Saturday, October 24, 2009

Day 297 - John 9-10:21

John 9

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
 1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
 6Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. 7"Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
 8His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" 9Some claimed that he was.
      Others said, "No, he only looks like him."
      But he himself insisted, "I am the man."
 10"How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded.
 11He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."
 12"Where is this man?" they asked him.
      "I don't know," he said.
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing
 13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. 15Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see."  16Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath."
      But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided.
 17Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened."
      The man replied, "He is a prophet."
 18The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. 19"Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"
 20"We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. 21But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself." 22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ[a] would be put out of the synagogue. 23That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
 24A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God,[b]" they said. "We know this man is a sinner."
 25He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"
 26Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"
 27He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"
 28Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from."
 30The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
 34To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.
Spiritual Blindness
 35Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"  36"Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."
 37Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."
 38Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.
 39Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
 40Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"
 41Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

John 10

The Shepherd and His Flock
 1"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." 6Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.  7Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[c] He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
 11"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
 14"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."
 19At these words the Jews were again divided. 20Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?"
 21But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
Footnotes:
  1. John 9:22 Or Messiah
  2. John 9:24 A solemn charge to tell the truth (see Joshua 7:19)
  3. John 10:9 Or kept safe

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