“We fear men so much because we fear God so little. One fear cures another.”
William Gurnall
The healing of the man born blind (John 9) contains an important detail that is not revealed until the fourteenth verse, “They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.” (v. 13-14) This healing took place on the Sabbath. This sparked controversy. Some of the Pharisees accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath. There are many reasons that Jesus healed on the Sabbath. He, as Lord of the Sabbath, had a right to heal on it. He healed on the Sabbath and forgave sins on the Sabbath to reveal his status as God. (see Mark 2) Healing on the Sabbath, revealed the merciful heart of God and put on display the skewed interpretation of the Jewish leaders. There are other reasons as well.
This Sabbath healing is not the first one we encounter in the gospel of John. When Jesus healed the crippled man by the pool of Bethesda it was also a Sabbath. (see John 5) This healing caused division among the people and stirred up the religious leaders who then sought to kill him. (John 5:18) Jesus displays no fear of man in either healing. In the second, he willingly wades into controversy because he loves even those who oppose him and wants them to see the truth of who he is. He does not fear the Pharisees or Pilate or Herod but trusts the plan and timing of his Father. A Christian counselor, Ed Welch, writes, “You love people more when you need them less.” It would take a lot of ink to unpack that statement so let’s modify it a bit, “You love people more when you need their approval less.” There it is. To really love people is to seek to advance the agenda of Jesus Christ in their lives. And that takes courage. Take courage today as you contemplate Christ’s life and share Him with others. Have a blessed week and we will see many of you on Sunday.
Unto Him be the glory,
Pastor Dale
