To briefly review, Jesus encountered a man born blind and healed him. Mud was placed on his eyes, washed off and sight given. Friends celebrated, strangers were skeptical, Jesus had moved on, and the consensus was to take the man to the priests.
Today we focus on John 9:13-23
Why did these people bring the man to the pharisees? When people were healed, they needed an official declaration from the priests. A sickness had to be officially identified and the person inspected afterward. The proper cleansing rituals were also in order. People also feared the power the priests held.
There was a twist. It was the sabbath. This is the only hint we have of the time of this miracle. It could have been the same day as the feast of booths that precede this account, or the winter feast mentioned in chapter 10. It might have been at another time, but certainly on a sabbath.
Priests were also doctors and concerned with healing. How did this one happen? Wouldn’t you also like to know, so it can be reproduced? They may have been too focused on the physical nature of healing. This was a spiritual healing as touched on in the previous installment. The method and mechanics of it didn’t matter. The power of Jesus did.
Division arose based on presumptions. Confirmation bias. That means starting with the conclusion and using only enough of the facts to support your own view. Facts of the reality of healing were discarded. Focus turned to religious, ritual piety and ideology. Jesus broke the sabbath, a very basic law, so he must not be from God. While some totally missed the magnitude of the healing. Blind from birth, others got it.
When the focus is on the miracle, it becomes clear that no sinful man can perform such a miraculous healing.
The fact of the healing couldn’t be ignored, so the examination sought to discredit the healer. Can’t you just imagine the attitude of these accusers? “OK blind guy. What kind of vibe did you get from this man? Was he a crazy sinner, or not?”
The man hadn’t seen Jesus yet. He only heard him. He recognized his authority and obeyed. What kind of logical conclusion might a regular person make from the situation? What kind of man known from history ever did such deeds? A prophet. This was not the answer the leaders were looking for.
The Jewish leaders were still looking for the gimmick. The trick. The secret thing behind the curtain to make this magic trick work. Sleight of hand. An illusion.
This man couldn’t possibly have been blind. Those neighbors and friends must be in on it, or unreliable. Call for his parents.
They demanded more evidence, not accepting the idea that supernatural authority is at work.
Maybe it’s a scam, and the honest, law-abiding parents will expose their son’s sneaky ways. They ask them to verify the man’s identity, “Is this actually your son? Was he really blind from birth?”
What else could the parents do? They told the truth and confirmed he was their blind son.
They had to remain silent on what they didn’t know. The parents weren’t recorded as being there. How would they know who healed their son? Their son wasn’t a child. He was a full-grown man who was capable of speaking for himself. Maybe they had a little bit of self-preservation in mind as well.
The extent of the confirmation bias of the Jews went beyond trying to find trickery in Jesus and his miracles. They had already made up their minds to ignore facts. The only conclusion is that Jesus could not be the Messiah. Anyone saying otherwise, spreading misinformation was to be canceled. Made to be unpersoned. Or in the words of their day, put out of the synagogue.
As much as they may have loved their son, they also feared their leaders. They didn’t want to be cancelled, or put out of the comforts of society.
The conflict with society and confrontation with the power of Jesus isn’t over yet, so stay tuned.
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Thanks to the recorded comments from J Vernon McGee. His ministry and daily bible study live on through Through the Bible Ministries (ttb.org)
Scriptures in the show notes and episode are quoted from the King James Version, except when read by Keith, then it’s the NASB.
“Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995
by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.”
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