8
21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him. – John 8:21-30

JOHN 8 DEPENDING ON GOD ALONE
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When Jesus came on earth, it was to fulfill God’s will
Everything he did was to follow and obey his beloved Father
He never spoke anything that did not come from him
All He did was to make sure that his Father was pleased.

This account shows us an incoherent exchange of views on the part of the Jews. Of course, Jesus knew what was in their minds and hearts, but they didn’t understand what Jesus was uttering. Because of their unbelief and obsessive motive to arrest and kill him, they were so blind and unable to receive the truth of Jesus’ claim about his identity and purpose for being on earth. They didn’t comprehend that Jesus was speaking of his death on the cross and the benefit of such sacrifice for the salvation of man from sin.
In verse 23, he made clear the boundary between his divinity and the humanity to the Jews. “You are from below and I am from above” this is that divide between God and man. In verse 28, we witness God’s obedience and dependence on God alone. He will never do anything out of his Father’s will. His purpose is to obey his will and carry out his plan.

REFLECTION
• How is being independent against God’s design for humans?

JOHN 8 THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

February 10

JOHN 8
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
– John 8:12-20

JOHN 8 THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
If you are confused and living in the dark
There is a way for you to walk in the right path
Jesus is the light of the world, come to him
He will free you by exposing all kinds of sin.

In this account, the Pharisees continue to find fault and press charges on Jesus. Each truth that Jesus declares, they get obsessed with grilling him. When Jesus declares that he is the light of the world and that whoever follows him will no longer walk in darkness, you already know how the Pharisees were going to take this. Of course, they rejected it and further nailed Jesus’ identity by asking “Where is your Father?” They wanted to arrest him, but they had no idea that it wasn’t Jesus’ hour yet. They thought they could control all these things and plot against Jesus at the exact time they wanted to, but they were so wrong. So many people may claim that they are believers but they live in darkness and confusion. How can they not have the light of the world if they truly believe in Christ?

REFLECTION
• How can you see if a believer has the light of life that comes from Jesus alone?