This chapter gives us the follow up to Christ’s raising of Lazarus from the dead. We’ll see Jesus interacting with His closest friends, the world and with committed unbelievers.
Audio: John12.mp3
Notes: John12.pdf
This chapter begins with a man who was blind from birth. The disciples, displaying little or no insight, ask, “Who sinned this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus responds by declaring Himself to be the Light of the World, and healing the blind man.
It’s difficult to argue with a man just healed from a lifetime of blindness, but that’s exactly what the Pharisees try to do as they confront him about his healing. The chapter ends with the Pharisees rejecting Jesus and the formerly blind man worshiping Him.
Audio: John09.mp3
Study Notes: John09.pdf
To see some photos and get some archaeological insights regarding the Pool of Siloam mentioned in this chapter, check out the following link: Bible Places
Theology doesn’t matter much to those who observe genuine transformation. In John Chapter 9 Jesus heals a man born blind. His neighbors immediately begin to talk about it.
Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”
Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.”
He said, “I am he.”
Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.” – John 9:8-11
When Jesus makes big and obvious changes in us, the world can’t help but notice. While a pathetic Christian life makes for a pathetic Christian witness, a transformed life wields remarkable authority. Once the changes are made all we need to do is give Him the glory for the great things He has done.
Let’s allow Him to do all that He wants to within us and give the world something to notice as we change.
I’ve often considered that if Jesus never prayed, or didn’t pray much, I’d be OK with that. He was, after all, God the Son. If He interacted with the Father by means of some spiritual osmosis, which just happened without actual prayer taking place, who could really argue or challenge the concept?
Still, pray He did, frequently and for long periods. So much so that it made a real impression on His disciples. It also impresses me. And so, I want to join with the disciple mentioned in Luke 11:1, by asking Jesus about prayer.
Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.'” – Luke 11:1 (NKJV)
I need to pray more and pray better – and I sense I’m not alone in this need. What better way to start than by asking Jesus to teach us? If we’re looking for something to pray about, let’s begin by praying about prayer. It seems like just the kind of prayer that the Lord would love to answer.
Central Reflections 