July 26
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JESUS DECLARES HIS DEITY
35 Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” 38 And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. 39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” 40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains. – John 9:35-41
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When Jesus heard that the blind man he healed was questioned and put out by the Jewish leaders, He talked to the man. Since Jesus is all knowing, He already knew that the man believed him before He asked him. Why then did He had to ask him? It is essential that the man recognize Him, who gave Him sight as from God. Of course, Jesus knew exactly the conversation that transpired earlier between the healed man and the Jewish leaders. He knew that this man believed in Him and that is why He was able to tell the Pharisees that He knows that only someone from God can heal a man born blind like him. As soon as we believe in Jesus, we are given the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts. Because the Holy Spirit is our counselor, helper and teacher, we immediately get revelations about the deity of Christ. It is also the Holy Spirit that makes us see things that we naturally won’t see. We are also gifted with worshiping God when we are filled with His Holy Spirit. That’s why the healed man praised Jesus as soon as He declared He is the Son of Man.
When the Jewish leaders saw that the man worshiped Jesus, they came and asked Jesus if He thinks they are blind too. Another trick question they ask Jesus so they can find something to reject Jesus with. But Jesus gives back to them a response that clearly says that they are sinners because declare they can see. In those times, blindness was associated to sin. Jesus changed that belief. He actually says that the blind are those without sin. So, when the leaders declare that they can see, He actually points out to them how sinful they are. I Corinthians 1:27 says “Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.” This verse is almost what Jesus did to the Jewish leaders who think they know it all.
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REFLECTION
• How has Jesus shown His divinity in your life?