“16 Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.”- John 9:16 NKJV

Once again, truth is on trial, and the courtroom is fixated on a man born blind with one question: ‘Who is Jesus?”. In short, Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath, enraging the Jewish religious elite. The Pharisees question the man multiple times, then question his parents, who know the truth but, out of fear, pass the buck to their son, saying, “he is of age; ask him!”. They were not willing to face dishonor in the eyes of mankind regardless of the truth. Yet, they were willing to let their own son suffer the consequences of excommunication from the community and the Jewish way of life. Fear often tempts us to compromise the truth for the love or honor of mankind. The Pharisees compromised truth and relationship with God in favor of the ‘honor’ of being seen as more righteous than others. As such, they could not fathom why this “so-called” messiah would work on the Sabbath! Making clay from spit was considered work, along with healing. The Pharisees believed that a man from God would uphold their law to the letter, in doing so, they essentially believed that God would not do work on the Sabbath, effectively making the Sabbath the object of worship rather than God Himself. They’ve put God in a box of their own creation. As such, they are unable or unwilling to see God. God will use the simple to confound the wise, often using the unclean (mud) to make things clean. Jesus came to open blind eyes. Many people claim to see through spiritual eyes, yet their hope is not set on Christ. Their guilt remains because they claim to see perfectly, yet they are still stumbling in the darkness.

The blind man was born HOPELESS in his condition but gained hope in Christ. How has Christ given you hope in your life?