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Tag: blind

If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly
The Messiah at Festivals

So what does the Messiah of Israel do at festivals and feasts? How does the Messiah lead followers to worship the Lord our God, our Father in heaven?

It was the Feast of Hanukkah at Yerushalayim.
John 10:22 Hebrew Names Version

Yeshua mashiyach

Just a reminder to Christians of this 21st century, Jesus was Jewish.

Yeshua, from Ἰησοῦς in Greek, Iēsous from יְהוֹשׁוּעַ Hebrew meaning Yĕhowshuwa` (Joshua or Jehoshua = “Jehovah is salvation”) in English: Jesus. (The One born to a Jewish mother, a virgin betrothed to a faithful Jew, Joseph son of Jacob {Matthew 1:16}.)

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Gospel of Matthew 1:1 KJV

Although we have been following Jesus through the Gospel of John, for our understanding of the Messiah and His jewish upbringing as the Son of Man, we have just left some predictions of the Prophet Amos.
Amos – Not immune from judgment
For those who turn justice into wormwood
Amos the Seer: “I told you so (5x) – GOD showed me
Who better to ask about the Lord God in heaven than the one who came down from heaven, sent by God the Father?

This is where we left off in the Good News from the Apostle John.

Jesus healed a man born blind, which has prompted much discussion and considerable controversy in Jerusalem.

The Gatekeeper & the Shepherds – the Door

John 9:35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

Is this Man a Gate and the Door to heaven?
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44:1  וַיָּשֶׁב אֹתִי דֶּרֶךְ שַׁעַר הַמִּקְדָּשׁ הַֽחִיצֹון הַפֹּנֶה קָדִים וְהוּא סָגֽוּר׃
44:2  וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי יְהוָה הַשַּׁעַר הַזֶּה סָגוּר יִהְיֶה לֹא יִפָּתֵחַ וְאִישׁ לֹא־יָבֹא בֹו כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בָּא בֹו וְהָיָה סָגֽוּר׃
 {Masoretic TextShow Cantilliation Marks OffShow Vowel Points OnMasoretic Text} http://blb.sc/00AONj
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Then He brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut. The LORD said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.
Ezekiel 44:1-2 NASB

“The priest shall take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the door posts of the house, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the posts of the gate of the inner court.
Ezekiel 45:19 NASB

John 10:

2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

7 Yeshua emphasized, “I can guarantee this truth: I am the gate for the sheep.
John 10:7 NOG

Later Jesus will tell the Apostles to also be wary of these religious hired hands determined to devour all opposition.

John tells us how Jerusalem’s religious leaders opposed the Messiah after Jesus healed a man blind from birth. But Jesus tells the crowds a parable against them.

12 A hired hand isn’t a shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep. When he sees a wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and quickly runs away.
John 10:11 NKJV

19 Again the Jews were divided because of these words…

After this, a most popular Messiah Jesus enters Jerusalem for a festival.

Jewish festivals

22 Then the Festival of Dedication took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter.

A brief overview:

The Hebrew Civil Year began with Tishri [October]. At the Exodus the Ecclesiastical Year was made to begin with Abib [April], which, after the Captivity, was called also Nisan.- Hitchcock’s Topical Commentary

“Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed.
Deuteronomy 16:16 NASB

But this minor feast (we now call the festival of lights) held importance to a Jerusalem which presumed to have purified and rededicated the Temple. In commemoration of the cleansing and re-dedication of the Temple after its pollution by Antiochus Epiphanes. –H.

The Story Behind the Feast of Dedication

Prior to the year 165 BC, the Jewish people in Judea were living under the rule of the Greek kings of Damascus. During this time Seleucid King Antiochus Epiphanes, the Greco-Syrian king, took control of the Temple in Jerusalem and forced the Jewish people to abandon their worship of God, their holy customs, and reading of the Torah. He made them bow down to the Greek gods. According to ancient records, King Antiochus IV defiled the Temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar and spilling its blood on the holy scrolls of Scripture.

Source:

Jerusalem’s crowed festival

23 Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews surrounded him and asked,

“How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

25 “I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them.

Do you believe His signs?

Even in this day some will believe and come to faith through the Messiah, He IS the gate to salvation and the door to heaven. Others remain blind to truth.

Jesus has already given several signs, proofs in various places of miracles only God could do. The most recent of these, of course, was giving a blind man sight right there in Jerusalem.

“The works that I do in my Father’s name testify about me. But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep.

Who do you follow?

Some preacher, a rabbi or teacher?

None are the Son of God, the Shepherd of the chosen ones of God our Father.

The Way to heaven

27 My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.

28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.

Why would you doubt the authoritative gentle voice of the Shepherd at the door?

If you believe in God Almighty our God and Father, do you not see His power and compassion in the Only Son, Shepherd of the chosen to enter into His Glory?

Is Jesus your Lord and Shepherd?

For His love and anointing must be clear to those who are no longer blind.

Would you humbly turn from your sin to hear His gentle voice?

“Follow Me.” “I am the way the truth and the life.” *

29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

A decision of life or death

How many times can you recall that the LORD strikes down the one who sins?

More times in scripture than we can recall.

The LORD GOD IS ALMIGHTY! Fear only him, the LORD, the Existing One.
- John the Baptist had testified of the Holy Spirit of God descending upon Jesus.
- The Lord Jesus raised the dead, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind. A Man of God thought to be from Nazareth asked men and women to follow Him.
- Jesus, Son of Man as He referred to himself, showed signs and wonders to many.
What is left for the Messiah to tell us?

If we must follow Jesus, is He God in Person? – a “Son of Man” the very human Image of God (as a Son of His Father born to a woman)?

For the LORD God is One and our decision to obey the LORD is a matter of eternal life or judgment and punishment of our soul in death.

“I and My Father are one.”
John 10:30 KJV

Truth? or Blasphemy?
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31 Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone him.

 32 Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these works are you stoning me?”

 33 “We aren’t stoning you for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because you—being a man—make yourself God.”

 34 Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law, I said, you are gods? If he called those whom the word of God came to ‘gods’—and the Scripture cannot be broken— do you say, ‘You are blaspheming’ to the one the Father set apart and sent into the world, because I said: I am the Son of God?
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Jesus, Son of Man filled with the Holy Spirit of Almighty God! Once again the Lord confronts the hired hands of Herod, wolves luring the faithful away from the Shepherd, with Scripture and Truth.

How can they refute what everyone has seen with their own eyes?

37 “If I am not doing my Father’s works, don’t believe me…”

You too have seen many signs and miracles. Those in addition to Jesus’ compassion and love for the lost who have sinned.

A few repent seeking return to the safety of the Shepherd.

38 “… But if I am doing them and you don’t believe me, believe the works. This way you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father.”

Jesus and God the Father are One! Jesus and the Holy Spirit of God are One!

What was it Jesus told the Pharisee Nicodemus?

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
John 3:21 NASB

Jesus IS Spirit; Jesus IS Flesh!

But those who will not bow down to the LORD God accuse the Son of Man of blasphemy. (Let the casual 21st c. reader understand the significance of blasphemy – a sin against God requiring death of the offender.)

39 Then they were trying again to seize him, but he eluded their grasp.

A return to the wilderness

40 He went back across the Jordan River and stayed in the place where John first baptized people.

41 Many people went to Yeshua. They said, “John didn’t perform any miracles, but everything John said about this man is true.” 42 Many people there believed in Yeshua.

Truth

The Apostle John has already revealed the Good News of the Messiah proven by many signs in many places.
- And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
- “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
- “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
- “You have sent to John [the baptist], and he has testified to the truth.
- “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
- “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?
The One Truth & nothing but The Truth

“I and the Father are One!”
John 10:30 – Strong’s: b) metaphorically, “union” and “concord,” e.g., Jhn 10:30; 11:52; 17:11, 21, 22; Rom 12:4, 5; Phl 1:27

The Apostle John concludes his Gospel as follows:

21:24 Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ μαθητὴς ὁ μαρτυρῶν περὶ τούτων καὶ γράψας ταῦτα καὶ οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀληθὴς ἐστίν ἡ μαρτυρία αὐτοῦ

This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.

What other sign do you need to open your eyes to what Jesus plainly has said?

I and the Father are One!
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NEXT: The Resurrection of Lazarus ... God-willing...
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March 25, 2020
The Gatekeeper & the Shepherds – the Door
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said,
“Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”
The Revelation of Jesus Christ to the Apostle John – 4:1 NASB

Heaven’s door

Let’s not miss that the Pharisees’ debates with the Messiah question His authority from the Lord our God and Father. And Jesus’ signs and parables all point heavenward.

Do you desire eternal life?

It is a question of highest importance. And who may enter the gate or the door to eternal life in heaven?

How can we know? Who will unravel this great mystery of eternal life in heaven and the judgment of sins punished by a sentence to hell?

Closed doors to Scripture

וַיַּעֲמֹ֤ד מֹשֶׁה֙ בְּשַׁ֣עַר הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔ה וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מִ֥י לַיהוָ֖ה אֵלָ֑י וַיֵּאָסְפ֥וּ אֵלָ֖יו כָּל־בְּנֵ֥י לֵוִֽי׃
Exodus 32:26 WLC

Does it help you to read this Hebrew scripture about Moshe (Moses)?

OR does the fact of the Hebrew language create a closed door to the Bible for you?

Then read translation into English about Moshe choosing who will enter the camp of the LORD and who Moses sentences to death.

Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
Exodus 32:26 KJV

Sometimes the Lord places a Moses or David or Prophet at a gate or the door to guard the integrity of His Own Righteousness.

We addressed this first by our look at the gatekeeper and watchmen. But frequently religion’s wide door or misled path will turn the faithful away from Scripture.

ἔστη δὲ Μωυσῆς ἐπὶ τῆς πύλης τῆς παρεμβολῆς καὶ εἶπεν τίς πρὸς κύριον ἴτω πρός με συνῆλθον οὖν πρὸς αὐτὸν πάντες οἱ υἱοὶ Λευι
et stans in porta castrorum ait si quis est Domini iungatur mihi congregatique sunt ad eum omnes filii Levi
Exodus 32:26: Greek & Latin

Get the picture?

Not really, if you have received the filtered view of religious teachers’ blind teaching of faith.

In fact many in Jerusalem’s crowds depended on the Pharisees or Rabbi’s to tell them what Scripture says. Even the literate often read their Empire-wide language of Greek, but not Hebrew.

So the symbols of Jesus’ parables create important universal pictures to those barred by the misleading of Israel’s shepherds of the gates and the door of worship of the Lord God our Father.

Religious leaders who manipulate Scripture become barriers to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a closed door to repentance by sinners.
Roger Harned – talkofJesus.com

Symbolism of a gate or a door

Heaven must have a gate (of sorts), like a walled city.

Not everyone gets into the heavenly Jerusalem.

The LORD must have watchmen (perhaps angels – spirit beings who serve the King as messengers and guards in the glorious heavenly city of God).

Who does Almighty God anoint to sit in the gate as the door to enter eternal life?

David? Perhaps Moses? Even the great Prophet Elijah?

No, none of these.

And certainly not a false prophet after Jesus claiming light from the place of darkness. Not even leaders of angels such as Gabriel or Michael. And most certainly no idolatrous intercessors of mothers, antiquated saints leaving only dust in place, or Apostles long passed.

Who then sits at the door of heaven – the gate of eternal life?

The door IS the very Lamb of God, the Shepherd of shepherds, the Son of Man, Christ Jesus!

To Him and no other we sinners must appeal by His mercy to enter eternal life by the grace of His Own Blood of Perfect Sacrifice.

Are we blind too?

Jesus the Messiah, who healed not only this blind man but others as well, clearly sheds light on the judgment for which He is sent to the world.

But as the Lord points out, some shepherds like the Pharisees really don’t see. For the prophet Isaiah had accused:

And they are shepherds who have no understanding;
They have all turned to their own way,
Each one to his unjust gain, to the last one.

These pharisees, rabbis of Judah confront their Messiah time after time questioning and denying His authority. They attempt to discredit Him even after another sign of Jesus. For a man born blind received his sight from Jesus.

John 9: 24-25 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

Most of these pharisees refused to believe in the Messiah sent to save sinners.

John 9:35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

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.

Now this scene of controversy argued before the crowds of Jerusalem plays out in another parable of Jesus told against the pharisees just after the man born blind worships Jesus as Lord.

John 10:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.
Gospel of John 10:1 NASB – Caution to believers from Christ Jesus

2 But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.

The LORD is my shepherd

מִזְמֹור לְדָוִד יְהוָה רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָֽר׃

You know the imagery of the Messiah and require no translation or interpretation of this parable connected to the sign of Jesus leading a blind man to worship Him.

Suppose heaven is so easy to enter as a wall without the door of the shepherd who gathers his sheep.

Can you climb over an unguarded wall?

Of course.

Could just any shepherd appear to lead the sheep anywhere, even to destruction?

Even in this day they often do.

If heaven’s chosen sheep gathered within the walls of the holy (separated) place cannot trust their shepherd as a door, will the wolves not enter and false shepherds lead them astray?

Are the sheep not destined for the slaughter of sacrifice if the Perfect Sacrifice has not already been made?

I AM the Good Shepherd – Jesus

3 “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

The Messiah, the Shepherd of heaven, gathers them to a place where He IS the door.

Then He calls to all the sheep, even by name.

The Lord knows them personally. He makes no mistakes and they know His voice rather than that of a false teacher or shepherd who would lead them into the pit of destruction.

Jesus knows you. Do you know Him?

4 “And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

Will the blind shepherds hear?

Pharisees, rabbis who teach what they will, preachers who claim they can lead everybody to heaven – all these shepherds, Jesus says, are blind.

And clearly they do not see the Scripture before them, let alone share the Way, the Truth and the Life eternal of the Gospel Good News of our Savior from death, judgment and punishment.

All these believe that heaven has no door or they pretend to hold the only key to the gate (if indeed heaven had a golden locked gate).

After Jesus’ resurrection, clearly heaven’s gate is no guarded cemetery or grand golden cathedral depicting idols offering prayers for your admittance.

These false shepherds whitewash the entrance of hell with a hologram of heaven’s golden gate, through which they lead many sheep of the world to the slaughter of hell’s punishment!

The Good Shepherd

7 So Jesus said to them again,

“Truly, truly, I say to you,

I am the door of the sheep.

We are sheep in this world of darkness being led to the slaughter.

False teachers seek to sacrifice follower after follower into the fires of destruction!

The Messiah Jesus accuses these of the misleading the sheep. These self-appointed shepherds over our unrighteousness deceive and destroy.

8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

Jesus speaks of false messiahs, kings and leaders who only claim to follow the Lord, all who “do what is evil in the sight of the Lord.”

I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
John 10:9 NASB

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Jesus reiterates the contrast between Pharisees and false leaders of God’s people and himself, the One Shepherd of the Lord our God.

The Sacrifice of the Good Shepherd

I have told you once that I AM the door.

When you did not understand I told the crowds my clear meaning and purpose of coming here to lead My sheep.

Now, those with ears to hear, in addition to the clear signs before your eyes here is how you can hear the Shepherd who knows you by name.

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
John 10:11 NASB

What does this mean? (For it has not yet happened?)

Jesus gives the hearer of His voice no time to consider a wrong solution to our leading by God, but again shows the false leadership of the Pharisees who have redefined requirements for the flock to enter heaven.

12 “The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away…

Here into Jerusalem Rome has followed other conquerors and the hired hands of Herod abandon the faith of Abraham adding new requirements to the Law of Moses.

“… then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

I know My sheep

Who will lead the scattered sheep sent to Babylon and Persia and again to Egypt then conquered once more by a mighty Greece? And though only a remnant returns, who will go into all the world now conquered by Rome?

The shepherds have divided and run, returned and divided the flock.

14 “I am the good shepherd,
and know my sheep,
and am known of mine. [KJV]

15 “As the Father knows Me,
even so I know the Father;
and I lay down My life for the sheep. [NKJV]

Now Jesus again states His relationship to God the Father as the Messiah and Savior of Israel. The Lord also clearly states fulfillment of Scripture concerning the gentiles or nations.

A Savior of the Nations

I have other sheep, which are not of this fold;
I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice;
and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
The Good News of the Messiah Jesus to the gentiles – John 10:16 NASB

Three points here in the parable of the Good Shepherd:
1. The Messiah saves some who are not Jews.
2. Jesus will include the chosen of the nations to ‘follow Him’ as the Good Shepherd of all sheep and they too will hear His call to the promise of eternal life.
3. Jews who follow the Messiah and Gentiles will become one flock of the faithful with Him – the Good Shepherd of Israel.
Sacrifice of the Shepherd for the sins of the sheep

Would a father sacrifice his own son?

Abraham offered to do so, believing that the LORD would do right.

Jesus makes personal reference after personal reference to God as His Father. Would God provide the Sacrifice for your sins and for mine as the Lord did for Abraham?

Why would a Righteous Father send His Perfect Son to a world of sinners?

17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.

“No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.

“This command I have received from My Father.”

Jesus clearly states after His parable of the Good Shepherd that God His Father commanded Him – the Son of God and only Good Shepherd – to sacrifice His mortal life for the sheep. AND He has the authority and power or the resurrection of life itself!

Controversial?

Even to this day and in every time of these last days.

19 The Jews who heard these words were again divided. Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?”

21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Do you see?

Does Jesus open your eyes to the Light of eternal life? Or are you blind too?

What shepherd do you follow?

The One Who IS the door?

Or have you heard so many who make other claims about heaven?

And Jesus said,
“For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”
March 13, 2020
Do you believe in the Son of Man?
“No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
The witness of Jesus to Nikodēmos – John 3:13-15 NASB
(the world knows where He is leading)

Returning to the Light

We have been following the signs of the Messiah which the Apostle John presents in his Gospel.

Jesus had healed a man born blind who confronts the religious officials of Jerusalem with the evidence that this man must be the Messiah!

“While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”
The witness of Jesus to His Apostles – John 9:5

To give a sense of some time passing in these events which took place I paused John’s story Jesus – Siloam – “I washed and I see where the man sent to Siloam to wash and could now see was questioned by Pharisees.

Before returning to the seeing man’s witness of the Light in John 9, first let’s return to a scene of a Pharisee questioning Jesus. John has already set the stage for this sign of the Messiah giving sight to the blind.

29:18 וְשָׁמְעוּ בַיֹּום־הַהוּא הַחֵרְשִׁים דִּבְרֵי־סֵפֶר וּמֵאֹפֶל וּמֵחֹשֶׁךְ עֵינֵי עִוְרִים תִּרְאֶֽינָה׃

John 3:

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him,

“Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
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John 9:13 They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees. 
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John 3:9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”

10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.

12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
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John 9:24 So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind ...
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John 3:19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
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John 9:28 They ridiculed him: 
“You’re that man’s disciple, but we’re Moses’s disciples. We know that God has spoken to Moses. But this man—we don’t know where he’s from.”
 30 “This is an amazing thing!” the man told them. 
“You don’t know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes.
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John 9:

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, and when he found him, he asked,

“Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

Now here is a question from our Lord to the man whose sight He returned worthy of consideration by each and every soul who for a brief time dwells in this world of darkness.
- “Do you believe in the Son of God?”
- Is Jesus who now confronts you in plain sight?
- Does the Messiah of our salvation sent to the world by God our Father ask you to believe?
Listen, learned Pharisee of these last days, and see the Light of the Gospel. Is the Spirit of the living LORD speaking to you?

But returning to the response of the man formerly blind:

36 “Who is he, Sir, that I may believe in him?” he asked.

37 Jesus answered, “You have seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

38 “I believe, Lord!” he said, and he worshiped him.

Wouldn’t you, if the Messiah had given you sight?

Shouldn’t you, since the Messiah Jesus has drawn you from the darkness of your sin to the Very Light of Life?

Son of Man – a view from Scripture

Where did the Messiah Jesus come up with this favorite self-designation by which He describes His humanity to man?

Jewish rabbis who studied scripture knew it well, for the Prophet Ezekiel uses ‘son of man’ in numerous descriptions of his heavenly encounters. First, a definition from the Hebrew:

Son of Man!

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.
Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!”
Ezekiel 1:28-2:1 NASB

2:3 וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלַי בֶּן־אָדָם שֹׁולֵחַ אֲנִי אֹֽותְךָ אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־גֹּויִם הַמֹּורְדִים אֲשֶׁר מָרְדוּ־בִי הֵמָּה וַאֲבֹותָם פָּשְׁעוּ בִי עַד־עֶצֶם הַיֹּום הַזֶּֽה׃

בֵּן
ben
- Meaning ‘son’ in a broad sense, specifically as ‘son’ (2978x); but also as ‘first’ (51x)
- Genesis 27:32 וַיֹּאמֶר לֹו יִצְחָק אָבִיו מִי־אָתָּה וַיֹּאמֶר אֲנִי בִּנְךָ בְכֹֽרְךָ עֵשָֽׂו׃
- Revelation 22:13 [gk] ἐγὼ τὸ Ἄλφα καὶ τὸ Ὦ ὁ πρῶτος καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος ἡ ἀρχὴ καὶ τὸ τέλος
  - “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
אָדָם
‘adam
- man or mankind, generally, only occasionally specific to the first man, Adam or a human man rather than a human woman
- Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed man H120 of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man H120 became a living being.
- Ezekiel 1:5 Within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human H120 form.
Son of man most frequently designates a human being, one born of flesh. More than any other Prophet Ezekiel uses it to describe a mortal human chosen by God to tell God’s people what the LORD must say to them.

בֶּן־אָדָם צֹפֶה נְתַתִּיךָ לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל וְשָׁמַעְתָּ מִפִּי דָּבָר וְהִזְהַרְתָּ אֹותָם מִמֶּֽנִּי׃
“Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me.
Ezekiel 3:17 – Masoretic text; NASB

Judgment by the Light

Prior to this witness by the man who was blind the Apostle John has already witnessed the context of this sign by the Messiah Jesus.

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying,
“I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
John 8:12 NASB

13 So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.”

Jesus’ debate with the Pharisees, some who do not believe, has already taken place. John now presents a proverbial metaphor at the conclusion of this sign by Jesus that indeed, He IS the Messiah.

John 9:

39 And Jesus said,

“For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”

Would we expect any better reaction to Jesus from those who have already publicly proclaimed their opposition to the Messiah before their very eyes?

40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him,

“We are not blind too, are we?”

Are they? For they know well their own Scripture of the coming of the Messiah.

Isaiah 29:
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הֹ֚וי אֲרִיאֵ֣ל אֲרִיאֵ֔ל קִרְיַ֖ת חָנָ֣ה דָוִ֑ד סְפ֥וּ שָׁנָ֛ה עַל־שָׁנָ֖ה חַגִּ֥ים יִנְקֹֽפוּ׃
וְחָנִ֥יתִי כַדּ֖וּר עָלָ֑יִךְ וְצַרְתִּ֤י עָלַ֨יִךְ֙ מֻצָּ֔ב וַהֲקִֽימֹתִ֥י עָלַ֖יִךְ מְצֻרֹֽת׃
הִתְמַהְמְה֣וּ וּתְמָ֔הוּ הִשְׁתַּֽעַשְׁע֖וּ וָשֹׁ֑עוּ שָֽׁכְר֣וּ וְלֹא־יַ֔יִן נָע֖וּ וְלֹ֥א שֵׁכָֽר׃
כִּֽי־נָסַ֨ךְ עֲלֵיכֶ֤ם יְהוָה֙ ר֣וּחַ תַּרְדֵּמָ֔ה וַיְעַצֵּ֖ם אֶת־עֵֽינֵיכֶ֑ם אֶת־הַנְּבִיאִ֛ים וְאֶת־רָאשֵׁיכֶ֥ם הַחֹזִ֖ים כִּסָּֽה׃
הֹ֛וי הַמַּעֲמִיקִ֥ים מֵֽיהוָ֖ה לַסְתִּ֣ר עֵצָ֑ה וְהָיָ֤ה בְמַחְשָׁךְ֙ מַֽעֲשֵׂיהֶ֔ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ מִ֥י רֹאֵ֖נוּ וּמִ֥י יֹודְעֵֽנוּ׃
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Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.

And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.

Be delayed and wait,
Blind yourselves and be blind;
They become drunk, but not with wine,
They stagger, but not with strong drink.

For the LORD has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep,
He has shut your eyes, the prophets;
And He has covered your heads, the seers.

Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD,
And whose deeds are done in a dark place,
And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”

On that day

Isaiah 29:

18 On that day the deaf will hear words of a book,
And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.

19 The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the Lord,
And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

24 And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who murmur will accept instruction.”

These scriptures from Isaiah, a true Prophet of Israel, the Pharisees would know well.

How will we know that the Messiah stands before us as the Son of Man?

“The eyes of the blind will see.

Give glory to the LORD your God,
Before He brings darkness
And before your feet stumble
On the dusky mountains,
And while you are hoping for light
He makes it into deep darkness,
And turns it into gloom.
Jeremiah 13:16

“We are not blind too, are we?”

“What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.”

“… one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

“… You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?”

41 Jesus said to them,

“If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
“But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Genesis 1:4; John 1:5; Matthew 6:23 NASB

John 9:41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

Have you born blind confronted your sin?

Will you now worship the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, who opens your eyes to the Light?

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying,
“I am the Light of the world;
he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness,
but will have the Light of life.”
John 8:12 NASB
March 3, 2020