John 9:13–17

About this episode

The episode reflects on the healing of a blind man and the Pharisees' misunderstanding of the Sabbath.

13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath. 15 So the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. The man answered, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” 16 Because of this, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” And there was division among them. 17 So once again they asked the man who had been blind, “What do you say about Him, since it was your eyes He opened?” “He is a prophet,” the man replied. REFLECTIONS Written by Queenie Favelle In today’s passage, we can see that once again the Pharisees have completely missed the point. The reason for the miracle of healing a man born blind is to point to the fact that Jesus is the Messiah, fulfilling Scripture. Instead of seeing that, all they concentrate on is that Jesus healed on the Sabbath – that he “worked” on the Sabbath rather than resting. They were strict about keeping the law, and were quick to condemn others for minor failures, but they had forgotten the purpose…

Topics covered

• healing
• Sabbath
• Pharisees
• miracles
• faith
• Jesus as Messiah

Keywords

• blindness
• miracle
• Sabbath law
• Jesus
• Pharisees
• faith
• prophet

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: John 9:13–17

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