He Does Not Keep The Sabbath

They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees.
Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.
Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
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 9:13-16 NKJV]

We see that he (whom Jesus healed) had been born blind and was no longer so, having been transformed by his encounter with Jesus. His inquisitors — again looking for reasons to denounce Jesus — asked that he explain his receiving of sight, and concluded that it could not be a God-given miracle because it happened on the day of rest.

But even among these religiously dogmatic men there was division — at least some of them realised that this conclusion did not make sense. How could someone who broke the law and healed a blind man on the Sabbath — and therefore was a sinner — perform a miracle of healing?

If a sinner then He could not heal on the Sabbath? If from God then surely He would keep the Sabbath and would not heal on that day? Their religious zeal made them blind to the truth, something the blind man had now been gifted and had understood.

Again, we see that a rigid adherence to religious form can blind us to the same truth we purport to seek and believe.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Lord keep us hearing from Your Holy Spirit, that Your truth may be forever a part of us.

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Wednesday 19th May 2021

Asking in prayer is at once the test of three things — simplicity, stupidity, and certainty of God.
[from ‘Disciples Indeed’]

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