THE 8 MIRACLE-SIGNS IN JOHN . . . No.6
NO BELIEVING TO OBEY John 9:1-14, 38 to end
Verse 26 … ye saw the SEMEION … miracle-sign …
The setting for this miracle-sign is Jerusalem — the local Church! If your hunger to see more of the Living Word, you will do what you hear Jesus speak to you . . . you will put action to where your believing is centred.
A ‘man’ . . . a CHOSEN man . . . chosen to work the works of God. Chosen to be the expression of God’s plan in the earth. God has a many-membered man who is both called and chosen to show forth Himself. Ever since this man was ‘born again’ he has been blind to the fullness of what God is desiring to unveil in this hour on the earth. It is for a SEVENTH DAY expression that this man has been chosen. Jesus, the Living Word — Godthink —is speaking to this man who cannot see Him but knows enough of Him to recognize the authority in His word. He wasn’t deaf!
This man without any vision listens to the conversation which is about him. He learns from Jesus that nobody is to blame for his blindness. Did he inherit it ? Was the local church to blame ? He discovered by listening that God knew about his situation and was including him in His plan. This man had an inbuilt ability to believe for his sight. John 6:29 ‘This is the will of God, that you believe on Him who He has sent.’
This man could not see anything. His daily life was surrounded with darkness. God’s plan was to be brought forth from darkness. Darkness in the Bible speaks of ignorance and there is certainly lots of ignorance around! Note specifically that God’s plan was to be declared by HIS SON with Whom He had a beautiful ONENESS. This is also a pattern for the fulfillment of this word, as the many-membered son called Christ (with Jesus as the Head i.e. thinking) will be the vehicle for God to use in this seventh day expression of Himself that will lead to fullness. It will take place in the daylight . . . there will be no ignorance around in these vessels.
If a blind man is healed at night, he would not readily see the contrast of seeing because, without street lights etc., it would still be so close to what he has been used to for so long! Jesus — the light of the world — brings vision and enlightenment to the dark thinking of the ‘kosmos’.
Now let us look at this account from the blind man’s point of view. He knows that Jesus is near although he cannot see Him. He hears someone spit and then has some damp clay is placed on his eyes. His eyelids were probably closed as there would be a lot of irritating dust around. Now in that warm climate, the clay dried quickly and locked his eyelids in a closed position. Nothing could now penetrate this barrier. None of man’s traditions, ideas or teachings can get into his eyes as God works on giving him sight. Remember, this man is chosen to declare the Lord! Nothing but ‘the water’ (of the Word - Eph.5:26) will now bring sight to this man.
The voice of authority whom he could not see but some how found himself trusting implicitly, instructed him to go to the pool called ‘Siloam’. This man who was still in darkness, knew where to go, so he obeyed with expectancy. In the natural realm, the whole thing was ridiculous but, in the spirit where faith operates, it produced an awesome awareness of God at work. He heard, he obeyed in his heart, it showed on the outside, he went, he washed, and came again seeing. He returned — a chosen vessel with his vision.
The water of the word removed the clay (dust) of his fleshly unbelief and his whole life was changed. Praise God, he was A BELIEVER. This pool is the only one which flows all the year round and supplies the city with its life source. Ps. 46:4 ‘There is a river the streams thereof make glad the City of God’.
OBEDIENCE TO WHAT HE HEARD RESULTED IN HIS RECEIVING HIS VISION — HIS (IN)SIGHT!
This man had no experience in what it was like to see ... He was willing to trust the Living Word, so he ‘believed to see’. He was not afraid to embrace a completely new lifestyle; there would be no more begging or believing for what someone else has!
The man born blind had never had a clear vision of God and His plans. The neighbours (other Church-members) wanted to analyze ‘the case’ very logically with the ‘letter-word’ and of course, did not come to a life-giving conclusion; so they gave up and asked their religious leaders the Pharisees. Now they didn’t believe anything that was different to their doctrinal statement. The parents were so loyal to the church-system, not wanting to loose their ‘good standing’, just played it cool! Sadly they had no new thoughts of their own! Oh that we each one might see what before has been darkness of nothingness . . . to see with insight into the full expression of the LOGOS, Who is Christ-Jesus.
One needs firstly to acknowledge any lack of sight in seeing God and knowing Him, in seeing His plan of fullness for the earth, in seeing what He is doing in this hour while it is day. This will prove your genuine hunger for more of Him. It will show that you really are teachable! In the seventh day that is being unfolded at this time God has chosen a man who will first receive his full vision and then become thus equipped to minister to the those who remain in darkness.
The ‘new vision’ will surely get tested. . .
‘Where did you get your (in)sight from?’ Jesus knows of my heart-cry and will surely answer it.
‘How did it happen?’
‘I don’t know, I was in darkness (ignorance) but now I can appreciate the LIGHT’.
‘When did it happen?’
‘This week on the Sabbath.’ (Tut, tut! )
Jesus was recreating what the first Adam lost. Adam in Genesis was made from damp clay and was in a position of knowing his God. What better method for Jesus to use than damp clay for regenerating this blind man. Adam was born blind to everything that was carnal and natural. His temptation was to eat of the tree of the knowledge of GOOD and evil, so that his eyes might be opened! He did and we lost out. Now Jesus desires to reverse that process and make us in His image that we are blind to the natural and carnal realm and able to see the spiritual realm — see God, Who He is and what He is doing. §
RAY & SHEILA KNIGHT
3417 ELLIOTT ROAD
WEST KELOWNA BC V4T 1P1