DAY12: EYES THAT SEE - (John 9:1-3) “Healings and Such…”

Welcome Back. Great is His faithfulness.

John 9:1-3

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight

9 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

Our Lord and Savior here is rejecting the assumption, the notion – (this was common in the ancient world) that all troubles, trials, tribulations, and maladies were the consequence of personal sin or even the sins of ONE’S PARENTS – (lets see and read in Exodus 20:5; and Deuteronomy 5:9 and contrast with Ezekiel 18:19-21). Suffering can be a direct result of personal sin; this is certainly not always the case – (see and read John 5:14 and read the notes, see my video for this discussion). We see here in this case; the man’s blindness provided this opportunity for THE WORKS OF GOD TO BE REVEALED; it was not related directly to the man’s personal sins.

Exodus 20:5- you shall not bow down to them nor [a]serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting[b] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

Deuteronomy 5:9: you shall not bow[a] down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, [b]visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

Ezekiel 18:19-21: Turn and Live

19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?’ Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. 20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

21 “But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

“In a culture where all bad things were attributed to someone’s failure, a faultless affliction was an oxymoron. If someone suffered, the deserved it. Not only was their karma- like belief system super depressing, but it also disregarded the most important thing: how God works.” (The Chosen 40 Days with Jesus Devotional Book 3, page 60).

(Other sources mentioned in today’s devotional Job 2, John 9:35-38, Job 42:5, and Isaiah 30:20-23) ALL ACCORDING THE COMMENTARY OF THE ORTHODOX STUDY BIBLE AND OTHER NOTES …

Gove over Job 2- vv. 2-4

Job 2:2-4

And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?”

Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to [a]destroy him without cause.”

4 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.

St. Gregory comments that the devil has already been defeated, the Lord is only chiding him for the impotence of his pride. St. Hesychius teaches that the devil cannot speak without first receiving permission from God. As we see in verse 4, Satan was unable to understand how Job could seek salvation over saving HIS OWN SKIN- that is, HIS LIFE.

Job 42:5

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
But now my eye sees You.

NOW MY EYES SEES YOU: The gift of spiritual knowledge-that is, when you begin to perceive the hidden things of God- is conferred on us through repentance and the fear of God, which gives birth to a deeper faith. “This is called ‘the faith of divine vision.’ Until then, hearing, but now divine vision. But vision is more certain than hearing” – (IsaacS) Isaac the Syrian

Isaiah 30:20-23

And though the Lord gives you
The bread of adversity and the water of [a]affliction,
Yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore,
But your eyes shall see your teachers.
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.
22 You will also defile the covering of your images of silver,
And the ornament of your molded images of gold.
You will throw them away as an unclean thing;
You will say to them, “Get away!”

23 Then He will give the rain for your seed
With which you sow the ground,
And bread of the increase of the earth;
It will be [b]fat and plentiful.
In that day your cattle will feed
In large pastures.

AFFLICTION is given by the Lord, Who is the Physician of souls, to open blind EYES and deaf EARS to the truth.

PRAYER FOCUS FROM THE DEVOTIONAL

Thank God for seeking you out to set you free. Praise Him for His works of healing and deliverance throughout the ages that birth and bolster the faith of His followers. Ask Him how your current afflictions might open your eyes wider to who He is and how He’s working in your life.

MOVING FORWARD QUESTIONS FROM THE DEVOTIONAL

Is it hard for you to believe that suffering might not be anyone’s fault? Why or why not? What a great question because there are ministries in our present time that teach that our afflictions are do to our sinful passions. They miss the mark completely with their teachings, right here in John 9, Yeshua (Jesus) tells us otherwise. I believe after my coming to Christ that our afflictions are part of our faith because the struggles prove the purity of our faith in Him. Like St. Paul said, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10). We are given the answer in the Epistle according to St. Paul, and I view my ongoing spiritual battle with PTSD my thorn in my flesh. But also rejoice in this weakness because in Christ I become strong, and its through my weakness where I can draw nearer and closer to God, it keeps my disciplined, obedient, and it strengthens my self-denial, the struggle that is, my thorn in my flesh.

Well-worn assumptions have a way of preempting half-way decent theology. What are some things you have falsely assumed? How are you being changed by the truth? This was a hard one for me, but truthful and honest we must be, because the truth outweighs our feelings. I make lots of assumptions daily that’s because I’m a born leader. So I’m constantly detailing the world around me, I also help with our Church’s Learning Center security so me detailing everything is part of who I am by nature. But my answer is this there are some things I have assumed by have not gotten any clarification back on yet, so I’m sure this is a question to back too soon.

What afflictions has God used to bring deep healing and true deliverance in your life? Every affliction I have dealt with has led me to healing of some sort whether it was physical, emotional, or even spiritual. Afflictions do not worry because God turns into light afflictions- 16 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Numbers 6:24-26

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
26 The Lord [a]lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.” ’

In Christ love Jared W Campbell

Other links: YouTube- https://youtube.com/@heathercampbell6231

Wix account there is over 700 other Bible studies posted there - https://www.howiseeit.info JPCE Spiritual Talk

Rumble account link: https://rumble.com/v2fseye-morning-reads-hebrews-91-7-luke-139-56-and-psalm-5-.html

#orthodoxchristianity #orthodoxchristian #biblereadings #bible #biblestudies #orthodoxchurch #thetruth #churchfamily #church #churchonline #christ #christianity #christianposts #holyspirit #holybible #holyspiritteaching #holy #loveofgod #loveofchrist #love #churchofchrist #churchofgod #churchofgodmission #youthministry #inspiration #inspirational #nevergiveup #neversurrender #dontgiveup #dontgiveup #john9 #job2 #job42 #isaiah30 #ezekiel18 #deuteronomy5 #exodus20 #numbers6 #teaching #bibleteaching #learnthebible