John 9:13-16

Some people can be so set in their ways, so rigid in their thinking, so right in their own analysis of issues that they miss the Truth even when it hits them squarely between the eyes. Such was the case in our verses for today with some of the religious elite. These Pharisees had determined that Jesus could not have been from God because He had performed a good work on the Sabbath. Never mind that the good work was miraculous – showing forth the finger marks of God and something far beyond their ability to accomplish - it simply did not fit under their definition of proper behavior for a man sent from God. In finding fault with our Lord for granting mercy on the Sabbath, they expose their ignorance to their own law. Jesus’ ministry was directed towards those who realized that they had a need – these religious leaders were obviously above (in their own eyes) having needs. It galled them that he would not only eat with sinners but heal them of their infirmity, particularly on the Sabbath:

12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matt 9:12-13 (NIV)

These Pharisees seemed to have conveniently forgotten that it is as great a sin to add to the commandments as it is to take away from them. In performing this healing on the Sabbath, Jesus demonstrates that works of mercy and necessity are certainly consistent in keeping it. Interestingly, Jesus performed many miracles on the Sabbath fleshing out His Word found in Matthew:

8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." 9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" 11 He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 13 Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. Matt 12:8-14 (NIV)

Mark puts it in yet another way showing that the Sabbath is a gift from God meant for the good of man’s body, mind and soul. It is, to be sure, a day to be kept holy, sanctified, set apart yet it was never intended to prevent works of necessity (a sheep in the ditch) or acts of mercy (healing a man born blind):

27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Mark 2:27-28 (NIV)

Furthermore, I do not believe the issue lay so much in the healing of the man born blind or the healing of the man with the shriveled hand on the Sabbath. The issue, in my opinion, was that Jesus did not fit into their pretty little “messiah box”. They simply did not want Him to be their Messiah. He lived much too counter to their “religious” culture – to their “religious” way of thinking. Instead of walking around in a flowing robe being highly exalted among man, they were forever finding our Lord eating and drinking with sinners, healing on the Sabbath, and washing the feet of His disciples. While their preference was to be served, He came to serve and therefore calls His followers to that way of life as well:

26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-- 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matt 20:26-28 (NIV)

Yet, the evidence that demanded a verdict remained – the man born blind could now see. There was no refuting what stood before their eyes and what their ears heard from the one healed. It is amazing what lengths one will go to not believe our Lord – from avoidance of thought to avoidance of the evidence. All the while God continues to speak and woo us, quite frankly, to simply “get it”. He tells us through the prophet Isaiah:

21 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? 22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. 23 He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. 24 No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. 25 "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. 26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God"? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:21-31 (NIV)