The Miracle Discussed

Notes

1. It may have been no special ill feeling which led the neighbors to bring to the Pharisees the man who had been healed of his blindness, "but as work had been done on the Sabbath, they judge it best to refer the matter to these great authorities in matters of religion." The former inquiries are now repeated. "Again, therefore, he was asked, and (now) by the Pharisees, how he had recovered his sight." The reply of the man caused a division among his judges, and it is worth while to observe carefully the conclusions arrived at, and the basis of their reasoning. The one party say, This Man is not of God, because He keepeth not the Sabbath day. Their course of reasoning is virtually this: We have certain regulations in regard to the observance of the Sabbath, and this Man has gone contrary to them. The fact that a remarkable miracle of mercy has been performed by this Man does not weigh in our minds against the other fact that He does not keep the Sabbath, in harmony with our well-established rules. This is really saying that God Himself must act in harmony with their traditions if He wishes them to acknowledge Him as God. They are exalting themselves above God. But this is only the logical result of putting man's ideas in place of God's ideas, and demanding submission to a man-made creed. We see the same thing being done over again to-day. Then the chief question was whether the Sabbath should be kept as God intended that it should be kept, and so be a blessing to men, or whether it should be a burden grievous to be borne because weighted down with the added exactions of men. Now the question is whether the same day which God blessed, and thus made a blessing to men, shall be observed, or whether a rival day, upon which God has never placed a blessing, shall be foisted into its place under ecclesiastical authority alone. Christ Himself was condemned by the religious teachers of His day as a Sabbath-breaker, and some of those who choose to follow Him in the matter of Sabbath-keeping are being condemned in the same way to-day. But, according to His own testimony, He kept the commandments of God (John 15:10), and now through His word He bears similar testimony (Rev. 14:12) concerning those who refuse to accept the traditions of men about the Sabbath.

2. The other party among the Pharisees yielded to the evidence, and agreed with Nicodemus (John 3:2) that He exhibited divine credentials. It does not follow that they became believers on Christ, but in view of the nature of the miracle, they were not prepared to accept the logic of their traditions, lest haply they should be "found to fight even against God." They broke away from ecclesiastical bondage far enough to say, "How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?" This may be a step toward belief on Him.

3. "Jesus had been among this people, so marked with bigotry and prejudice, and He knew that in healing on the Sabbath day He would be regarded as a transgressor of the law. He was aware that the Pharisees would seize upon such acts with great indignation, and thereby seek to influence the people against Him. He knew that they would use these works of mercy as strong arguments to affect the minds of the masses, who had all their lives been bound by the Jewish restrictions and exactions. Nevertheless, He was not prevented by this knowledge from breaking down the senseless wall of superstition that barricaded the Sabbath, and teaching men that charity and benevolence are lawful on all days."

4. "In all His lessons, Jesus presented to men the worthlessness of merely ceremonial obedience. He sought to impress them with the spirituality of the law, unveiling its vital principles, and making plain its eternal obligation. The righteousness of the law was presented to the world in the character of Christ, and the holy, benevolent, and paternal attributes of God were revealed in the Saviour's dealings with mankind."

5. The prophecy stated that Christ would be "numbered with the transgressors" (Isa. 53:12), and so He was, during His ministry (John 9:24), and at His crucifixion (Mark 15:27, 28).

6. The Jews were not seeking for evidence that Jesus was the Christ, for they had not only decided against Him themselves already, but had threatened with excommunication any who might believe on Him. And this being put out of the synagogue was a "punishment involving the direst consequences socially and religiously. It was, in fact, the lesser excommunication, which lasted thirty days, but might be lengthened for continued impenitence, or curtailed by contrition. It shut a person utterly from the synagogue; for even if he entered it, he was reckoned as not present. No mourning for the dead, and no rite of circumcision, could take place in his house, and no one but his wife or child could come within four cubits of him."

Suggestions for Further Study.

1. Jesus made the clay and anointed his eyes; the man went and washed. What lesson is taught in these facts?

2. Every effort to hinder Christ's work only resulted in advancing it. 2 Cor. 13:8. The semi-official and critical examination into this miracle only established its reality beyond a doubt. How is the same principle illustrated in God's work to-day?

3. God treated Christ as a sinner. Why? Men treated Christ as a sinner? Why? What was the difference in their treatment of Him?

4. Some now accept the view of the Pharisees that Jesus broke the Sabbath. Are they prepared to accept the conclusion that He was "not of God"?

5. Were not the Pharisees right in their logic? If a man wilfully breaks the Sabbath, can he be "of God"? What is the present application of this principle?

6. Are miracles ever wrought through the instrumentality of "a man that is a sinner"? Will the question be of any special interest to this generation?