Christ's Saving Grace

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 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 has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him” (John 9:13-23).

Some of those following Jesus just could not believe that He had restored the blind beggar’s sight. They brought the blessed man to the Pharisees who initiated an investigation into the alleged event. There must be some other explanation. They earnestly sought a more reasonable cause. They questioned the blessed man once again. They questioned his parents. They were hoping that he was never really blind, but in their hearts they knew this was not true because they were his neighbors and knew him from birth… “The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?’” (John 9:8). What kept them from believing the truth revealed in this miracle? The critical Jewish elders had asked Jesus for a sign just like this… “So they said to him, ‘Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?’” (John 6:30).  What made them blind to this sign that confirmed the divinity of the Christ? The Holy Spirit reveals the answer to that question through John’s inspired record of this event. The Pharisees indirectly admitted that Jesus performed this miracle as they noted that Jesus “does not keep the Sabbath”. What they could not accept was the Son of Man’s sovereignty over the law of the Sabbath. They had replaced worshipping God with worshipping the law. Their eyes were so fixed on the law they were blind to the Lawgiver that stood before them. In this Sabbath sign Jesus invited those followers who were slaves to the law to become disciples by renouncing their self-righteousness and embracing Christ’s saving grace.

You’ve probably heard it before. You may have even said it yourself. Christ followers say it so often it’s become cliché. It’s not about religion, it’s about relationship. But unlike many clichés this one has roots in Biblical truth. The Word of God did not become incarnate to add more to the law… “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you” (Deuteronomy 4:2).  Jesus did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it… “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). In today’s text we see Jesus fulfilling the law in a marvelous way. He showed that no one can earnestly obey God’s perfect law on their own… “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The law was given to guide us to Christ, to show us we need a Savior… “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). While the elders clung to their self-righteousness, honest, humble followers recognized Jesus as the Christ, stepped away from the crowd, and became disciples by embracing the grace and mercy He offered… “ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

As we grow up into Christ we strive to obey His law but we trust and rely on…

Christ’s Saving Grace.