This week in class when we touched on chapter 8 in John, I decided to read the whole chapter, and then I read chapter 9 cause I couldn’t stop. Chapter 8 is about the woman caught in the act of adultery, and chapter 9 is about Jesus healing the blind man and giving him sight. I L-O-V-E these chapters, and what I love most about them isn’t necessarily the actual healing of the blind man, or the non-stoning of the woman, but I love Jesus’ responses to the Pharisees and Scribes, and also how the blind man defends Jesus in the temple. Some verses that stood out to me were John 8:34—“Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” This statement came after his other statement in verse 32 which says, “and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”, and the scribes and Pharisees were like, hey, our people were never in bondage to any man, so how can you say we will be made free?
I like these two things for these reasons. One, the Pharisees are dumb, because they chose not to listen and understand. But also, in the phrase “and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” is a statement that contains an action word. “know”. The word “know” in the scriptures implies an action. When it’s talking about a man and the scripture says, “and he knew her”, it doesn’t mean that they were acquainted. It means there was an intimate action that took place. When Jesus says “and ye shall know the truth”, he’s saying, “and when you have a testimony of the truth (which is also an intimate connection) and change your lives to live in accordance with the truth of the gospel, it will make you free from sin.”
In another verse Jesus tells us (verse 44) that there is no truth in the Devil. Satan may take half truths and couple them with lies, but the overall message that Satan gives us is of lies, hate, fear, and insecurity. Why would we want to become servants of one that lies to us, hates us, and would have us be fearful and insecure? Just in that I could see how Hell would be like a pit full of fire and brimstone.
The blind man in Chapter 9 has inspired me to action. The Pharisees were asking the blind man who healed him, and the blind man kept saying, a prophet, a prophet. The Pharisees wanted the blind man to take his answer back and respond differently, and they asked him again. I love the blind man’s response in verses 27, 30, 33, 35, and 38-41. He says, “I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? Will ye also be his disciples?” and then the Pharisees were like, we are disciples of Moses, and we know that Moses was from God, but we don’t know where your guy that healed you came from. And the blind man says, “Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes”. The blind man had such faith, devotion, and love. He defended the Savior even when he didn’t know who he really was.
