https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.10.1-5.NLT Even though we are starting a new chapter in the Book of John, Jesus is still speaking about the Pharisees who were blind shepherds. Remember there are no chapter breaks in the original accounts written by the authors so this is a continuation of His previous discourse. True sheep follow the voice of the true Shepherd. There are people who feel they are qualified to lead because of their schooling but it is not so much about schooling and more so about calling and anointing. There are times when my husband will be delivering a message and I hear my Father’s voice through him. Remember we are but messengers carrying the words of God. People should be able to recognize who we are aligned with by our words and our actions for they should represent His character. The Pharisees, though educated, were not true shepherds that were looking out for the sheep, hence Jesus’ references to the thieves and robbers. There are some really neat videos you can access on YouTube that show how multiple flocks of sheep can mill around together and drink from the same watering hole but when it comes time to move, the shepherd of each particular flock has his own call that the sheep recognize and they won’t follow anyone else. We should be so committed to the Shepherd’s voice! Happy Sunday all! See you at church! 😊💗

https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.9.35-41.NLT So the Pharisees kicked this healed man out of the synagogue because of his testimony and for telling the truth. Jesus hears what they have done to him and makes a point to go find him. I love the heart of Jesus! When Jesus finds him, it is an interesting exchange as Jesus refers to Himself in the third person, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man answered, “who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.” “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!” “Yes, Lord, I believe!” As I thought about this, the man knew “the man” called Jesus had healed him but it appears he did not see Him after he was healed because he did not recognize Jesus when this exchange happened. Jesus had sent him to the pool of Siloam to wash and it appears, did not go with him. Now he was able to put the name with the face and worship Jesus as Lord! What a neat moment. Not so much for the Pharisees, however, who were in ear shot of His next statement. Jesus stated that He came into the world to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see, that they are blind. Recognizing the implication, the Pharisees close by challenged Jesus saying, “Are you saying we are blind?” Catch this next statement - “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty, but you remain guilty because you claim to see.” Wow! Being blind is one thing and as we see here, can be fixed. Being blind is not a sin. Being prideful, acting as a know-it-all, and refusing to acknowledge the truth when faced with it, however, is an offense and sin for which there is no cure except for repentance which seemed highly unlikely for some of the Pharisees. Be careful about what you presume to know! Always remain teachable! Not knowing something is one thing and not a sin, but refusing to know something is entirely a different matter, especially when faced with the truth. Salvation comes with an acknowledgment of the truth that Jesus is Lord and His words are the truth. A rejection of Him and His words leads to damnation for which there is no cure. We have only our time here on earth to get that right and who knows when our time is up. There is no time like the present to get things right with Jesus! 😊💗

https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.9.30-34.NLT It appears the only one with a clear view of what happened here was the man who was healed of his blindness. An astonishing miracle took place and was evidence that God was in their midst. Jesus was, in the very least, a vessel through which God’s power was released. The Pharisees couldn’t even get themselves to extend that to Jesus. There is blindness and then there is a refusal to see. Their view of Jesus was so jaded that they couldn’t see or say anything good about Him. At times it can be difficult to not judge or be threatened by what we don’t understand. The Pharisees were none to happy about this former blind man either. His accurate insight into what had happened and Who must have directed it was not what they wanted to hear and true to form, they kicked him out of the synagogue. Kudos to this man for testifying to the goodness of God and giving credit where credit is due. He was blind and now he could see. That simple and powerful testimony shook the Pharisees to the core demanding an explanation for which they had none. Who were the blind ones here, really?? And the more the Pharisees tried to contain the truth, the more the truth spread, because the truth can not be contained, controlled, or spun into what it is not. Truth always wins! 😊💗

https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.9.24-29.NLT Seems like the former blind man struck a nerve with the Pharisees. After grilling his parents, the Pharisees once again interrogated the healed man and instructed him to give God glory because, “we know this man Jesus is a sinner.” What charge were they trying to pin on Him? Healing a man on the Sabbath? Yet here we have the Pharisees tripping over their own sin by making false accusations about Jesus which is actually on God’s top 7 things He hates according to Proverbs 6:16-19. I love this guys response to their questions, “Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become His disciples too?” Whoops! That tipped the Pharisees over the edge and they start cursing at the guy stating that he was one of Jesus’ disciples but that they were disciples of Moses. Yet history records their ancestors tried to pull a coup on Moses too. Convenient memory on their parts. What more did these men need to see to be convinced? Common sense should tell them that Someone out of the ordinary was before them but they were so blinded by their theology that they couldn’t see past it to see who Jesus was. Do we know anyone like that? So blinded by what they choose to believe that they are unwilling, and even unable to consider something different than what they think? Like I said yesterday, the Pharisees were trying to stake the moral high ground in this debate but were woefully lacking in substance and when things weren’t going their way, they resorted to name calling and threats. 😞💗

https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.9.17-23.NLT So we see here that the Pharisees were more concerned about the healed man’s opinion of ‘this man’ who healed him rather than rejoicing in the fact that he was healed. Notice that this wasn’t a friendly conversation but rather more of an inquisition. They ‘demanded’ to know. It also seems that they couldn’t even get themselves to refer to Jesus by name. Then the Scripture states that they ‘refused to believe’ this man had been born blind. Why? It was outside their realm of experience and the greater unspoken question was, as representatives of God, if they were so close to God, why wasn’t this happening at their hands? Sometimes people aren’t want they pretend to be. Sometimes it seems that those publicly claiming the moral high ground are the worst offenders secretly. All we see from these Pharisees is threats, hate, fear. They remind me somewhat of what we see in government and sadly in some religious circles today. Instead of working for the people’s benefit, which is its purpose, they are working for their own. Just read a stat the other day about a representative in Congress who went in with $8500 to their name in 2016 and in 6 short years is now worth over 29 million. How does that happen?? Someone is being enriched and it’s not the people they represent😞 Just sayin! The Pharisees wanted the power and the prestige that came with their honored position yet Jesus was the One with the true power and was delivering for the people. Their choice was to join Him and take a second seat or ‘refuse to believe’ and do their best to discredit Him. It appears they chose the later. He was a great threat to their livelihoods. So sad. They truly were blind and missing out on the very thing they said their life stood for. 😞💗