Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. John 9:3.
“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” …
In the question the disciples asked Jesus, they showed that they thought all disease and suffering the result of sin. This is indeed truth, but Jesus showed that it was an error to suppose that everyone who was a great sufferer was also a great sinner. While He corrected their errors, He spat upon the ground and made clay of the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay and said unto him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent),” and he went his way, and came seeing. Jesus answered the question the disciples put to Him in a practical way, and in the way He usually answered questions put to Him from curiosity. The disciples were not called upon to discuss the question of who had sinned or not sinned but to understand the power of God, His mercy and compassion, in giving sight to the blind. It was that all might be convinced that there was no healing virtue in the clay or in the pool wherein he was sent to wash, but that virtue was in Christ….
The friends and neighbors of the young man who had been healed looked upon him with doubt, for when his eyes were opened, his countenance had been changed and brightened, and made him appear like another man. From one to another the question was passed, “Is it he?” And some said, “It is like him,” but he who had received the great blessing settled the controversy by saying, “I am he.” He then told them of Jesus and by what means Jesus had healed him, and they inquired, “Where is he? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes…. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.” …
They knew not that it was He who had made the Sabbath, who knew all its obligations, who had healed the man.—Signs of the Times, October 23, 1893.
From the Heart p. 246
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Sherry who had an cerebral aneurysm burst and is in ICU. Rose
—-Please pray for Bruce. He has lost another family member. Ron
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Dear Friends,
Mr. Vanderlindy was my fourth-grade teacher. It was the first time we had had a man for a teacher, and we were all a bit intimidated by him at first. Eventually we realized that he was not scary at all. His enthusiasm and pleasant manner won our hearts.
About 3:00 one afternoon when it was the usual time to go home, our usually pleasant teacher stood up in front of the class with a stern look upon his face. Instantly fear crossed our faces. He announced that one of the students was missing his money. It was obvious to Mr. Vanderlindy that someone in that room had taken it. “No one will leave this room until the thief confesses and returns the money.” he declared.
Everyone looked surprised. Each student looked at his fellow classmates. Who could the thief be? A half an hour went by; no one said a word. Four o’clock came. Still, no one came forward to confess. Our teacher was getting more and more upset. He began to shout at us about the fact that no one was leaving that classroom for any reason until someone returned the money. We were getting more and more distressed. Each person looked at all of the others. Who was the thief? Why wouldn’t they confess? We wanted to go home. I began to think about what they must be thinking at home. I lived right across the street from the school. Surely, they must think that I had been kidnapped.
Indeed, that was exactly what they thought. My grandmother told my mother that I was missing. They were both frightened and greatly distressed. Had the thing that they had always feared come true? She went walking around the neighborhood calling my name. No answer. My mother decided that she would see if anyone in the school had seen anything suspicious. The school was deserted but still unlocked. Up to the third floor she climbed to my classroom to see if my teacher just happened to still be there. It was 4:45 PM by this time, almost two hours after I should have been home. She peeked through the long, narrow window that was in the classroom door. There, to her surprise, was a classroom full of students, looking very frightened and distressed.
My mother’s fear, turned to anger and my mother could get very, very angry. She knocked on the door and Mr. Vanderlindy stepped outside. By the time my mother was through “explaining” a few things to my teacher (which we could hear through that thick, wooden door), he meekly told the class that we could go home. We were so relieved. Everyone rushed for the door. I walked home with my mother, telling her all about how scared we had been.
Just as my mother delivered us from a distressing situation, so our Dear Saviour will soon deliver us from the evil one who tries in every way to capture us. Our “adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 In our own strength, we cannot resist him, but by taking hold of our Deliverer’s Powerful Hand, we can escape the snare of the enemy. If we refuse to take hold of the promises of God, we will still be sitting in the devil’s classroom unable to go home. Paul asks, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” Heb 2:3 To do so would be as foolish as it would have been if I had decided to stay in my classroom when my mother came to rescue me. May we allow our Great Rescuer to save us from the devil who wants to keep us captive is my prayer.
Rose