John 9, Exodus 34:29-34

                                   "MIRACLE HAPPENED HERE"
                             (Sixth in a series: "Seven Signs in John")

How long must you keep us in suspense?
If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly. (John10:24-25)
How would you respond to such a question?
What makes Jesus absolutely unique?

John seeks to give us the answer in his Gospel, and especially in the signs/miracles
that Jesus did.  Jesus responds to the question:
     I have told you, but you do not believe.
     My deeds, done in my Father’s name, are my credentials. (John 9:2 6)
                                                                   

The Context is the Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles Chanukah. The "Dedication"

of the Temple after it was desegrated by a Syrian General and Commemorates
God’s Faithfulness and assurance that no darkness can quench the "True Light."
A Menorah was lit. First day two, then one each day one more, recalling the "miracle that
there was only enough oil for one day, but that it lasted eight days. Later Menorahs
were used in homes. Words associated with Chanukah are:
Latkes,(special pancake) Gelt, (Gold Coins) and Driedel-four-sided top.
On each side a Hebrew word meaning a:
"Great Miracle Happened Here"

Each time the driede was spun it reminded the players of God’s power
and faithfulness.

Miracles still Happen Here.

John briefly narrates the story of the Miraculous Healing of a blind man.
He is more interested in the interaction between the Pharisees and the
Blind man.  Through a series of interrogations, John shows that as the
blind man increases in knowledge of Jesus, while the Religious Leaders
blinded themselves to the Light, plunging into darkness.

In one way, the story is allegory of us all.
We All were born Spiritually Blind. Some of us were fortunate to meet
Jesus early in life, especially if we were raised in a home where Jesus’
love was demonstrated and taught. Others of us remained
Spiritually Blind because no one ever told us about Jesus or if someone
did, we were not ready to listen let alone ask for spiritual healing.

This story is about one who sat in darkness and was brought to see
the Light, not only physically but spiritually.  It is also about those
who could see, the Religious Leaders, becoming spiritually blind.
John begins the story with a blind man receiving sight and ends
with the Pharisees becoming spiritually blind. (John 10:41)

The care with which the evangelist has drawn his portraits of increasing
insight and hardening blindness are masterful. Three Times the former
blind man, who is truly gaining knowledge, humbly confesses
his ignorance (10:12, 25, 36).  Three Times the Pharisees,
who are really plunging deeper into abysmal ignorance of Jesus,
make confident statements about what they know about him. (10:16, 24, 29)

The blind man’s confrontation with the Pharisees in, vs. 24-34,
is one of the most clearly written dialogues in the New Testament.         

Before Jesus acts, he explains the purpose and meaning of the healing.
He says that "Light was coming into darkness, that God’s
power might be displayed."
　　
The Festival of Dedication was a time of reflecting on the past,
what Israel and Judah had done that led to seeing their
Temple desegrated. The Disciples asked:
"Who sinned, this man or his parents." (2)

Jesus does not address the issue of suffering.
He shows what God can do in any person.
        He was born blind that the power
        of God could be seen in him.  (9:3)

As the people were lighting candles in commemoration of the
miracle that occurred in 164 B.C., Jesus performed another
miracle and says:  I Am The Light of the World.(5)
As a sign of that Light, Jesus gives sight to one born blind.

Everyone knew, God was the source of Power that allowed
Jews to be victorious over the Syrians. Jesus intentionally uses:
Ani hu. Used only of God.
As we saw last week, Jesus said:
Be not afraid, I Am here. (Ego Emi-Yahweh)
Ani hu - I Am the source of the Light.
That is why the Jews split over Jesus’ source of power
in healing a blind man. Some said: "It is Demonic,"
while others: "Healing the blind is one of the
signs of the Messiah." (Isaiah 29:18, 35:5, 42:7).

"The Source must come from God."
Notice the Progression of Understanding which the
blind man goes through. When questioned: how he
received his sight the man said:
The man called Jesus made paste and smeared it on my eyes.
 
The man’s knowledge of Jesus was what others said
and Jesus’ touch. He had not yet seen Jesus.

The Religious Leaders called the man to give account as to
how he had gained sight.  The former blind man retold the story.
Since Jesus had made clay, and it was forbidden to work on the
Sabbath, they Leaders said:
This fellow is no man of God, he does not keep the Sabbath.
Others said: 
How could such signs come from a sinful man?
Finally, the man answers: He is a Prophet. (9:16-17)
The Miracle could not be denied.

So, the Parents we summoned and asked:
Is this your son, whom you say was born blind?
How then does he now see? (9:19) 

The parents fearful of being barred from the Temple said: 
We know this is our son and that he was born blind,
but how he sees we do not know,
nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him yourselves. 
He is of age. He will speak for himself. (9:20-23)

So, for a second time the Pharisees call in the formerly
blind man and said:
Give God the praise.  We know that this man is a sinner.
The man responded: (9:24-25)
Whether the man is a sinner I do not know.
One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see.
The Religious Leaders were asking for a confession of guilt.
                                                                       (Joshua 7:19)
At the very least if a miracle occurred, that it was
God's power not Jesus’ Authority.

The former blind man responds: 
Never since the world began has it been heard
that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 
If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.

The man boldly acknowledges that
Jesus comes from and with God’s authority.  (9:32-33)

The Pharisees said: You were born in utter sin
this was their explanation why he was born blind)
and would teach us? They cast him out.
The formerly blind man was beginning to see the truth of
who Jesus was, while the Pharisees were becoming totally
blind to God’s miraculous action. (9:34)

In contrast to the action of the religious leaders,
Jesus looks for the man who had been healed and asks:
Do you believe in the Son of Man?
  
The formerly blind man answered:
Who is he sir, that I might believe in him?

Then comes the most precious words:
You have seen him, and he is the one who speaks to you.

He said: Lord. I believe. and he worshiped him.
The man who had been physically and spiritually blind now,
literally, saw the one who had healed him.

More than that, he gained complete insight into the
fact that Jesus was not only a Prophet and Man of God,
but the Promised Messiah, God Himself.

Jesus concludes the episode saying:
39: For judgment I have come into this world, so that the
blind will see and those who see will become blind.

40: Some Pharisees, who were with him, heard him say this
and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"

41: Jesus said, if you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin.
But now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
This is the heart of the story. As people received information
about Jesus, they became more and more liable to responding
to that information.  While they were spiritually blind,
they had an excuse for not responding to Jesus.
Once their eyes are opened, if they closed them to truth,
they were guilty of rejecting God’s miraculous transforming love.

A Great Miracle happened on that Chanukah.
An even greater miracle occurs each time one of us responds
to the light of the Good News that Jesus is God incarnate
(human form). We are assured of God’s Faithfulness
and that there is no darkness that can extinguish the light of God’s truth.

As you have been reading about who Jesus is based on the
"signs/miracles" he did, has your insight become brighter or darker?
Is your spiritual blindness turning into spiritual sight? John ends his book:
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples,
which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)

This is what the sixth sign in John illustrates.

As I wrote last week, *"The Chosen" is a dramatic rendition of Jesus and his disciples.  It can be seen on Prime or The Chosen's app:  The Chosen.tv./app!, The episodes dramatizing the Scripture passages in this blog are Season 4 episode 3.  The Chosen is a Drama adjusting where or when events, from Scripture, took place.  This the case of this episode.  In John this miracle took place in Jerusalem, while in The Chosen, it took place in Galilee.

Side bar:  In John, Jesus tells the blind man to go to the Pool of Siloam.  Likely, that meant walking down the Pilgrims path filled with Jews who had cleansed themselves in the Pool of Siloam, before walking up the Pilgrims Path to the Temple.  

That Pilgrim path has just been opened to the public after years of excavating the path, which had been buried under 40 plus feet of earth.  Details of the discovery, excavations of the Pilgrims Path are recorded in a book entitled:  "When the Stone's Speak," by Doron Spielman.  

                                                        

Next week we will look a seventh sign:
"BRINGING GLORY to GOD" based on John 11:1-17

"TRIUMPH OVER ADVERSITY"

 

             John 6:16-2E

          

                                    

                 Triumph Over Adversity

                  Exodus 14:10-22, John 6:16-21

           (Fifth is a series: "Seven Signs in John")

If you have ever awakened at 3:00 A.M. finding it difficult to go
back to sleep, this passage is for you. There are several causes
for waking in the middle of night. One of them is Anxiety over
events that seem to be overtaking us: Unpaid bills with no
money in sight to pay them; Illness in our or loved one’s life that
has not yet been determined; Tension at work; Friction in our
marriage or an Exciting Celebration we are planning.

The BACKGROUND for the John passage is the Feeding of
5,000 people and those people wanting to forcibly make
Jesus king. (See last week’s blog)
Jesus, knowing they intended to come to make him king by force,
withdrew again to a mountain by himself. (John 6:15)

The Disciples got into a boat, when it started getting dark and
Jesus hadn’t appeared. In the Gospel of Mark, we read that Jesus
told his disciples to get into a boat and head for Bethesda. (Mk 6:45)
They began rowing across the north side of the Lake to Capernaum.

In Last Week's Blog, we learned that it was near the time of Passover.
Thus, there was a Focus on the Exodus (when the Israelites
were freed from slavery in Egypt and the time they spent in
the wilderness. Thus, there was a connection between Jesus’
multiplication of the loaves and fish and God’s provision of Manna*
and Water while wandering in the wilderness.

This was the reason the people wanted to compel Jesus to declare
himself King. "He is THE PROPHET Moses said would come."
(Exodus 14:10-22) Soon after the Pharaoh gave permission for the
Israelites to leave Egypt. He reversed his decision and sent his army
in 600 chariots to stop them from leaving Egypt.
The people camped on the shore of the Red Sea saw the
Egyptian Army approaching. Trapped between the Sea and the
Egyptians, they grumbled and complained to Moses ...
Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us
to the desert to die? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt,
"Leave us alone to serve the Egyptians? It would have been better
for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" (Ex. 14: 11-12)  
Triumph Over Adversity is the message of Exodus, of John and is                the Promise for us. There are several Critical Lessons for us.

We are most vulnerable to adversity right after a victory
a. The Miracle of feeding 5,000 - Jesus knew the pressure of popularity,
power and provision. He had spent 40 days alone experiencing hunger,
thirst and exhaustion. This occurred right after he was baptized
and John the Baptist said: Behold the Lamb of God, everyone heard
a voice from above: You are my Son, whom I love: with whom                              I AM well pleased. (Mark 1:12)

Christians began a period of reflection, repentance and sacrifice called
Lent, this past Wednesday called Ash Wednesday.
This Sunday is the 1^st Sunday of Lent.
Lent is 40 days, not counting Sundays, prior to Holy Week the week
Jesus was betrayed by a disciple, arrested, tired and crucified
on cross as a common criminal. Those 40 days of Lent are based on
the 40 days spent alone in the wilderness preparing for his ministry.
During that time, with no food and little water, he was Tested
by Satan to "Turn rocks into bread, to Do something spectacular
to attract people." (Matt. 4:1-11)

a. Jesus had done both in multiplying the five loves and two fish
and feeding 5,000 people with twelve baskets of food left over.
He knew he needed time, alone, with God the Father.

b. The Disciples were alone in a boat and no doubt discussing
what they had just witnessed when a sudden strong wind
(Similar to a Santa Ana winds in California, Chinooks in
Washington and Derechos in Texas) stopped them and                                 pushed them away from the shore.
Straining at the oars against the adverse wind. (Mark 6:2)
They forgot the miracle they just experienced:

c. The people of Israel focused the adversity rather than God’s
intervention and their release from slavery.
The Prophet Elijah experienced God’s Power and Provision
on Mt. Carmel when he challenged the priests of Baal to see
which God would send fire from heaven. (I Kings 18:16-40)
Elijah won and the people said: The LORD – He is God!
The LORD is God! (I Kings 18:39)

The next day Elijah fled for his life when Queen Jezebel sent
her guards to kill him. He felt all alone! (I Kings 19:1-3a)
Have you ever felt alone and vulnerable, possible after
a victory? If so, you know what Elijah and the disciples felt.

We are not alone. God sees our struggle with adversity.

a. Jesus saw the disciples staining against the oars.
Passover is always on a day the moon is full. A TV program
showed how far one can see across the Sea of Galilee with a
full moon in April. Jesus could see the boat. It was 3:00am.

b. Jesus interrupted his prayer and took action.
He saw that disciples were stopped by the Wind and the Sea.

c. Jesus approached the disciples. They were terrified. 
They Thought were seeing a ghost on the water. (Mark 6:3)
God saw and heard the terrified Israelites and took action.
Speaking to Moses: "Why are you crying out me?
Tell the Israelites to move on." Prayer is vital. So is action.
(When we know what to do, we need to act.)

e. God lead the people through the Sea.
There seemed no way of escape. God opened the way.

 f. When feel trapped, don’t panic.
God sees and can open a way out.

g. Elijah felt alone. He just wanted to end his life. (I Ki. 19:3-8)
God saw him, ministered to him, showing he was not alone.

Jesus’ presence triumphs over adversity
a. "It is I, don’t be afraid!" (Ego Emei) I AM:
said Jesus (Jn. 6:20) Jesus’ presence brought calmness
and they reached the destination.

b. "I Am Who I Am" (YaHWeH) is what God said when
Moses asked whom shall I say sent me? (Exodus 3:14)

c. The Egyptians will know that I Am the Lord when. (Ex. 14:18)

d. Elijah learned that Yahweh (I AM) was with him

e. The Adversity of the water, waves or wind did not stop Jesus.
He walked on water to reach his disciples saying:
(Ego Emei - It I) I AM with you.

John tells the story of this "Fifth Sign of Jesus’ Glory"
to teach that Jesus was Lord of the Universe.
Even as God made a way through the sea for the Israelites,
Jesus made a way for the disciples to cross the sea.

f. Paul Minear in his commentary on Saint Mark writes:
"The encountering of storms by the Apostles (and later by
the Church) is seen as part of God’s plan when he commands
the Church to take to the boats in order to prove his presence
to them in the crisis of their journey. The ‘lesson,’ then,
is the same as that taught by the story of the wilderness supper. 
The loaves prove the power of the Lord (Ps. 23) to sustain
and nourish his people in all situations. But the disciples
did not understand this, nor did they understand that the
Messiah was seeking to use the wilderness and the
tempest to teach them how to feed his sheep and to
triumph over adversities.  ‘It is I, have no fear."
(Paul Minear, Saint Mark, SCM, London, p. 84)

As God had power over the waters of the Red Sea,
so, God’s Son had power over the waters of the Sea of Galilee
and has power over any adversities we may face.
Faith is the mindset that expects God to act.
When we act on this expectation we may
overcome our fears and triumph over our adversities

A Church Father, Augustine writing about this incident said:
"He came treading the waves; and so, He puts all the
swelling tumults of life under His feet. Christians–why afraid?"

When Christ is present the storm becomes calm,
the tumult becomes peace, the undoable becomes doable,
the unbearable becomes bearable, and people pass the
breaking point and do not break.

To walk with Christ is for us also the conquest of the storm.

The president of the Seminary from which I graduated
challenged us to "Walk on Water."
Focus on Jesus not the tempest. He then said:
"To walk on water, you must get out of the boat."

That is what Jesus did on behalf of the disciples and did
for us on by dying on the cross and rising from the grave 
triumphing over the Father of Lies (Satan) who says:
"God doesn’t care about you. You are all alone.
You have to use your resources to survive."

Jesus told his disciples, just before he went to the
Garden of Gethsemane to pray, knowing he would be
arrested and taken to the High Priest and eventually
convicted to death: The time is coming, and has come,
when you will be scattered ... You will leave me all alone.
Yet I AM not alone, for my Father is with me.
I have told these things, so that you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!
I have overcome the world.  (John 16:32-33). 

There is a Christian Hymn: "Jesus Calls Us" that says:

"Jesus calls us o’er the tumult
Of our life’s wild restless sea;
Day by day His sweet voice soundeth,
Saying, "Christian follow me."

Because Jesus has Triumphed over Adversity,
and promises not to leave us alone,
We can boldly take on any adversity.
Jesus didn’t row the boat. His presence
gave the disciples extra strength to continue
the journey on which Jesus had sent them.
So, it is with us. We may need get out of the
(our comfort zone) boat with our eyes focused
on Jesus rather than the adversity.

We can live with confidence in the promise:
The One, who is in you, is greater than the one
who is in the world. (I John 4:4)

Take heart I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

This is what the fifth sign in John illustrates.
Next week we will look a sixth sign:
"Miracle Happened Here" based on John 9.

As I wrote last week, *"The Chosen" is a dramatic rendition of Jesus and his disciples.  It can be seen on Prime or The Chosen's app:  The Chosen.tv./app!, The episodes dramatizing the Scripture passages in this blog are Season 3 episode 8.                                  

                                                   

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* Manna: was a miraculous food supply given to
Israel in the wilderness by God. It lasted only one
day so it could not be hoarded. Read Exodus 16:31
For a great understanding read Exodus 16:14-36.

John 6:1-5, Nehemiah 9:13-28

 

              John 6:1-5, Nehemiah 9:13-28

                                                                                            
                “MULTIPLYING THE LOAVES”
            (Fourth in a series: “Seven Signs in John”)

Did you read the above scriptures from a physical Bible, ie, book, on a Cell Phone, Tablet or Computer?  Some say it is a “miracle” being able to read, 66 books (the number included in most Holy Bibles) depending on the size of the physical Bible may be around 1,000 pages, on a Cell Phone.

We have been looking at a series of “Signs” (Miracles) in the Gospel of John.  This week’s, based on John 6:1-5, is the only one narrated in all Four Gospels.  The accounts are remarkably alike, yet each has its special focus.  John uses this account as one of the Seven Signs in his Gospel, drawing attention to Passover (one of the three major Jewish feast celebration.  See footnotes from last week’s blog, 2-7-26) being near (Spring).  It brings a direct connection between what Jesus does and the Jew recalling the Exodus from Egypt and their time in transit to the “Promised Land.”  There is a connection with vs. 22-58, of this chapter, which we will look at on a blog later this month. Later, Jesus applied the Passover meal to himself:  "The Lord’s Supper, Communion, Eucharist." 

Studying this story, we may also apply it to our lives.

          The Multiplication of the Loaves demonstrates that. although human need always outstrips human resources. God will multiply our meager resources and abundantly meet the real need.  

Five Observations:

The Crowd hungers for More.

Great Crowd followed Jesus because they had seen or heard of the miraculous signs. (So far three: “Turning Water into Wine.”, “Healing of Official’s son,” “Healing of an Invalid in Jerusalem.” Only one healing was in the Galilee region.  Other Gospels tell of other healings.)  As we have seen, John is selective, because he is presenting an overall theme: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs, ... which are not recorded in this book.  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (Jn 20:30-31)           

Jesus takes the initiative in meeting the crowd’s hunger.

 

a.   Jesus asks one his disciples, Philip from Bethsaida, nine miles away,

      If anyone knew a human solution, where to buy food, it was Philip.
      (Jesus knew there was none). (Possibly turning Water into Wine?)

         b.   Jesus highlights what he is about to do.

         c.   Jesus wanted to teach that financial resources are not the most

      important ones.  (“Eight months wages not enough to feed everyone.”)

         One boy gives the little he has, five barely loaves of bread and two dried fish.

          a.  Jesus gives thanks: eucharistein: (Grace) (Note above: Eucharist)

      “Blessed are you O Lord, King of the universe,
        who brings forth bread from the earth.”

          b.  Jesus gives the bread to the disciples who distributes it through and to the           people.

          c.  Jesus worked through people.  He took what the young child offered:

      multiplying them to accomplish one of the most spectacular miracles
      recorded in the Gospels.  Age was no barrier to Christ. 

     You are never too young or too old to be of service to Christ. 

     Jesus said: “When you do it unto the least of these my brethren,
                          you’ve done it unto me.”  (Matthew 25:40)

The leftovers, 12 baskets full, demonstrate God’s superabundance.

God takes whatever we offer: time, ability, or resources and multiplies

it's effectiveness beyond our wildest expectations.

a.  “Souper Bowl of Caring” started by an Associate Presbyterian Pastor, Brad Smith of Columbia, S.C. in 1990.  Simple thought: “while I gauche myself with food and beverage during the Super Bowl Football Game, there are people who have nothing to eat.  If I can encourage my youth group to receive one dollar from people as they leave church, we can give the money to help feed the hungry and we will enjoy the game more, knowing we have taken our little amount of time and money collected and given it to God for feeding the hungry.” Last year $21,868 in cash and food has been collected. A Total of:  $ 220+ million, since it started.)

b.  “One Great Hour of Sharing,” is an offering taken by many of major protestant congregations, to help people who experience nature or human disasters and helping people learn skills that will help them fight hunger.

“Give a person a fish and they will be hungry again, teach them to fish and they will have a way of feeding their families.”  This program started in 1949 to assist churches rebuild after World War II.  It was then expanded to the categories listed above.  Joining offerings from members in several denominations are “multiplied” and offer assistance to people in need.

          c. A member of one of my previous churches, joined a team of volunteers, who under the Presbyterian (USA) Disaster Division of “One Great Hour of Sharing,” spent a week in New Orleans, Louisiana, cleaning and starting rebuilding houses damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, 2005.  She used her own money, energy and time along with others like her that lead to the “miracle” of encouraging those who lost “all” eventually bring life back to the city that suffered so much.  It is my PERSONAL opinion that if it were not for “Christian Volunteers and Generous Givers” New Orleans would have remained in ruins.  Government assistance never could have accomplished the “miracle” that came from loving and generous Christians.  

          d.  If you take the first step in making yourself available to God,

      God will show you how greatly you may be used in advancing the Work of          God’s Kingdom.

 
People seeing the miraculous sign said:

Surely this is the Prophet who has come into the world.

Who provided Manna given by Moses (Exodus 16:1-5)  

Thinking of what Moses said: Deuteronomy 18:15

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers.  You must listen to him.

It was taught that the Prophets Elijah, Elisha etc. and the Messiah would come at Passover:

Jesus, knowing that they (The Crowd) intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew to a mountain by himself.  (Jn. 6:15)

The next day Jesus spoke to the crowd.  I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.  Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. Jn 6:26-27

Have you believed that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God and have life in his name?

What do you have that God may use in meeting the needs of God’s people? 
Are you willing to offer God those talents, time or resources?

This was the fourth miraculous sign that Jesus performed.

Demonstrating Jesus’ Multiplying the Loaves.

In preparation for next week's blog:  fifth miraculous sign

Demonstrating Jesus’ power over nature, Read 6:16-2.

As I wrote last week, *"The Chosen" is a dramatic rendition of Jesus and his disciples.  It can be seen on Prime or The Chosen's app:  The Chosen.tv./app!, The episodes dramatizing the Scripture passages in this blog are Season 3 episode 8.