Unlearning Tradition, Relearning Scripture

Tag: seeking truths

  • Jonah to Nahum, A Story about God

    The Old Testament Points to the Cross

    Without a doubt, the story of Jonah is better known than that of Nahum, though both books spoke of God’s judgment against Assyria. In traditional Sunday school setting, perhaps the focus of Jonah’s story would often be that of his adventure – he was swallowed by the great fish for three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17) – and that of his miraculous survival after he had prayed to God for mercy (Jonah 2:10). A serious study of the book however would reveal that the subject of Jonah’s story was God and His great mercy and love for His creation. See Jonah 4:10-11.

    And the LORD said, “You [Jonah] pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

    God obviously does love and care for His creation, see Matthew 5:44-45, Jesus Christ said:

    But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

    However, God’s love expressed through Jesus Christ, that alone brings salvation; see Romans 5:8-10. The apostle Paul writing to the believers in Rome said:

    But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.

    Again see Acts 4:10-12.

    Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

    Continuing on our topic, it is noteworthy to know that from within the Old Testament Scripture Jonah was mentioned once outside his book (Jonah); see 2 Kings 14:23-25.

    In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which He spoke by His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.

    Let me get this out first, there were two Joash in 2 Kings. One was the father of Amaziah king of Judah and the other father of Jeroboam II king of Israel.

    Next, understand that after the split of the monarchy under David and Solomon, Jeroboam the son of Nebat became the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. The other half, the southern kingdom, was known as Judah. Jeroboam the son of Josh or Jeroboam II was the fourteenth king of the northen kingdom of Israel. Also, Joash and Jehoash were the same person, the father of Jeroboam II; see 2 Kings 13:25.

    Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.

    Jehoahaz was the twelfth king of Israel, Jehoash or Joash the thirteenth king and Jeroboam II the fourteenth king of the northern kingdom of Israel.

    Jonah then had not always been a reluctant prophet of God as seen from 2 Kings 14:25 quoted above. Also, since he had or started his ministry during the reign of Jeroboam II, Jonah then could be contemporaries with Hosea and Amos or he was shortly ahead of them; see Hosea 1:1

    The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

    Now see Amos 1:1.

    The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. (Amos 1:1)

    All three prophets – Jonah, Hosea and Amos – had their ministry during the reign of Jeroboam II. On the other hand, Jonah and Nahum should be seen as Book 1 & 2 of God’s judgment against Assyria. Nahum prophesied in the time between the Assyrian capture of Thebes in Egypt which is known to have occurred in 663 or 661 B.C. (Nahum 3:8-11), and the final destruction of Nineveh in 612 B.C. (Nahum 2:8-13). Source for the dates of Nahum are taken from the Complete Word Study Bible. Nahum was a seventh century B.C. prophet; Jonah, on the other hand was an eighth century B.C. prophet of God.

    An online website, History World, under History of Assyria narrated that the Assyrian empire was the greatest then destroying the northern kingdom of Israel and the coastal cities of Phoenicia in the late eighth and early seventh century B.C, next was Thebes of Egypt, far up the Nile sacked in 663 B.C. Exactly as it was detailed in Scripture.

    Jeroboam II reigned in the northern kingdom of Israel 41 years (2 Kings 14:23). Zechariah succeeded him and he reigned for six months (2 Kings 15:8), followed by Shallum who reigned only for a month (2 Kings 15:13), then Menahem ruled for 10 years (2 Kings 15:17). During his reign, Assyria came against the land of northern Israel but then they left after Menahem paid tribute to the king of Assyria. Pekahiah succeeded Menahem and he reigned for two years (2 Kings 15:23), and second to the last was Pekah who reigned 20 years (2 Kings 15:27). In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Assyria again came and captured territories of the northern kingdom. This time people were exiled as captives to Assyria (2 Kings 15:29). It was also Pekah king of Israel who connived with the Syrian king in attacking Judah, the other half of the former monarchy of the unified Israel (2 Kings 16:5). Pekah however was murdered by Hoshea. He was the last king of the northern kingdom of Israel, and he reigned 9 years (2 Kings 15:30; 17:1). It was during Hoshea’s reign that the northern kingdom of Israel fell completely into the hands of Assyria and the whole of the northern kingdom of Israel was exiled and scattered (2 Kings 17:6). With the end of the northern kingdom of Israel, Scripture made an important remark; see 2 Kings 17:7-8,15.

    And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs that the kings of Israel had practiced … They despised His statutes and His covenant that He [God] made with their fathers and the warnings that He gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them.

    See also 2 Kings 17:18-20.

    Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only. Judah also did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the customs that Israel had introduced. And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them out of His sight.

    Altogether after Jeroboam II who reigned 41 years, the succeeding kings reigned a total of 41 years and 7 months. Also, Assyria had practically and constantly theatened the northen kingdom of Israel after the reign of Jeroboam II, all 41 years beginning with Menahem’s reign. Since it was barely seven months after the reign of Jeroboam II when Menahem came to power, perhaps Jonah saw firsthand the oppression of Assyria against his homeland. He was from Gath-hepher, a border town of Zebulun, one of the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel. Jonah must have wondered why God had favored Assyria, sending him to preach His divine judgment. Jonah knew God would relent from His judgment once Assyria turned to Him for forgiveness; hence, he disobeyed God’s call and went the opposite direction, see Jonah 4:2-3.

    And he [Jonah] prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

    Perhaps we could relate to Jonah’s displeasure and anger. After all, his own homeland had been threatened by the Assyrians whom God have forgiven. Did God really favored Assyria over Israel? Could Jonah be asking as well, “Why can’t God offer the same favor and forgive Israel too as He had done for Assyria?”

    Remember I explained earlier that Pekah the king of Israel connived with Syria to attack Judah. The combined attack did occur, but they just can’t conquer Judah (2 Kings 16:5). Also, it was by God’s design that Israel should fall into the hands of the Assyrian because they have broken God’s covenant (2 Kings 17:7-9,13-15). Yes, Judah also did the same against God, yet they were spared? See 2 Kings 17:18-20.

    Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of His sight. None was left but the tribe of Judah only. Judah also did not keep the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the customs that Israel had introduced. And the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel and afflicted them and gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them out of his sight.

    God seemed to have relented on His earlier judgment against Nineveh because Assyria was His vessel of vengeance against Israel; see Isaiah 7:7-9.

    Thus says the Lord GOD: “It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you [King Ahaz of Judah] are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.”

    God never backed down from His word, and He changes not. Israel was punished according to the stipulation of God’s Covenant with them; see Deuteronomy 28:15.

    But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all His commandments and His statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.

    Continue with Deuteronomy 28:25-26.

    The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away.

    Also Deuteronomy 28:33-34.

    A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually, so that you are driven mad by the sights that your eyes see.

    And again Deuteronomy 28:36-37.

    The LORD will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the LORD will lead you away.

    Finally Deuteronomy 28:45-49.

    All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes that He commanded you. They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand …

    No wonder then, at the time of Pekah king of Israel, Isaiah 7:17 said:

    The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria!

    As you can see, first, Nineveh turned to the LORD for forgiveness with God’s judgment by Jonah. Perhaps a second reason – God is sovereign and He knew all things, so Assyria was preserved for God’s purpose against Israel. Same with Judah, though they have followed Israel and disobeyed God’s commandments (2 Kings 17:18-19) yet they were preserved for the meantime until the coming of Jesus Christ, see Isaiah 7:13-14.

    And he [Isaiah] said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.“

    See also Matthew 1:22-23.

    All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet [Isaiah]: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel (which means, God with us).

    This passage spoke of the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:13-14, the coming of Jesus Christ. At that time, Jerusalem together with its temple which was in Judah was the known nation of the Jew. But within forty years after the crucifixion, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, Jerusalem (Judah) was destroyed and the surviving Jews were scattered for close to two millennium fulfilling exactly Deuteronomy 28.

    It is therefore not surprising that Jonah failed to comprehend God’s purpose. Truly, just as God said in Isaiah 55:8-9,

    For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

    At this point, having understood how God’s word remained true and was fulfilled in history, let us learn to always trust God, especially when times are tough, perplexed and doubtful. Always put our faith in God for He alone holds our future and He is good. Let us also obey God’s word though circumstances may seem to suggest otherwise. For no one can ever thwart His good purpose and will, He alone reigns sovereign.

    In conclusion, Jonah was an eighth century prophet during the reign of Jeroboam II as mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25. Biblical scholars have differing dates for Jeroboam II. Both Easton Bible Dictionary and Smith Bible Dictionary dated his reigned 825-784 B.C. But taking the dating from the Jewish Virtual Library, it should be around 789-748 B.C. Jonah then should be a hundred or so years ahead of Nahum ministry – after 663-661 B.C. but before 612 B.C.

    As I have said earlier, history proved true God’s word. It is ironic that God illustrated His impending judgment against Assyria by their own capture of Thebes. See Nahum 3:8-11.

    Are you [Assyria] better than Thebes that sat by the Nile, with water around her, her rampart a sea, and water her wall? Cush was her strength; Egypt too, and that without limit; Put and the Libyans were her helpers. Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity; her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; for her honored men lots were cast, and all her great men were bound in chains. You [Assyria] also will be drunken; you will go into hiding; you will seek a refuge from the enemy.

    I have mentioned earlier that an online website (History World, History of Assyria) proved to us the fulfillment of God’s Word. We having the benefit of history now see the truthfulness of God’s word so we should also learn that most of the time it is only on hindsight that we get to see God’s good purpose for things that He have allowed into our lives.

    Also as I have said earlier, both Jonah and Nahum preached about God’s judgment against Assyria. In Jonah’s time, Nineveh repented so God relented upon His judgment; in Nahum’s, the LORD affirmed with finality His destruction of Assyria. See Nahum 2:8-13.

    Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. “Halt! Halt!” they cry, but none turns back. Plunder the silver, plunder the gold! There is no end of the treasure or of the wealth of all precious things. Desolate! Desolation and ruin! Hearts melt and knees tremble; anguish is in all loins; all faces grow pale! Where is the lions’ den, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and lioness went, where his cubs were, with none to disturb? The lion tore enough for his cubs and strangled prey for his lionesses; he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh. Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.

    Jonah and Nahum indeed are the stories of God’s justice, mercy and grace. Assyria, Israel and Judah were mere actors portraying God’s greater purpose in creation. Judah was spared for awhile simply because the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Immanuel, would be brought into the world through them. Scripture is not simply telling us stories of people but of God’s character and His divine purpose for salvation. Life is complex and profound. It is easy to be led astray by the humps and bumps of life causing us to made choices or decisions base on human perspective. Never leave God out of the equation of life. Focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, He alone should be at the center of our life and the decision we make. Only then may we truly glorify and honor God.

    Blessings!

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  • Spiritual Blindness: Conclusion

    A study on John 9

    In my last blog posting, I said, “The healed blind man did not only experience restored eyesight, but more importantly recovery from spiritual blindness.” Interestingly, John 1 also hinted on the idea of spiritual blindness. See John 1:10-11:

    He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive him.

    We will explore further the first chapter of John’s Gospel and see how the apostle had practically laid out the summary of his Gospel right there, right in the opening verses of chapter one, then compare it to John 9. But before we do, let us refresh our understanding of the ongoing context of John 9.

    Jesus had a long discourse against the Pharisees and scribes in John 8. Actually the tension between Jesus Christ and the Sanhedrin was already mentioned as early as John 7:32. The Sanhedrin was the highest ruling religious body and court of justice among the Jewish people at the time of Jesus. The Sanhedrin comprised both the Sadducees and Pharisees, with the High Priest as its head – 71 members altogether. The Sanhedrin was abolished after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

    Pharisees and scribes should be the best of the best when it comes to understanding the Scripture. The exchange of words between Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes may have started somewhere near the temple (John 8:2), but perhaps it ended inside the temple area, ’cause John 8:59 said, “So they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.” The discussion definitely turned ugly, for Jesus actually claimed divinity by saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). Was Jesus wrong to have claimed He was the Great “I am” of Exodus 3:14? The LORD God spoke first to Moses in Exodus 3 asking him to lead Israel in Exodus out of Egypt. Let us now turn to consider John 1:1-5:

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

    Then, in John 1:14,16-18, the apostle wrote:

    “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth … For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has even seen God; the only God who is at the Father’s side, He had made Him known.”

    Psalm 33:6,9 said, “By the Word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host … For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, it stood firm.”

    Both John and the Psalmist spoke of the Word; that is, Christ Jesus, the only Son of the Father. He spoke, then everything came to exist. Therefore, Jesus Christ, indeed is the Great “I am’” the Second Person of the Holy Trinity God.

    Now see John 9:30-33:

    The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where He comes from, and yet He opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, God listens to Him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

    Amazing, isn’t it? The blind man practically reiterated what John had declared in John 1:1-5; Jesus Christ is of divine origin. Exactly what Jesus told the Pharisees and scribes causing them wanting to stone him (8:58-59). It’s ironic that, though the Pharisees should know Scripture better, the former blind man appeared to be more discerning than them. Clearly a case of spiritual blindness, don’t you think?

    Spiritual blindness, therefore, does not mean ignorance of the Scripture, rather having false beliefs.

    Again in John 1:9-13:

    The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

    [The former blind man answered the inquiry from his fellow Jew], “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash,’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” (John 9:11)

    The man born blind met Jesus, the True light, which gives light to everyone; that’s the reason why he was able to discern better than the Pharisees concerning the origin of Jesus. Oh yes, he also received his sight. A bonus, I should say.

    So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes and I washed, and I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a Prophet.” (John 9:15-17)

    The blind man recognized the signs, so he said, “Jesus is the Prophet of God.” He believed Jesus, hence Christ gave him the right to become a child of God. Coincidence? Of course not! Everything comes by God’s divine providence. Scripture said,

    But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)

    The former blind man did not will to know Christ Jesus; rather it was Jesus who declared, “But that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3b). Again, the “work of God is for people to believe in Jesus Christ, whom the Father has sent” (John 6:29). Mission accomplished!

    The blind man rightly declared Jesus to be the Prophet of God, ’cause the “Son of Man,” the Messianic title of Christ, would mean He is the Anointed One of God the Father; therefore, Jesus should fulfill all three: Prophet (Deuteronomy. 18:15), Priest (Psalm 110:4) and King (Psalm 2:6-9).

    But wait, the Pharisees also had encountered Jesus Christ. Yet, they debated him in the temple area. In fact, the parents of the man born blind refused to say a word about Jesus Christ, especially to confess that Jesus is the Christ, ’cause the religious leaders – Pharisees included – had already agreed to cast out anyone confessing faith in the Son of Man (see John 9:22).

    True enough, the former blind man was only able to confess faith in Jesus, for in the fulness of Christ he have received, grace upon grace (John 1:16). Indeed, such an amazing grace was displayed by Christ Jesus in John 9:35-38:

    Jesus heard that they had cast him [the former blind man] out, and having found him He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is He, Sir, that I may believe in Him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen Him, and it is He who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped Him.’“

    The blind man was literally in darkness, and we may say he actually personified the whole nation of Israel in the story – blind spiritually. The healing of the man born blind indeed was an impossible task humanly speaking – exactly what the healed blind man said to the Pharisees: “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind” (John 9:32). See Isaiah’s prophecy concerning Jesus Christ, the Anointed One of God the Father:

    Behold My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen, in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1)

    Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: “I am the LORD; I have called You in righteousness; I will take You by the hand and keep You; I will give You as a Covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the LORD; that is My name; My glory I give to no other, nor My praise to carved idols. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” (Isaiah 42:5-9)

    The Pharisees, knowing the prophecies in Scripture concerning the Christ, certainly recognized the signs, yet many others refused to acknowledge Christ and called Him a sinner ’cause He healed on a Sabbath. See John 9:16:

    Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.

    Pharisees upheld the Law of Moses. Jesus said to them,

    For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? (John 5:46-47)

    The Pharisees failed to see Christ in Scripture due to their self-centeredness, believing that no matter what they do – they would always be God’s children. A false assumption. In Matthew 3, John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan River, and the Pharisees came to him. John said to them,

    And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. (Matthew 3:9)

    So again John 1:12-13:

    But to all who did receive Him [Jesus Christ], who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

    Spiritual blindness can be deadly. The Pharisees comprehend all prophecies in Scripture. It was not that they can’t see the signs; they did. They were not a victim of unbelief; rather, they were enslaved by their false beliefs. See Mark 7:8-9, 13:

    You leave the commandment of God and hold to tradition of men. You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! Thus making void the Word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.

    The Pharisees claimed to hold on to the teachings of Moses (John 5:46-47). They may have done partially, but in truth, they made their own traditions or teachings. Traditions, established by men, hindered them from seeing that Jesus Christ, “the Son of Man – is the Lord of Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8).

    Similarly, the only way for anyone seeking or studying Scripture to find the True Christ of the Bible is to allow the Word of God to speak to us. Do not allow traditions or creeds of men to be our guide, rather Scripture alone!

    The story of John 9 should inspire us to see it’s all by God’s grace that anyone can come to know Jesus Christ, the Son of Man. The former blind man, humanly speaking, lost a lot when he received his sight. He may have lost or was severed from his parents and the community, since he had been cast out of the synagogue. Yet, it is amazing how people who seemed to have lost a lot found it easier to find Christ.

    P.S. Though there remain a lot to share within John 9, I decided to conclude my blogpost on “Spiritual Blindness,” a study of John 9, here. Lord willing, if ever, I will just write a supplementary blogpost if needed.

    Blessings!

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  • Spiritual Blindness: Introduction

    A study on John 9

    This Sunday, for our house gathering, we did a study on the Gospel of John, a disciple of Jesus Christ, specifically chapter 9 of the said gospel. 

    The story of the man born blind appeared only in the Gospel of John. Following the flow of narrative presented by John, Jesus came to Jerusalem about middle of the Jewish Feast (John 7:14) – the Feast of Booths or Tabernacle (John 7:2). The following Spring Feast of the next Jewish year Jesus Christ was crucified. 

    The Jews had Seven Annual Jewish Feasts. Feast of the Passover and Unleavened Bread, Feast of Firstfruits and Feast of Weeks or Pentecost – these first four Jewish Feasts were Spring Feast. Spring in Palestine also was the beginning of the Jewish year. Then after a spread of four months (summer months), it will be followed by the last three Fall Feast: Feast of Trumpets, Feast of Atonement and Feast of Booths. The seven annual Jewish feasts was regulated by God in Leviticus 23. 

    It should be noted that all Seven Jewish Feasts would have its completion through Christ Jesus, the Son of Man. Scripture spoke of Christ’s fulfillment of the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread (1Co. 5:7). He then fulfiiled the Feast of Firstfruits by His Resurrection (1Co. 15:23). Next, by His ascension so the coming of Holy Spirit was fulfilled at the Pentecost, Acts 2. 

    The last half of the Seven Jewish Feasts would be the motive of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ: Judgement (Trumpets), Redemption (Atonement), and lastly Eden Restored (Tabernacle). 

    The central theme of John 9, Jesus’ healing of the blind man, was to demonstrate His offer of salvation through faith in the Son of Man, so we have John 9:39. “Jesus said, ‘For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.’”

    To be continued …

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