Jump Start # 1515

John 9:34-35 “They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out. Jesus head that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’”

  Our verse and thoughts today are a continuation from yesterday’s Jump Start. John 9 details the critical examination that the Pharisees made of the man who was blind but received his sight from Jesus. The miracle itself is covered in just a few verses. The rest of the chapter surrounds the Pharisees attempt to discount this man’s claim that he was blind and to discredit Jesus. They not only quiz the blind man more than once, but they also question his parents. His parents’ feared these powerful Pharisees. It was known that if anyone confessed Jesus to be the Christ, they were put out of the synagogue. That very act of rejection would cripple their social lives. There was much at stake. The blind man’s parents found an easy way to avoid the sharp questions, “ask him, he’s old enough.”

At the conclusion of once again questioning the blind man, our verse is found. The arrogance of the Pharisees is exhibited in the snub comment, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” Then they “put him out.” The blind man was kicked out of the synagogue. He was removed. He was branded, labeled, accused and rejected. His relationship with his parents was now at stake. To associate with one who was removed from the synagogue put yourself in jeopardy. These Pharisees used fear to control people. In a small community made up of Jews, being outcast was as bad as having leprosy. The blind man could see, but what he saw wasn’t very pretty. He would see people turning their backs and walking away from him. He would see shop owners closing their doors as he approached. He would see people whispering as he passed. His new vision opened his eyes to the ugly side of prejudice, fear and rejection.

Even today, some use fear and threats as a way of controlling behavior. Some parents operate this way. Many places of employment function this way. And even in some churches, this seems to be the standard. Fear keeps folks quiet. People feel a certain way, but they certainly won’t express it because they are afraid. Fear keeps everyone in line. Every once in a while a rebel arises, but he is dismissed and dealt with so quickly that others would never dare try that.

So, the blind man was put out. It would be hard to know where he would go. Could he even go home to his parent’s house? How confused he must have felt. He didn’t do anything. People ought to be happy that he can now see. He could function again. He could work. He could add to society. Instead, he was the focus of a serious verbal attack and in these whirlwind encounters, he found himself put out of the synagogue. What was he to do now?

The next verse, so fitting to the character of Jesus, states, “Jesus head that they had put him out, and finding him…” Jesus found the man. Where he found him we are not told. How long it took Jesus to find him we are not told. Everyone in the synagogue turned their backs to this man, and Jesus went looking for him. How true this is to Jesus. The Lord is always looking. When one sheep wandered off, the shepherd took off to find it. When a coin was lost, the house was swept and lamps lit to find it. When the prodigal was a long way off, his father saw him and ran to him. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. He is not on a seek and destroy mission but rather a seek and save mission.

The blind man received his sight. He now experienced the blindness of those around him. Blind to truth. Blind to making changes. Blind to confessing Christ. Blind in prejudice and fear. Jesus found the man.

In a wonderful twist of events, the blind man came to see who Jesus was. He confessed that he believed and he worshipped Jesus. The Pharisees caught wind of this and challenged Jesus. He told them that they were not only blind but in their sins. What a turn of statements! They had accused the blind man of being entirely in sins and yet Jesus used that thought on those narrow Pharisees.

Jesus found the man who had been put out. There are folks today who have been put out. There is that kid in school who no one talks to at lunch. Maybe he’s overweight. Maybe he’s not popular. He’s bullied, laughed at and has been put out. There are folks similar to that at work. No one likes them. They are alone. They have been put out because they don’t engage in the weekend party scene. They don’t talk about others. They sit quietly and every once in a while someone jabs them verbally. They are put out. There are those at church who feel the same. They may have been divorced and now they don’t fit in. They come from a different background than others. They have had issues in the past. When services are over, they quietly leave. They are not included in little conversations. They are not invited out to eat with others. They attend but truthfully, they have been put out.

Most of us can see faces to those situations I described. It hurts us to know that is the truth in too many places. We stand in the shoes of the blind man’s parents. Are we going to fear others and continue to ignore those who are cast out or are we going to stand with Jesus and find them, include them and welcome them?

Jesus did what others wouldn’t. Jesus welcomed the blind man. The blind man was of more value than the entire synagogue of stuck up Pharisees. They saw the blind man as not worthy to be among them. Jesus found him and included him. We must be careful with what we are doing. We must be careful that we are not guilty of “putting some out” that Jesus would include. Older folks ought to talk to the little ones…Teenagers and senior citizens ought to get together…married and single folks…those with families and those without families…everyone has a place. Everyone ought to feel accepted.

One of the worst things that someone can say about a church is that “I’m not like them.” That’s exactly what the Pharisees thought. They were better than the blind man. They had no use for the blind man. Jesus showed them otherwise.

Do you stand in the shadows of those who point to the exit or do you stand in the shadows of the Savior, who opens His arms to accept?

Great lessons from our verses. It gives us much to think about. Live as if one foot is already in Heaven.

Roger